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Paste existing Arabic above, click just after a letter, then click a mark. The Harakat rows come first; letter keys are below them if you need to type.
What each mark means
- Fatha (َ) — a short "a" sound.
- Kasra (ِ) — a short "i" sound.
- Damma (ُ) — a short "u" sound.
- Sukun (ْ) — marks the absence of a vowel.
- Shadda (ّ) — doubles the consonant it sits on.
- Fathatan / Kasratan / Dammatan (ً ٍ ٌ) — the "Tanwin" endings, adding an -an/-in/-un sound, most often on indefinite nouns.
- Dagger Alif (ٰ) — a small superscript alif marking a long "a" sound that isn't written as a full letter.
- Maddah (ٓ) — an elongation mark, most commonly seen over alif.
A fully vocalized example: مُحَمَّد uses Damma, Fatha, and a Shadda+Fatha combination together on one word. Try building it yourself above using the letter keys and the diacritic buttons.
When you actually need diacritics
Newspapers, websites and everyday messages are written without Harakat; fluent readers supply the vowels from context. Marks are added where a misreading matters: Qur'anic text, children's books, language-learning material, poetry, and names or foreign words a reader may not recognise.
For design work the common cases are a single ambiguous word (a personal name on an invitation, a brand name) and full vocalisation of a verse or phrase for calligraphic effect. If you are setting a verse, copy the vocalised text from a verified source rather than adding marks by ear.
Order matters when stacking marks
For a doubled consonant with a vowel, add Shadda first, then the vowel — or use the combined Shadda + Harakat buttons above, which insert both in the right order. Fatha and Damma sit above the Shadda; Kasra is drawn below the Shadda or below the letter, depending on the font.
Not every font draws marks well
Display and Kufi-style fonts often have limited or tightly spaced diacritics. If marks collide or disappear in your design, switch to a Naskh family such as Amiri or Scheherazade New, which are built for fully vocalised text.
Want the full writing environment with undo/redo and download? Use Arabic Writing Online. Just need the letters without diacritics? See Arabic Keyboard.
Frequently asked questions
What are Harakat (Arabic diacritics)?
Harakat are the small marks placed above or below Arabic letters to show short vowel sounds and other pronunciation details — Fatha (a), Kasra (i), Damma (u), Sukun (no vowel), Shadda (doubled consonant), and Tanwin (the -an/-in/-un endings), among others. Everyday written Arabic usually omits them, the way English doesn't mark stress.
How do I add a diacritic to a specific letter?
Place your cursor right after the letter, then click the diacritic you want. It's inserted at that exact position, attached to that letter, not appended to the end of your text.
How do I add Shadda with a vowel mark together?
Use one of the Shadda + Harakat combination buttons — Shadda+Fatha, Shadda+Kasra, Shadda+Damma, and their Tanwin forms — to insert both marks on a letter in one click.
What is Tanwin?
Tanwin is the doubled version of a vowel mark (Fathatan, Kasratan, Dammatan) that adds an "n" sound to the end of a word, most often marking an indefinite noun in Arabic grammar.
Do I need diacritics for a tattoo or logo?
Usually not. Tattoos and logos are normally set without marks, the way everyday Arabic is written; add them only where a name or word could otherwise be misread. Our Arabic calligraphy tattoo guide covers what to check before you commit to a design.
Why do my marks overlap in some fonts?
Diacritic support varies from font to font. Many display and Kufi-style fonts include only basic marks with tight spacing, so stacked marks can collide or disappear, while Naskh fonts are drawn for fully vocalised text — compare them on the Naskh styles page.
Can I remove all diacritics from text?
Yes. Paste the text into the box above and click Remove all diacritics: every Harakat mark (including Shadda, Sukun, Tanwin and the dagger alif) is stripped and the letters themselves are left unchanged.