Arabic–English keyboard switcher for Mac
Typing Arabic and English on the same Mac means the wrong layout catches you mid-sentence. Boomkey converts the text you already typed, so a line of Latin gibberish turns back into Arabic without retyping.
What "wrong layout" looks like in Arabic
Say you want to type سلام but the US layout is still active. Each keystroke lands on the Latin letter that shares the key, and you get this:
You meant
سلام
You got
sghl
Arabic – PC key map
Arabic – PC, the Mac layout that matches the standard Windows Arabic keyboard, maps to a US QWERTY keyboard like this. That pairing is why the gibberish is recoverable rather than lost.
- q
- ض
- w
- ص
- e
- ث
- r
- ق
- t
- ف
- y
- غ
- u
- ع
- i
- ه
- o
- خ
- p
- ح
- [
- ج
- ]
- د
- a
- ش
- s
- س
- d
- ي
- f
- ب
- g
- ل
- h
- ا
- j
- ت
- k
- ن
- l
- م
- ;
- ك
- '
- ط
- z
- ئ
- x
- ء
- c
- ؤ
- v
- ر
- b
- لا
- n
- ى
- m
- ة
- ,
- و
- .
- ز
- /
- ظ
- `
- ذ
How Boomkey fixes it
Select the mangled text and double-tap Shift. Boomkey rewrites it in the layout you actually wanted. It works in both directions: Latin gibberish back to Arabic, and Arabic gibberish back to English.
With auto-correction enabled, you do not even select anything. Type a word, press space, and if it came out in the wrong layout it is rewritten on the spot. Arabic is part of the auto-correction beta, paired with English.
If you never selected text and just noticed the last word is wrong, the hotkey fixes that word alone without touching the rest of the line.
Both Arabic layouts are supported
macOS ships two main Arabic layouts with different letter positions. Arabic – PC matches the Windows keyboard: ر is on V, د on ], and the B key types لا in one stroke. Apple's own "Arabic" layout puts ر on N, د on V and ز on B, and lam-alef is typed as two letters.
Auto-correction and the hotkey work with whichever one you have installed, and لا comes out right on both.
Works with your other layouts too
The conversion hotkey is not limited to Arabic and English. It works between any two alphabetic layouts installed on your Mac, including Arabic – QWERTY, Persian, and Urdu. Auto-correction on space runs for one chosen pair at a time.
You can also pin a layout per app, so your terminal stays on English while a document opens in Arabic, and keep a list of words Boomkey should never touch.
Frequently asked
I typed English on an Arabic keyboard — can Boomkey fix that?
Yes, it works in both directions. Typing "hello" with an Arabic layout active produces اثممخ; select it and double-tap Shift and you get "hello" back.
Which Arabic layouts are supported?
Auto-correction on space works with Apple's Arabic layout and Arabic – PC. The double-Shift hotkey converts between any two installed layouts, so Arabic – QWERTY, Arabic – AZERTY, and Arabic – 123 work with it too.
Does auto-correction on space support Arabic?
Yes, Arabic is in the auto-correction beta and pairs with English. It recognises Modern Standard Arabic and common words from everyday Levantine and Gulf Arabic. Auto-correction runs for one Latin plus one non-Latin layout pair at a time, chosen in Settings.
Does my typing get sent anywhere?
No. Everything is processed locally on your Mac, and the typing buffer only holds the current word before being cleared.