Arabic Style Guide

for Community
 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4
Approach ........................................................................................................................ 4
Content Principles ......................................................................................................................................... 4
The Facebook Voice ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Basics .............................................................................................................................. 5
Be Brief ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Consider Your Audience .............................................................................................................................. 5
Make it Readable ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Use Active Voice .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Style................................................................................................................................. 6
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
Capitalization................................................................................................................................................... 9
Consistency....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Contractions ................................................................................................................................................... 10
Gender ............................................................................................................................................................... 10
Numbers (includes currency, dates and times) ............................................................................... 10
Pronouns .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Punctuation .................................................................................................................................................... 12
Spacing ............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Titles and Subtitles ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Tone .................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Other Language Conventions ................................................................................................................. 15
Spelling................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Localization Guidelines............................................................................................17
General Information ................................................................................................................................... 17
Product Names .................................................................................................................................................. 17
User Interface ................................................................................................................................................ 18
Buttons ................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Mobile ................................................................................................................................................................... 18

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Third Party UI ..................................................................................................................................................... 18

Tokens ................................................................................................................................................................... 19
References ...................................................................................................................20
Facebook References .................................................................................................................................. 20
Public References ......................................................................................................................................... 20
Legal Links ....................................................................................................................................................... 20

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Introduction
Created: May 2014

The purpose of this document is to provide the stylistic guidelines for community
translators who contribute to Facebook Arabic localization. The scope of this style
guide includes general Facebook content standards, Arabic language conventions
and localization specific guidelines.

Approach

Content Principles
All Facebook content should follow these 3 simple rules. This keeps people's
experience consistent, builds trust and strengthens our brand.

1. Keep It Simple Use short words and sentences, and keep the number of words
to a minimum.

2. Get to the Point Clearly explain how things work and give people enough
information to make good decisions.

3. Talk Like a Person Keep things friendly, conversational and respectful, like
you’re talking to a neighbor.

The Facebook Voice

The Facebook voice is our personality. Our tone may change in different contexts,
but we always sound like Facebook: simple, straightforward and human.

Simple:

• Stick to common words that people use in everyday speech.

• Be concise. Write short sentences that are easy to understand.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Straightforward:

• Keep terms and messaging consistent across all channels, on and off
Facebook.
• Don't bury information or gloss over it.
• Don't use language that’s vague or possibly misleading.

Human:

• Translate like you’re talking to someone one-on-one. (Read your content

out loud if you’re not sure it sounds natural.)
• Stay neutral. Avoid language that’s opinionated, cutesy, irreverent or
otherwise over the top.
• Don't sound like a robot. Even the smallest bits of interface content should
be approachable.

Basics

Be Brief
Use as few words as possible while still being clear.

• Make sure every word has a job to do

• Replace jargon with everyday terms

Consider Your Audience

Facebook reaches people of all ages and backgrounds in nearly every country
around the world. While most websites have a target demographic, we want to
help people around the world connect each other on Facebook. This means our
audience is truly everyone.

Exceptions: When translating for specific audiences (ex: advertisers, developers,

people in security checkpoints, and so on), you may need to incorporate special
terminology or adjust your tone. However, the basic standards above still apply.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Make it Readable
Readability is a measure of how easy it is to both read words and understand
them. With an audience of diverse ages, cultures and literacy levels, readability
helps make Facebook usable and accessible.

Use Active Voice

In an active sentence, the subject of the sentence is doing something. In a passive
sentence, something is being done to the subject (making the subject passive).

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
Your ad was created (‫أﻧ�� ا��ﻋ��ن )أو إﻋ��ﻧﻚ‬ (‫ﺗﻢ إﻧﺸﺎء ا��ﻋ��ن )أو إﻋ��ﻧﻚ‬
The conversation has been ‫ُﺣﺬﻓﺖ اﻟﻤﺤﺎدﺛﺔ‬ ‫ﺗﻢ ﺣﺬف اﻟﻤﺤﺎدﺛﺔ‬
deleted.

