# How to translate an Arabic image or document to English To translate an Arabic image to English, upload the photo, scan or PDF, choose English and download an editable Word file. LoreAI reads the right-to-left Arabic with OCR and writes the English left to right, with tables rebuilt in order. ID numbers and dates come back as printed, and Eastern Arabic numerals become Western digits. ## How an Arabic birth certificate comes back in English A birth certificate in the Egyptian civil registry layout has two tables, three 14-digit national ID numbers, a serial number and the birth date written out in words. This is how each part looks in the Word file. - **ID numbers**: National ID numbers, the serial number and the receipt number come back digit for digit. - **Dates**: The date of birth, the registration date and the issue date keep their values, and the line giving the birth date in words is translated in full. - **Tables**: The child's details and the parents' details arrive as Word tables, with each label next to its value. - **Eastern Arabic numerals**: Figures printed as ٧, ٢٧٥٨ and ٢٥ become 7, 2758 and 25. - **Offices**: قطاع الأحوال المدنية becomes Civil Status Sector, and مكتب صحة مصر الجديدة becomes Heliopolis Health Office. ## Does OCR keep the right-to-left order? Yes. Arabic runs from right to left, and a form often puts the label on the right and the value on its left. LoreAI reads the Arabic in its own order and writes the English left to right, so a row such as الرقم القومي followed by a number becomes National ID Number followed by the same number. Arabic documents often mix scripts on one line, for example Arabic text next to Western digits or a Latin reference code. A 14-digit ID printed in Western digits inside Arabic text keeps its digit order in English. ## How Arabic names, nasab and Hijri dates come through Many Arabic full names are a chain, the person's own name followed by the father's name, the grandfather's name and sometimes a family name. This chain is the nasab. When the child is Karim Ahmed Mahmoud El Sayed and the father is Ahmed Mahmoud El Sayed Abdallah, so the father's line repeats inside the child's name. LoreAI writes each name in English letters in the source order, which keeps that chain readable. Arabic names have several common English spellings, such as Mohamed and Muhammad. The Word file is editable, so you can match every name to the spelling in the person's passport. Documents from Saudi Arabia and some other countries give dates in the Hijri calendar, written with AH, sometimes next to the Gregorian date. LoreAI keeps each date's day, month and year as written, in the calendar the document uses. ## How to translate an Arabic photo or PDF with LoreAI 1. **Scan the page or take a straight photo.** A flat scan reads best. For a photo, lay the page on a table, fill the frame and avoid shadows over the stamps. 2. **Upload it.** Sign in and upload the JPG, PNG or PDF. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages. 3. **Choose English as the target.** Leave the source on Auto-detect. Arabic is recognized from the script. 4. **Download the Word file.** Tables and footers are translated with the rest of the page, in English reading order, and stamps stay in place in the Word file, where they are on the original. ## Free ways to translate an Arabic picture Google Translate's Images tab in the browser translates a picture and lets you copy the translated text or download the translated image[1]. Google says accuracy depends on the clarity of the text and recommends clear images with common fonts[1]. For a sign or a message, that is often all you need. For a certificate or a transcript you have to hand in, a translated picture is hard to edit and hard for a translator to certify. LoreAI returns a Word document with the text and tables as real text. ## Arabic documents for USCIS For USCIS, every document in Arabic comes with a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, plus the translator's statement of competence in Arabic and English[2]. LoreAI is not a certified translation service and signs nothing. A translator who reads Arabic reviews the Word file and signs the certification. [How to get a certified translation](https://www.loreai.org/how-to-get-a-certified-translation) explains the steps, and [USCIS translation requirements](https://www.loreai.org/uscis-translation) covers what the statement says. ## Questions people ask ### Can I translate a photo of an Arabic document into English? Yes. Upload the JPG or PNG and you get an English Word file. Photograph the page flat, straight on and in good light. ### Are Eastern Arabic numerals converted? Yes. Figures printed as ٢٧٥٨ and ٢٥ come back as 2758 and 25 in the English file. ### Can I translate an Arabic PDF to English and edit it? Yes. Scanned and text PDFs both work, and the result is a Word file with the tables rebuilt as Word tables. ### Is the English version enough for USCIS? Only with a translator's certification. USCIS asks for a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a translator competent in both languages[2]. ## Sources 1. [Google Translate Help: Translate images (computer)](https://support.google.com/translate/answer/6142483?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop), accessed November 3, 2026 2. [8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), Translations, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-103/subpart-A/section-103.2), accessed November 3, 2026 By Matt Mountain · Updated November 3, 2026