Arabic Numerals

How to Read Arabic-Script Numbers

Arabic script is written right to left, but Arabic-script numbers keep the familiar decimal place-value order. The highest-value digit is on the left, and the ones place is on the right. That is why 23 becomes ٢٣, not a reversed value. A number such as 100 becomes ١٠٠. This is the same positional logic used by Western Arabic digits: tens are added to the left of ones, hundreds are added to the left of tens, and so on.

Do Arabic Numbers Read Left to Right?

In practical numeric notation, yes: the digit order reads from the most significant digit to the least significant digit, left to right. The surrounding sentence may be right to left, but the number itself keeps its place-value structure. This is important for dates, prices, measurements, tables, invoice numbers, page numbers, and classroom examples. If you see ٢٣, read it as twenty-three.

Arabic Decimal and Thousands Separators

Arabic-script numbers may use Arabic punctuation for numeric formatting. The Arabic decimal separator is ٫, the Arabic thousands separator is ٬, and the Arabic percent sign is ٪. For example, the converter can change 1,234.56 to ١٬٢٣٤٫٥٦. Some real-world text also uses ordinary commas and periods, especially in mixed-language documents.

Western, Eastern Arabic, and Persian Digits

The Western Arabic digit set is 0123456789. The Eastern Arabic or Arabic-Indic set is ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩. Persian and Urdu commonly use extended Arabic-Indic code points shown here as ۰۱۲۳۴۵۶۷۸۹. These systems write the same decimal values, but the character shapes and Unicode code points differ. If you are preparing a table, user interface, worksheet, or export file, keep the digit style consistent with the language and audience.

How the Arabic Numerals System Works

Arabic numerals are positional: a digit changes value according to its place in the number. In 507, the 5 means five hundreds, the 0 marks an empty tens place, and the 7 means seven ones. That same structure works whether the digits are written as 507, ٥٠٧, or ۵۰۷. This is why the page treats Western, Eastern Arabic, and Persian-style digits as a related Arabic numerals family rather than as three unrelated charts.

The system profile is also useful when you compare Arabic numerals with non-positional notation such as Roman numerals. Arabic numerals have a zero symbol and place value, so they scale cleanly for arithmetic, decimals, large numbers, software forms, and spreadsheets. A notation such as Roman numerals can still be useful for dates, names, outlines, and design, but it does not behave like a base-10 positional system.