Style

Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word. Abbreviate text if space is an issue
or to make the text easier to read at a glance.

The general rule for abbreviations in Arabic is to either use the first character of
the word (such as “‫ ”ص‬in “‫”ﺻﺒﺎﺣﺎ‬
ً for “AM”), or to connect two characters that are
originally present in the English word which has in fact no translation in Arabic
but a transliteration such as “‫”ﺳﻢ‬for “‫ ”ﺳﻨﺘﻴﻤﺘﺮ‬for “Centimeter”.
Here is a list of the Arabic equivalents to abbreviations that are used in Arabic.

Note: Extensive use of abbreviations is not recommended.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Abbreviation Arabic Equivalent

AM ‫ص‬
PM ‫م‬
C (Celsius) (‫م )درﺟﺔ ﻣﺌﻮﻳﺔ‬
CD ‫ﻗﺮص ﻣﻀﻐﻮط‬
CM ‫ﺳﻢ‬
EB ‫إﻛﺴﺎﺑﺎﻳﺖ‬
GB ‫ﺟﻴﺠﺎﺑﺎﻳﺖ‬
Grms ‫ﺟﺮام‬
Hz ‫ﻫﺮﺗﺰ‬
KB ‫ﻛﻴﻠﻮﺑﺎﻳﺖ‬
KHz ‫ﻛﻴﻠﻮﻫﺮﺗﺰ‬
MB ‫ﻣﻴﺠﺎﺑﺎﻳﺖ‬
MHz ‫ﻣﻴﺠﺎﻫﺮﺗﺰ‬
Mm ‫ﻣﻢ‬
PB ‫ﺑﻴﺘﺎﺑﺎﻳﺖ‬
Pt ‫ﻧﻘﻄﺔ‬

Units of time:

• Examples of abbreviated day and month names (for space restrictions in

software) are:
• Weekdays (3 letters)

Sat ‫ﺳﺒﺖ‬
Sun ‫أﺣﺪ‬
Mon ‫اﺛﻦ‬
Tue ‫ﺛﻠﺚ‬
Wed ‫رﺑﻊ‬
Thu ‫ﺧﻤﺲ‬
Fri ‫ﺟﻤﻊ‬

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

• One Letter Weekdays

S ‫س‬
S ‫ح‬
M ‫ن‬
T ‫ث‬
W ‫ب‬
T ‫خ‬
F ‫ج‬

• Month Names
Jan ‫ﻳﻨﺎ‬
Feb ‫ﻓﺒﺮ‬
Mar ‫ﻣﺎر‬
Apr ‫أﺑﺮ‬
May ‫ﻣﺎي‬
Jun ‫ﻳﻮن‬
Jul ‫ﻳﻮل‬
Aug ‫أﻏﺲ‬
Sep ‫ﺳﺒﺖ‬
Oct ‫أﻛﺖ‬
Nov ‫ﻧﻮف‬
Dec ‫دﻳﺲ‬

Acronyms
Acronyms are abbreviations formed using the first letters of a compound term.
URL, SMS and PC are common acronyms.

Most of the English acronyms are not translated into Arabic. The complete translation
should be used and can be followed by the English acronym in parenthesis if necessary.

Exceptions: Use an acronym only if it helps clarify meaning and there’s no

common word to replace it. Then:

• Define the acronym in parentheses the first time you use it. Ex: CPC ( ‫اﻟﻜﻠﻔﺔ‬
‫)ﺑﺤﺴﺐ ﻋﺪد اﻟﻨﻘﺮات‬

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
PC PC ��‫ﻛﻤﺒﻴﻮﺗﺮ ﺷﺨ‬
URL URL URL ‫ﻋﻨﻮان‬

Capitalization
Since Arabic does not use capitalization, use double quotation to distinguish UI
terms (unless the distinction is made using bold or italicized font.)

