 | This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Arabic words on Wikipedia should be represented by either a common English translation, a common transcription, or a basic transcription in that order of decreasing preference. The strict transliteration should be used only sparingly for etymology. |
This page proposes a guideline regarding the use of Arabic words on the English Wikipedia.
On the English Wikipedia, Arabic is rendered into Latin script according to one of four methods in order of decreasing preference:
- Common English translation
- Common transcription
- Basic transcription
- Strict transliteration
The transliteration of Arabic used by Wikipedia is based on the ALA-LC romanization method, with a few simple changes that make it easier to read and manage in compliance with the main Manual of Style. The strict transliteration uses accents, underscores, and underdots, and is only used for etymology, usually alongside the original Arabic. All other cases of Arabic script romanization will use the same standard, but without accents, underscores, and underdots. Some exceptions to this rule may apply.