Eastern Arabic numerals
The digits ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩ are the ones most Arabic readers in Egypt, the Gulf and the Levant grow up with. They are the same ten-digit place-value system as 0 to 9 in different shapes. This is the one page on the site that sets them out in full.
Updated 8 October 2026
The two sets, digit by digit
| 0 to 9 | Eastern Arabic | Persian and Urdu | Code point | The word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ٠ | ۰ | U+0660 | صفر |
| 1 | ١ | ۱ | U+0661 | واحد |
| 2 | ٢ | ۲ | U+0662 | اثنان |
| 3 | ٣ | ۳ | U+0663 | ثلاثة |
| 4 | ٤ | ۴ | U+0664 | أربعة |
| 5 | ٥ | ۵ | U+0665 | خمسة |
| 6 | ٦ | ۶ | U+0666 | ستة |
| 7 | ٧ | ۷ | U+0667 | سبعة |
| 8 | ٨ | ۸ | U+0668 | ثمانية |
| 9 | ٩ | ۹ | U+0669 | تسعة |
The Persian and Urdu set (Unicode calls it Extended Arabic-Indic, U+06F0 to U+06F9) differs in the shapes of 4, 5 and 6. Text should use one set or the other: a 4 typed from a Persian keyboard is a different character from the Arabic one, even where the two look alike in a given font.
Left to right inside right to left
An Arabic sentence runs from the right, but the number in it runs from the left. Twenty-five is ٢٥, two then five, while the words say خمسة وعشرون, five then twenty. A pupil reading the words and writing the digits has to reverse the order in their head, which is why mirror pairs such as 25 and 52 appear on this site’s worksheets.
Larger numbers can carry the Arabic thousands separator ٬ and decimal separator ٫: ١٢٬٥٠٠٫٧٥ is 12,500.75. In practice many publications use a comma and a point instead.
Convert
| Western (ASCII) digits | 2026 |
| Eastern Arabic (U+0660 to U+0669) | ٢٠٢٦ |
| Persian and Urdu (U+06F0 to U+06F9) | ۲۰۲۶ |
Where the shapes come from
Both sets descend from the Indian digits that Arabic mathematics adopted in the 8th and 9th centuries. The eastern Arab world kept one family of shapes; the Maghreb and al-Andalus used another, the ghubar forms, which passed into Europe and became 0 to 9. The longer history is on Arabic numerals.
Questions
Which countries use Eastern Arabic numerals?
They are the everyday digits in Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, on signs, number plates, prices and newspapers, usually alongside 0 to 9. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia use 0 to 9. Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan use the Persian and Urdu variants.
Are Eastern Arabic numbers written right to left?
No. The words of an Arabic sentence run right to left, but a number inside it is written with its largest place on the left, the same as in English: twenty-five is ٢٥, two then five. Software that follows the Unicode bidirectional algorithm keeps the digits in that order inside Arabic text.
How do I type Eastern Arabic digits?
With an Arabic keyboard layout the number row types them, depending on the layout and settings. They can also be entered by code point: U+0660 for ٠ to U+0669 for ٩. Phones with Arabic as a keyboard language offer them on the number pad. The converter on this page turns any digits into both sets for copying.
Do the worksheets on this site accept Eastern Arabic digits?
Yes. The sheets print figures as 0 to 9, and the answer key note tells the teacher to accept the same number written in Eastern Arabic digits, for example ٤٥ for 45.