Consistency
The general rule is to keep consistency in translating the same terminology with
the same concept.

It is also important to keep consistency among different platforms, like Facebook

for desktop, for iOS, for BlackBerry, for Windows. This way, the user will have a
seamless experience and will not have the impression that the application is
“different” in a mobile environment and in a desktop environment. Therefore, we
should use terminology consistently and try to avoid different structures for the
same messages.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
{number} hours ago ‫{ ﺳﺎﻋﺎت ﻣﻀﺖ‬number} ‫{ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﺎﻋﺎت‬number} ‫ﻣﻨﺬ‬
Post deleted {number} hours {number} ‫ﻣﺎدة ﻣﺤﺬوﻓﺔ ﻣﻨﺬ‬ ‫ﺗﻢ ﺣﺬف اﻟﻤﻨﺸﻮر ﻣﻨﺬ‬
ago .‫ﺳﺎﻋﺎت‬ .‫{ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﺎﻋﺎت‬number}
Are you sure you want to ….? ‫؟‬.......‫ﻫﻞ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺄﻛﻴﺪ‬ ‫؟‬.......‫ﻫﻞ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺄﻛﻴﺪ‬
‫؟‬......‫ﻫﻞ أﻧﺖ ﻣﺘﺄﻛﺪ أﻧﻚ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ‬
‫ﻫﻞ أﻧﺖ ﻣﺘﺄﻛﺪ ﻣﻦ رﻏﺒﺘﻚ‬ Comment: The prompt “are
‫؟‬....‫ﻓﻲ‬ you sure” is pretty common,
‫؟‬....‫ﻫﻞ أﻧﺖ ﻣﺘﺄﻛﺪ ﻣﻦ أﻧﻚ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ‬ so please try to use the
structure consistently.
‫؟‬...‫ﻫﻞ ﺗﺮﻳﺪ ﺑﺎﻟﻔﻌﻞ‬
‫؟‬....‫ﻫﻞ ﺣ ًﻘﺎ‬

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Contractions
Not Applicable

Gender
It is always preferable to use the masculine form in translation, for instance:

In English, it doesn’t matter whether the subject/object is of feminine or

masculine gender, but it does in Arabic. Facebook tool allows us to explode the
gender whenever it is impossible to address the masculine gender only. For
example:

{user} tagged you in a photo.

In this example, the user can be either of masculine and feminine gender.

In such case, click on the link “click here” and select one of the provided variations
that you wish to explode. In the upper example, the subject {user} should be
selected as its translation depends on its gender. After that, you can provide two
translations that Facebook will use depending on the gender.

Some strings in Facebook have gender variations and they usually refer to
masculine, feminine and gender-neutral users. For the latter, “they/their” is used,
which does not mean it refers to plural, but rather a gender-neutral choice where
the gender of the user is not known or specified.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
Click on the picture below. ‫اﺿﻐﻄﻲ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺼﻮرة‬/‫اﺿﻐﻂ‬ .‫اﺿﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺼﻮرة أدﻧﺎه‬
‫أدﻧﺎه‬
{name} changed their {=cover {=cover ‫{ ﺑﺘﻐﻴﻴﺮ‬name} ‫ﻗﺎم‬ {=cover photo} ‫ﺗﻢ ﺗﻐﻴﻴﺮ‬
photo} .‫ﺑﻬﻢ‬/‫ اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺑﻪ‬photo} .{name} ‫اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺑـ‬

Numbers (includes currency, dates and times)

We use numbers in text, when referring to currency, and in time stamps and dates.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Numerals in headlines and text:

Use the numerical form of numbers (ex: 3, 4, and so on), except for the numbers
one and two which are spelled out in most contexts.

