Writing Arabic, Kabyle and Tifinagh in Algeria

Here are the online keyboards that are useful in Algeria: Arabic for official writing and Darja, Kabyle in Latin letters, and Tifinagh. All of them work with an AZERTY or QWERTY keyboard as well as on a phone screen.

Useful keyboards in Algeria

Tools

Interactive Arabic alphabetThe 28 Arabic letters plus hamza: name, transcription, isolated, initial, medial and final forms, an example word and audio. Free and eas…
Tifinagh alphabet (IRCAM)All 33 letters of the IRCAM Tifinagh alphabet with their names (ya, yab, yag…) and Latin equivalents. A clear reference to read and write…
Arabic ↔ Latin converterConvert Arabic text to Latin letters in Arabizi (3, 7, 9) or DIN 31635 style, or type salam to get سلام. Free, and your text never leaves…
Tifinagh ↔ Latin converterTurn Tifinagh into Latin letters with the IRCAM transcription (ɛ, ɣ, ḍ, ṣ…) or type Latin to get Tifinagh, with gh, kh and 3 shortcuts. F…
Hijri date converterConvert a Gregorian date to Hijri or a Hijri date to Gregorian with the Umm al-Qura or tabular calendar. See today's Hijri date and upcom…
Your name in ArabicWrite your name in Arabic: suggested spellings for about 400 first names, nine calligraphy styles and a square PNG image to download. Fre…
Arabic alphabet quizA free quiz to learn to recognise Arabic letters: find the name of a letter or the letter for a name. Your best score is saved on your de…

Written languages in Algeria

Arabic is an official language of Algeria, and Tamazight has also been official since 2016. Tamazight covers several varieties, such as Kabyle, Chaoui and Mozabite. Kabyle (Taqbaylit) is mainly written in the Berber Latin alphabet, which includes ɛ, ɣ, ḍ and č; it also appears in Tifinagh. In messages, Algerian Darja moves between Arabic letters and Arabizi with digits: “3lach”, “sa7a”.

Darja with the Algeria-Tunisia variant

In the phonetic input of the Arabic keyboard, the Algeria-Tunisia variant turns g into ڨ. Everything else follows the usual Arabizi habits: 3 = ع, 7 = ح, 9 = ق, ch = ش, kh = خ. Words mode converts an entire word the moment you press Space. Computers in Algeria often have AZERTY keyboards, so choose that setting to line up the Latin hints with your keys.

Useful keyboards and tools for Algeria

Arabic keyboard: write Standard Arabic with harakat and Arabic punctuation.
Phonetic Arabic keyboard: type Darja the way you write it in Arabizi.
Kabyle keyboard: ɛ, ɣ, č, ǧ and the dotted letters with AltGr.
Tifinagh keyboard and Tifinagh-Latin converter for the Amazigh script.

Frequently asked questions

How do I write Algerian Darja in Arabic script using Latin letters?

Use the Arabic keyboard in Phonetic mode with the Algeria-Tunisia variant. Arabizi digits are recognized (3 for ع, 7 for ح, 9 for ق), and the letter g gives ڨ, which stands for the Algerian g sound.

How do I type the letter ڨ on an Arabic keyboard?

With the Algeria-Tunisia variant of Phonetic mode, simply type g. On the on-screen keyboard, a long-press on ق also shows ڨ, and the regional letters panel includes it.

Should I use the Kabyle or the Tifinagh keyboard to write Kabyle?

It depends on the script you choose. Kabyle is mostly written in Latin letters with signs such as ɛ and ɣ, so the Kabyle keyboard is the right pick. For a text in Tifinagh characters, use the Tifinagh keyboard.