Arabic to Latin transliteration (simple ALA-LC)
It applies the ALA-LC Arabic table with the dots and macrons removed, which suits names and titles inside plain English text.
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How to use it
- Enter text.
- The result appears straight away and updates as you edit.
- Copy the result, or copy a link that keeps the same values to share it.
How it is calculated
ث=th, ج=j, ح=h, خ=kh, ذ=dh, ش=sh, ص=s, ض=d, ط=t, ظ=z, ع=ʻ, غ=gh, ق=q, ء=ʼ. The article is al- with no assimilation. Vowels a, i, u; long vowels as one letter; ة is ah; shadda doubles the letter.
Example
Result: Latin text: madrasah ʻarabiyah.
مَدْرَسَة عَرَبِيَّة
madrasah ʻarabiyah
Limits and caveats
- Without vowel marks only the consonants appear, so «محمد» gives mhmd. Vowel the text for a full result.
- It does not capitalise proper names or apply every liaison and case-ending rule.
Questions about this tool
What is ALA-LC?
The romanization system of the Library of Congress and the American Library Association for writing Arabic in Latin letters.
Why is the l not assimilated in al-shams?
ALA-LC always writes the article as al-, so «الشمس» is al-shams rather than ash-shams.
How does it differ from DIN 31635?
DIN uses dotted letters such as ḥ and š and assimilates the article before sun letters. It has its own tool on this site.