• Title Case Headline: 5 Reasons to Try Offers

‫ أﺳﺒﺎب ﻟﺘﺠﺮﺑﺔ اﻟﻌﺮوض‬5 :Ar

• News feed story: Tiffani Brown and 2 other friends like this

‫ أﻋﺠﺐ ﺣﻤﺪي ﻳﺎﺳﻴﻦ وﺻﺪﻳﻘﺎن آﺧﺮان ﺑﻬﺬا‬:Ar

• Subhead: Buy one offer, get one free

.‫ﻣﺠﺎﻧﺎ‬
ً ‫ واﺣﺼﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ا��ﺧﺮ‬،‫ ﺑﺎدر ﺑ��اء ﻋﺮض واﺣﺪ‬:Ar

Please note that the Thousand Separator is not used in Arabic most of the times

• 10
• 100
• 1000
• 10000
• 100000
• 1000000

Currency Use the numerical form:

• Game: 10 credits, a $1 value (‫ دو��ر‬1 ‫ ﺑﻘﻴﻤﺔ‬،‫ ﻧﻘﺎﻃـ‬10 :‫)اﻟﻠﻌﺒﺔ‬

• Ledger/payment flow: $1.00 (‫ دو��ر‬100 :‫ﺗﺪﻓﻖ اﻟﻤﺪﻓﻮﻋﺎت‬/‫)دﻓﺘﺮ ا��ﺳﺘﺎذ‬

Time stamps and dates

Use the numerical form and write the numbers as compactly as possible.
Use ‫م‬/‫ ص‬indicators with space before it.

• 5 minutes ago
• January 9 at 9:16pm

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Exceptions Spell out one and two in text, except when telling time
(ex: 1am or 2am).

If you need to mention currency or time alongside with another type of number,
spell out the other number to make the currency or time more prominent (ex: buy
two deals and save $20). This is a rare case.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
5 minutes ago ‫ﻣﻨﺬ ﺧﻤﺲ دﻗﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ دﻗﺎﺋﻖ‬5 ‫ﻣﻨﺬ‬
January 9 at 9:16pm ‫اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ ﻣﻦ ﻳﻨﺎﻳﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻌﺔ‬ ‫ م‬16 :9 ‫ اﻟﺴﺎﻋﺔ‬،‫ ﻳﻨﺎﻳﺮ‬9
‫ﻣﺴﺎءا‬
ً ‫وﺳﺘﺔ ﻋ�� دﻗﻴﻘﺔ‬

Pronouns
As a general rule in Arabic language, a pronoun may not be mentioned before the
noun to which it refers.

A sentence like, “According to its policies, Facebook doesn't allow…….” should be

translated like “According to Facebook policies, Facebook doesn't allow….”

Punctuation
The general rule is to follow the standard Arabic punctuation rules.

The following table summarizes the use of punctuation marks in Arabic and the
rule governing the spaces that precede or follow them:
Punctuation mark Rule
Comma No space before. Space after.
Full stop No space before. Space after.
Colon No space before. Space after.
Semi-colon No space before. Space after.

Arabic and English share some punctuation marks but not all. Their usage can
differ, too. An important difference is in the use of semicolons (;). In Arabic,
semicolons are used to indicate that what follows the semicolon is explaining,
elaborating, or justifying what precedes it.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Conjunctions and disjunctions in Arabic should not be punctuated the way they
are in English. See table below.

Do not put a space before punctuation marks. Use a single space after
punctuation marks.

Do not put a space after "‫( "و‬and).

In case of writing Arabic and English text in the same sentence, please take care of
using Arabic and English spaces. Wrong usage of spaces negatively affects the
text display.

