Scribba
The first weeks of Arabic are about the script. You learn to write right to left, in a cursive where most letters join, and where each letter changes shape depending on where it sits in a word. Short vowels usually aren't written at all. It's a lot at once, and it's why Arabic notes need more space for writing practice than most language classes.
After the alphabet, a second idea takes over: roots. Most Arabic words are built from a few root consonants, and once you see them, vocabulary starts to organize itself. Good notes are set up for both.
Learn letter forms as a chart
Most Arabic letters have up to four forms: isolated, initial, medial and final. Make one reference chart and keep it for the whole course:
- Write each letter in a row, right to left, in its four forms.
- Put the letter's name and sound at the right edge of the row, where you start reading.
- Mark the six letters that don't connect to the letter after them: ا د ذ ر ز و. They only have two forms, and the letter that follows them starts fresh. Most early spelling mistakes come from forgetting this.
- Group letters by shape. ب ت ث share a body and differ only in their dots, and ن and ي look similar inside a word. Write each family together so you notice that the dots are what tell them apart.
When you write a word, many teachers suggest writing the connected body first, then going back to add dots and vowel marks. It keeps the letters flowing and helps your hand learn the shapes of whole words.
Tip: write new words big at first. Small Arabic handwriting hides the dots and the little "teeth" that separate one letter from the next.
Writing right to left on an iPad
Starting at the right edge feels strange for a week or two, then normal. A few things help:
- Start every line at the right margin, and leave room on the left so you don't squeeze the end of a word.
- Rest your hand on the screen. If you're right-handed, your hand moves across what you just wrote. On paper that smudges ink; on an iPad it doesn't.
- Keep a steady baseline. Arabic letters sit on a line, with some reaching up, like ا and ل, and some dropping below, like ر, و and a final ن. Practicing on lined paper makes the heights consistent.
Write the short vowels while you're learning
Short vowels are marks above or below the letters: fatha, kasra and damma, plus sukun for no vowel and shadda for a doubled consonant. Native texts usually leave them out, but beginners should write them on every new word until the pronunciation is automatic. Try writing them in a second color, so the letters and the vowels stay visually separate and you can later read the same page without them.
Organize vocabulary by root
Most Arabic words grow from a root of three consonants. The root ك ت ب has to do with writing: كتب (kataba, he wrote), كتاب (kitāb, book), كاتب (kātib, writer), مكتب (maktab, office or desk). Once you know the root and a few common patterns, you can often guess the meaning of a new word.
So give each root its own block in your vocabulary notes. Write the root at the top, then every word you learn from it underneath, with its meaning. For nouns, always write the plural too, since many Arabic plurals change the inside of the word instead of adding an ending: كتاب becomes كتب (kutub). Learning the plural with the singular from the start saves a lot of pain later.
Also note which kind of Arabic each word belongs to. Most university courses teach Modern Standard Arabic, and some also teach a spoken dialect. If your class mixes them, mark dialect words so you don't use them in a formal composition.
Hear the sounds English doesn't have
Arabic has sounds that English speakers struggle to hear at first: ح vs. ه, ع, ق, and the emphatic letters ص ض ط ظ. If your professor allows recording, it's worth hearing these again after class. Ask first; recording rules vary by school and professor.
In Scribba, tap the mic and take notes as usual. Every stroke is linked to that moment in the recording. Later, tap a word you wrote to hear your professor say it, slow down the playback, or skip back 15 seconds. Say it out loud right after. See how to record a lecture on iPad.
Setting up Arabic notes in Scribba
Handwriting paper for letter practice. Scribba's Handwriting paper has practice lines: a solid top line, a dashed midline and a colored baseline, in groups. Use the baseline as the line your letters sit on, and the lines above it to keep tall letters consistent. Read more in handwriting practice paper on iPad.
Pens. The fineliner and ballpoint keep dots crisp at small sizes. The fountain and brush pens give thicker and thinner strokes if you're curious about calligraphic styles. Double-tap the pen tool to change thickness and pressure sensitivity.
Two colors. Keep one color for letters and another for short vowels and dots as saved colors on your pen, so switching takes one tap.
Quiz yourself with study tape. Drag study tape over the Arabic side of a vocabulary block, say each word from its meaning, then tap to peek. See study tape on iPad.
Typed flashcards with an Arabic keyboard
An honest limit: Scribba's handwriting recognition doesn't read Arabic. It's built for the Latin alphabet. A handwritten Vocabulary page in Arabic won't become flashcards on its own, and search won't find words you wrote in Arabic. You can write Arabic anywhere on the page; it's just ink.
For flashcards, type them. Add an Arabic keyboard on your iPad in Settings › General › Keyboard › Keyboards › Add New Keyboard. Then in Scribba, create a new deck, tap Add Card, and type a Front and Back, like كتاب on the front and kitāb, book (pl. كتب) on the back. Make some cards in the other direction too, English on the front, since producing a word is harder than recognizing it. Cards come back after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days, and decks export to Quizlet or Anki.
To find pages without handwriting search, name a bookmark for each lesson, like "Lesson 5: root k-t-b," so it appears in the notebook's table of contents.
Transcripts don't work for Arabic either: Scribba transcribes English or Spanish, so a lecture in Arabic won't transcribe well. The Apple Intelligence study tools, which need an iPad that supports Apple Intelligence with it turned on, also work only in English and Spanish. Recording, tapping your ink to replay and changing playback speed work in any language.
Frequently asked questions
Can I write right to left in Scribba?
Yes. Your handwriting is ink, so you can write Arabic from right to left anywhere on the page. Scribba just won't recognize it for search or flashcards.
Can Scribba make flashcards from my handwritten Arabic?
No. Handwriting recognition doesn't read Arabic script. Type your cards with an Arabic keyboard instead; they still get spaced repetition and export to Quizlet or Anki.
Should I write short vowels in my notes?
Yes, while you're learning. Write them on every new word, ideally in a second color, until you can read the word without them.