You don't need to install a Arabic keyboard or change any phone setting to type Arabic on a phone. Open kactyl.com/ in your browser, tap the letters, copy, and paste into any app. But the on-device options are worth understanding too:
Arabic vs “Arabic (PC)”: Which iPhone Layout to Pick
When you add Arabic on iPhone (Settings → General → Keyboard), you get two options. Plain “Arabic” shows every letter at once and suits mobile typing; “Arabic (PC)” mirrors a physical Arabic keyboard and hides some letters behind long-press. Beginners want plain “Arabic.” Either way, harakat (vowel marks) come from long-pressing the key just right of the space bar.
Why the Cursor Jumps in Mixed Arabic-English Text
Editing a message that mixes Arabic (right-to-left) with English or numbers (left-to-right) makes the on-phone cursor appear to leap around — a side effect of bidirectional text, not a fault. Typing the Arabic part fully in the Kactyl editor first, then pasting, avoids the fiddly mobile cursor entirely.
Switching Between Arabic-Indic and Western Numbers
Arabic can be written with Western digits (1, 2, 3) or the Arabic-Indic ones (١، ٢، ٣), and phones vary in which they insert. On the number layer of most Arabic keyboards you can long-press a digit to get the other style. Kactyl lets you pick either, so your phone number or price appears the way your reader expects.
Essential Arabic Phrases to Text From Your Phone
The messages you'll actually send — in Arabic script, with romanization so you can say them too. Tap any of these on the Kactyl Arabic keyboard and paste them into a chat:
| English | Arabic | Romanized |
|---|---|---|
| Good morning | صباح الخير | sabah al-khayr |
| Good night | تصبح على خير | tesbah ala kheir |
| How are you? | كيف حالك؟ | kayfa haluk |
| I'm fine | أنا بخير | ana bikheir |
| Thank you | شكراً | shukran |
| You're welcome | عفواً | afwan |
| See you tomorrow | أراك غداً | araka ghadan |
| I'm on my way | أنا في الطريق | ana fi al-tareeq |
| Call me | اتصل بي | ittasil bi |
| I miss you | اشتقت إليك | ishtaqtu ilayk |
| Happy birthday | عيد ميلاد سعيد | eid milad saeed |
| Congratulations | مبروك | mabrouk |
| Take care | اعتنِ بنفسك | i'tani binafsik |
| What's your name? | ما اسمك؟ | ma ismuk |
| Where are you? | أين أنت؟ | ayna anta |
| I love you | أحبك | uhibbuka |
| Please | من فضلك | min fadlak |
| Sorry | آسف | aasif |
| Welcome | أهلاً وسهلاً | ahlan wa sahlan |
| Good luck | حظاً سعيداً | hazzan saeedan |
The Browser Method (iPhone & Android)
On iPhone open Safari, on Android open Chrome, and go to kactyl.com/. Tap the Arabic letters, tap Copy, then long-press in any app and Paste. On iPhone you can add the page to your Home Screen (share → "Add to Home Screen") to open it like an app.