Note: Dealing with punctuation rules is a little different in UI translations. Make sure to
follow the English source strings to avoid any potential issues. For example, a source
string may not include a period after a full sentence though the general rule is that we
should add a period after a full sentence in Arabic. Some strings are structured this way
on purpose, so please follow the punctuation used in source strings.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
To sign up for a brand new ‫ﻟﻠﺘﺴﺠﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺴﺎب‬ ‫ﻟﻠﺘﺴﺠﻴﻞ ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺴﺎب‬
account, enter your name, ‫ ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ‬،‫ أدﺧﻞ ا��ﺳﻢ‬،‫ﺟﺪﻳﺪ‬ ‫ وﺗﺎرﻳﺦ‬،‫ أدﺧﻞ ا��ﺳﻢ‬،‫ﺟﺪﻳﺪ‬
birthday, gender, and email ‫ ﻋﻨﻮان اﻟﺒﺮﻳﺪ‬،‫ اﻟﺠﻨﺲ‬،‫اﻟﻤﻴ��د‬ ‫ وﻋﻨﻮان اﻟﺒﺮﻳﺪ‬،‫ واﻟﺠﻨﺲ‬،‫اﻟﻤﻴ��د‬
address .‫ا��ﻟﻜﺘﺮوﻧﻲ‬ .‫ا��ﻟﻜﺘﺮوﻧﻲ‬
Saving … ‫ﺟﺎري اﻟﺤﻔﻆ‬ ... ‫ﺟﺎ ٍر اﻟﺤﻔﻆ‬

Spacing
• Please don’t avoid adding space before or after a word in parenthesis.
• Please use Arabic rules mentioned in Punctuation section.
• Double space between words is not allowed in Arabic.

Titles and Subtitles

Titles and subtitles help you organize information, introduce ideas and highlight
key concepts.

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Interface content

Dialogs and pop-ups usually have just one title and subtitle.

Titles

Use the title case. Then:

• Always use the infinitive form in your translation

• Don't put periods at the end of titles
o Exception: Question marks are okay, where appropriate

Subtitles

Always use the infinitive form in your translation

• Exception: Proper nouns (Facebook Pages, Mark Zuckerberg, Terms of

Service)
o Don’t put periods at the end of subtitles
o Exception: Question marks

Example:
English
Creating Custom Audiences
Importing Contacts
Create your custom audience
Error Example Correct Example
.‫ﻗﻢ ﺑﺈﻧﺸﺎء ﺟﻤﺎﻫﻴﺮ ﻣﺨﺼﺼﺔ‬ ‫إﻧﺸﺎء ﺟﻤﺎﻫﻴﺮ ﻣﺨﺼﺼﺔ‬
.‫ﻳﺴﺘﻮرد ﺟﻬﺎت ا��ﺗﺼﺎل‬ ‫اﺳﺘﻴﺮاد ﺟﻬﺎت ا��ﺗﺼﺎل‬
‫أﻧ�� ﺟﻤﻬﻮرك اﻟﻤﺨﺼﺺ‬ ‫إﻧﺸﺎء ﺟﻤﻬﻮرك اﻟﻤﺨﺼﺺ‬

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Tone
• Adapt the tone to the tone of the source text, the tone and style should not
be too formal.
• Translations should be clear, concise and flowing.
• Avoid awkward or unprofessional wording.
• Never translate literally or word-for-word.
• If the English text is unclear, do some research, double-check and don’t
hesitate to ask questions.
• There are tons of English phrases that invoke images in our minds and stir
up emotion. You might not “bat an eyelid” when including phrases like
“Ready, set, go!”, but when translated word-for-word they simply do not
carry the same meaning. Before passing it on to be translated try to replace
them with something more universally understood in the target language.
Doing this will keep the user from “turning a deaf ear” to your translation.
• Avoid long sentences.
• Keep your sentence structure simple.

When translation is not enough, please transcreate in order to include the entire
nuance in the target language and to ensure an appealing content.

Other Language Conventions

Spelling
Hamza

Hamza is one of the most misused letters of Arabic. Please refresh your memory
on its rules. You should know the rules of the "‫ "ﻫﻤﺰة اﻟﻘﻄﻊ‬which is a hamza that
actually appears and is written on the alef such as (‫ )إﺿﺎﻓﺔ‬and "‫ "ﻫﻤﺰة اﻟﻮﺻﻞ‬which
is not written such as, (‫)اﺳﺘﺨﺪام‬. Use of wrong Hamza is considered a language
error (spelling).

