Tap any word
Every word in the book has its own transliteration and a translation that fits the sentence it is in.
أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا
Read real Arabic. Understand every word.
Maktabati puts classic Arabic books in your pocket. Tap any word for its meaning and pronunciation, see how it is built, and keep it for good with flashcards and quick quizzes.
Download on the App Store
Coming soon to Google Play
Free to download · iPhone with iOS 17 or later · Android coming soon
Try it here
Tap a word, just like in the app.
غَضِبَ
ghaḍiba
became angry
became angry
“Then Ibrahim became angry and took the axe.” From Qaṣaṣ an-Nabiyyīn, Stories of the Prophets.
Everything in one place
A reader, a dictionary and a teacher
Maktabati is built around one idea: you learn Arabic best by reading real Arabic, with help exactly when you need it.
Hear it spoken
Play the pronunciation of a word as you read, so you learn how it sounds as well as what it means.
Full dictionary entries Premium
See a word’s parts, its root, the words that share it, every meaning, and its plural, present tense and other forms.
Flashcards and decks
Save a word with one tap. Sort your words into your own decks and tidy them in bulk.
Quick quizzes
Test yourself on the words you saved, track your accuracy and watch your vocabulary grow.
Focus mode
Choose the apps that eat your time. Earn a minute of them for every minute you read and every quiz answer you get right.
The reader
Turn the pages of a real book
Read the original text with full vowel marks, page by page, right to left. Maktabati remembers where you stopped, so every session starts on the right page.
- Clear Arabic type, with a choice of fonts and text size
- The whole sentence lights up around the word you tap
- A table of contents for every story in the book
The dictionary
See how a word is built
Arabic words grow from roots. Pull up the word panel and Maktabati breaks the word into its parts and shows you the dictionary form behind it.
- Prefixes and suffixes separated, each with its meaning
- The root, the verb form and its pattern
- Every meaning, with notes on how it is used
- The present tense, verbal noun, plural and related words
Flashcards and quizzes
Make every word stick
The words you save while reading become your flashcards. A few minutes of quizzing a day turns them into vocabulary you actually remember.
- Each card keeps its dictionary entry and the book you found it in
- See which words are new and which you have mastered
- Quiz all your words, or just one deck
Focus
Trade scrolling for reading
Pick the apps you want to use less. Maktabati keeps them locked until you have earned the minutes, one minute of reading at a time. It uses Apple’s Screen Time on iPhone and the Accessibility service on Android.
- Earn a minute for every minute you read and every right answer
- Set the most you can save, and clear your minutes whenever you like
- Everything stays on your phone
The library
Start with a classic
Maktabati’s first book is the one generations of students have learned from.
Qaṣaṣ an-Nabiyyīn
Stories of the Prophets, by Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi. Written to teach Arabic to children and beginners through the lives of the Prophets, in simple, fully vowelled prose.
More books are on the way. You can ask for the next one from inside the app.
Questions
Do I need to know Arabic already?
You need to be able to read the Arabic letters, even slowly. The first book is written for beginners, every word has a translation and transliteration, and you can hear words spoken.
Does Maktabati need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for. Your books, flashcards and progress are stored on your phone.
How do I cancel Premium?
Subscriptions are handled by Apple or Google. On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and choose Maktabati. On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions and Subscriptions, and choose Maktabati.
Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date and you won’t be charged again.
I changed phones. How do I get Premium back?
On iPhone, sign in with the same Apple Account and open Maktabati. Open the Premium screen, for example from Upgrade to Premium in Profile, and tap Restore at the top.
On Android, use the same Google Account in the Play Store, then tap Restore Purchases in Profile.
Is it available on Android or iPad?
The Android app is coming soon to Google Play, for phones with Android 7.0 or later. There is no iPad version yet.
More answers on the support page.
Your library is waiting
Download Maktabati and read your first page of real Arabic today.
Download on the App Store
Coming soon to Google Play