Tools that serve Arabic

Tools that serve Arabic in one of its parts rather than teach it: dictionaries and corpora, word-by-word Quran readers, writing, calligraphy, vowelling and typing tools, and aids for memorising and conjugation. Each was checked against its official site or app-store listing.

These are tools, not courses: learners, teachers and researchers use them alongside their study. Anything whose aim is to teach Arabic is under «Apps and websites». Prices are not given — only free or paid.

Know a dictionary or tool for Standard Arabic that is not here? Add it — it is published after review. Add a tool

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Dictionaries and corpora4

Doha Historical Dictionary of Arabic

Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

App and website

Traces each Arabic word from its earliest attestation in inscriptions and texts, with dated meanings, a searchable corpus, and entries that can be read aloud.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic, Classical Arabic
  • Level: Advanced
  • Explained in: Arabic
  • Runs on: iPhone, Android, Web browser
Free Visit site

Riyadh Dictionary of Contemporary Arabic

King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language

App and website

A modern dictionary of contemporary standard Arabic, written for native and non-native readers alike, with examples, synonyms and antonyms, and English equivalents for headwords.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: Intermediate to advanced
  • Explained in: Arabic
  • Runs on: iPhone, Web browser
Free Visit site

Almaany

Almaany.com

App and website

Large multilingual online dictionary: Arabic–Arabic plus Arabic paired with English, French, Spanish, Turkish and more, with example sentences and subject-specific terms.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: All levels
  • Explained in: Arabic, English
  • Runs on: iPhone, Web browser
Free Visit site

Reverso Context — Arabic–English

Reverso

App and website

Shows words and phrases translated inside real bilingual sentences, with flashcards and quizzes built from your own searches.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: Intermediate to advanced
  • Explained in: English
  • Runs on: iPhone, Web browser
Free, with paid options Visit site

Tools for reading and understanding the Quran1

Quran.com — word-by-word reading

Quran Foundation

App and website

A reading tool rather than a course: tap any word to hear it and see its meaning, which makes it a good daily companion for Quranic vocabulary.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Classical Arabic
  • Level: All levels
  • Explained in: English, Arabic, French, Urdu, Indonesian
  • Runs on: iPhone, Android, Web browser
Free Visit site

Writing, calligraphy, vowelling and typing2

Khat — Arabic Handwriting

Badri Badar Alhamdani

App

Teaches everyday Ruq'ah and Naskh handwriting letter by letter, with animated strokes and tracing feedback, then words, sentences and joins; you can also type your own text to practise.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: Beginner to advanced
  • Explained in: Arabic, English
  • Runs on: iPhone, Android
Free, with paid options Visit site

Waw — Arabic calligraphy

Arabic Waw establishment for information technology

App

An iPad-first app for Arabic calligraphy: the history and rules of the scripts, tracing over master calligraphers' strokes, and a daily practice log.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: Beginner to advanced
  • Explained in: Arabic, English
  • Runs on: iPhone
Free, with paid options Visit site

Other study aids1

Anki

Ankitects Pty Ltd and open-source contributors

App and website

A spaced-repetition flashcard program that shows each card just before you would forget it; learners build their own vocabulary decks with audio and images.

  • Kind of Standard Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic
  • Level: All levels
  • Explained in: English
  • Runs on: iPhone, Android, Web browser
Free, with paid options Visit site

Tool names belong to their owners; listing them here is information, not endorsement or partnership.