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 ‫‪Arabic Style Guide for Community‬‬

‫‪The rule for Hamza usage is as follows:‬‬

‫ھﻤﺰة اﻟﻘطﻊ‬ ‫ھﻤﺰة اﻟوﺼل‬

‫أ�� ع‪ ،‬أ� ِ� ع‪،‬‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﻣﺎ�� اﻟﺮﺑﺎﻋﻲ وأﻣﺮه وﻣﺼﺪره‪:‬‬ ‫ﻣﺎ�� اﻟﺨﻤﺎ�� واﻟﺴﺪا�� وأﻣﺮﻫﻤﺎ‬
‫إ��اع‬ ‫اﺟﺘﻤﻊ‪ ،‬اﺟﺘﻤﺎع‬
‫ِ‬ ‫اﺟﺘﻤﻊ‪،‬‬
‫َ‬ ‫وﻣﺼﺪرﻫﻤﺎ‪:‬‬
‫اﺳﺘﺨﺮج‪ ،‬اﺳﺘﺨ ِﺮج‪ ،‬اﺳﺘﺨﺮاج‬
‫َ‬
‫ﻣﺼﺪر اﻟﺜ��ﺛﻲ‪ :‬أﻟﻢ‪ ،‬أرق‬ ‫أﻣﺮ اﻟﺜ��ﺛﻲ‪ :‬اﻛﺘﺐ‪ ،‬اﻧﻈﺮ‪ ،‬اﻓﺘﺢ‬
‫ﻣﺎ�� اﻟﺜ��ﺛﻲ اﻟﻤﻬﻤﻮز‪ :‬أﺧﺬ‪ ،‬أﺑﻰ‬
‫ﺟﻤﻴﻊ ا��ﺳﻤﺎء ا��ﺧﺮى ﻣﺜﻞ‪:‬‬ ‫ﻓﻲ ا��ﺳﻤﺎء اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻴﺔ‪:‬‬
‫أب‪ ،‬أﺑﻨﺎء‪ ،‬أﺳﻤﺎء‬ ‫اﺳﻢ‪ ،‬اﺑﻦ‪ ،‬اﺑﻨﺔ‪ ،‬اﻣﺮؤ‪ ،‬اﻣﺮأة‬
‫وﻛﺬﻟﻚ ﻣﺜﻨﻰ ﻫﺬه ا��ﺳﻤﺎء واﻟﻤﻨﺴﻮب إﻟﻰ‬
‫ﻛﻠﻤﺔ اﺳﻢ‪:‬‬
‫اﻟﺠﻤﻠﺔ ا��ﺳﻤﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻫﻤﺰة اﻟﻤﻀﺎرﻋﺔ ﺳﻮاء ﻛﺎن أﺻﻞ اﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﺛ��ﺛﻴًﺎ‪،‬‬
‫ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ "أﻛﺘﺐ" أم رﺑﺎﻋﻴًﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ "أﺳﺎﻓﺮ"‪،‬‬
‫أم ﺧﻤﺎﺳﻴًﺎ‪ ،‬ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ "أﺧﺘﺎر"‪ ،‬أم ﺳﺪاﺳﻴًﺎ ﻛﻤﺎ‬
‫ﻓﻲ "أﺳﺘﺤﺴﻦ"‪.‬‬

‫أ‪ -‬ﺗﺠﻨﺐ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﺔ اﻟﻬﻤﺰة ﻓﻮق اﻟﻴﺎء ﻓﻲ اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺎت "��ء‪ ،‬ﻣ��ء" ��ن اﻟﻬﻤﺰة ﻫﻨﺎ ُﺗﻜﺘﺐ ﻣﻨﻔﺮدة ﻋﻠﻰ‬
‫اﻟﺴﻄﺮ‪.‬‬
‫ﺳﺒﻘﺖ اﻟﻬﻤﺰة ﺑﺄﻟﻒ‪ .‬ﻟﺬﻟﻚ ﻧﻘﻮل‪:‬‬‫ب‪ُ -‬ﺗﺤﺬف ا��ﻟﻒ ﻣﻦ آﺧﺮ اﻟﻜ��م إذا ُ‬
‫ﻣﺴﺎء‪... ،‬إﻟﺦ‬
‫ً‬ ‫أﺟﺰاء‪،‬‬
‫ً‬ ‫ﺑﻨﺎء‪،‬‬
‫ً‬
‫وﻳﻔﻀﻞ ﻛﺘﺎﺑﺔ اﻟﻬﻤﺰة ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻮاو‪.‬‬
‫ُ‬ ‫"ﻣﺴﺆول"‬ ‫ﻟﻔﻈﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻜﺘﺎﺑﺔ‬ ‫واﺣﺪ‬ ‫ﺷﻜﻞ‬ ‫اﺳﺘﺨﺪام‬ ‫ﻳﺠﺐ‬ ‫ج‪-‬‬
‫د‪ُ -‬ﺗﺜﺒﺖ ﻳﺎء "ﺛﻤﺎﻧﻲ" وﻧﻈﻴﺮاﺗﻬﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺎت ﻋﻨﺪ ا��ﺿﺎﻓﺔ أﻣﺎ إذا ﻛﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺔ ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﻀﺎﻓﺔ وﻓﻲ‬
‫ﺣﺎﻟﺔ اﻟﺮﻓﻊ أو اﻟﺠﺮ ُﺗﺤﺬف اﻟﻴﺎء‪.‬‬
‫"ﻋﻘﺪ"‬
‫ﻣﺜﻞ‪" :‬ﺗﻢ ﺣﺬف ﺛﻤﺎﻧﻲ ُﻋﻘﺪ"‪ُ :‬ﺛﺒﺘﺖ اﻟﻴﺎء ﻟ��ﺿﺎﻓﺔ إﻟﻰ ﻛﻠﻤﺔ ُ‬
‫ﺛﻮان"‪.‬‬
‫ٍ‬ ‫وﻟﻜﻦ ﻧﻘﻮل "اﻟﺮﺟﺎء ا��ﻧﺘﻈﺎر ﻟﻤﺪة ﺧﻤﺲ‬

‫‪Alif‬‬

‫‪1. Recall that alif al-tafreeq may not be appended to nouns or singular verbs. Thus the‬‬
‫‪”.‬ﻳﺮﺟﻮ إدارﻳﻮ اﻟ��ﻛﺔ ﺗﺤﺴﻦ ا��وﺿﺎع“ ‪”, but not in‬ﻟﻦ ﻳﺮﺳﻠﻮا“ ‪” and‬أرﺳﻠﻮا“ ‪alif is needed in‬‬
‫‪”.‬ﺑﻢ‪ ،‬ﻋﻢ‪ ،‬إ��م“ ‪” is deleted in the genitive form, such as‬ﻣﺎ ا��ﺳﺘﻔﻬﺎﻣﻴﺔ“ ‪2. The alif in‬‬
‫‪3. Do not use yaa’ to express alif maqSoora.‬‬
‫‪”.‬ﻣﺎﺋﺔ“ ‪” not‬ﻣﺌﺔ“ ‪4. Say‬‬

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Diacritics

1. Arabic is known for having 5 shapes ( ْ ّ ِ ُ ◌َ ) of diacritics put in different positions

of the word depending on its grammatical position.

2. Using Shadda is optional, unless it serves to disambiguate.

3. It is recommended to use diacritics at the letter that precedes the last one in a
word that has to have "Tanween" "‫"ﺗﻨﻮﻳﻦ‬. Example: "Always" translate it as (‫)داﺋﻤﺎ‬
ً .

The exception to this rule is when the ending alef is preceded with a lam letter.
This exception is due to the fact that the word looks rather strange to the user
who might not be familiar with this rule. For example, the word "First" should be
translated and written as ً��‫أو‬, not ��ً ‫أو‬.

Localization Guidelines

General Information

Product Names
Product and feature names should be consistently translated. Some product and
feature names are translated and others are used in English based on strategic
decisions. For example, “Messenger” was translated in many languages, but now
changed back to English in all languages. The name "Facebook" should always be
transliterated into Arabic as "‫"ﻓﻴﺲ ﺑﻮك‬, otherwise instructed to be in English
when it comes with product names.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
Facebook Messenger Messenger ‫ ﻣﻦ‬Facebook Facebook Messenger
Facebook Ads Manager ‫ﻣﺪﻳﺮ إﻋ��ن ﻓﻴﺲ ﺑﻮك‬ ‫ﻣﺪﻳﺮ إﻋ��ﻧﺎت ﻓﻴﺲ ﺑﻮك‬
Power Editor ‫ﻣﺤﺮر اﻟﻘﻮة‬ Power Editor

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

User Interface

Buttons
Buttons are one of the main ways people take action on Facebook, so they should
be clear, active and specific.

Buttons usually contain verbs and, less commonly, nouns. Translate buttons
represented by verbs using the infinitive form and buttons represented by nouns
using nouns.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
Delete ‫اﺣﺬف‬ ‫ﺣﺬف‬
Use Selected Photos ‫اﺳﺘﺨﺪم اﻟﺼﻮر اﻟﻤﺤﺪدة‬ ‫اﺳﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﺼﻮر اﻟﻤﺤﺪدة‬

Mobile
Mobile UI localization has more space constraint than regular UI localization.
Mobile strings sometimes come with specific description about the allowed
number of characters. It is important to keep translation within this limit in order
to avoid any truncation issues, e.g.: in SMS-related translations.

If possible, try to put the most important information at the front of the sentence
so that it won’t be buried with other information. However, translations should
not deviate from the English source unless instructed otherwise, since this may
cause accuracy issues.

Third Party UI
If you encounter third party UI terms, please check if they were localized.
For example, please check the existing translations on iPhone if they refer to
iPhone UIs.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

Tokens
UIs often include tokens which are a portion of full sentences and represent the
“bricks” of what will be seen by the users. Note that text in { } are placeholders and
replaced by either a variable or another string. For example, {name} is replaced by
a user name and {count} is replaced by a number. If the placeholder contains the =
sign right after the opening bracket, it means that it will be replaced by exactly
the same text that it contains.

Example:

{user} edited his {=changed relationship status} that you followed.

The {user} token will be replaced by the name of the user, while the {=changed
relationship status} token will be replaced exactly by the words “changed
relationship status”, and this will look like “Jane edited her changed relationship
status that you followed”.

Example:
English Error Example Correct Example
{name} shared a {=link}. .{=link} {name} ‫ﺷﺎرك‬ .{=link} ‫{ ﺑﻤﺸﺎرﻛﺔ‬name} ‫ﻗﺎم‬
OR
.{name} ‫={ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ‬link} ‫ﺗﻤﺖ ﻣﺸﺎرﻛﺔ‬

Note: The error example above demonstrates that the Arabic sentence at the run
time will be grammatically wrong as Link should be in the accusative case.

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 Arabic Style Guide for Community

References

Facebook References
• Glossary in Admin Panel

Public References
These are a few of the generally recommended public references.

• Microsoft Language Portal (https://www.microsoft.com/Language/en-

US/Default.aspx)
• Almaany English Arabic dictionary (http://www.almaany.com)
• OneLook Dictionary (www.onelook.com)

Legal Links
• http://muqtafi.birzeit.edu/
• http://www.mohamoon.net/

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