Translate an Excel file into Arabic

What Arabic changes in a spreadsheet

Arabic runs right to left, and its letters join, changing shape depending on their position in the word. Excel renders this correctly inside a cell, but a few things are worth knowing.

• Mixed text. A cell combining Arabic with a Latin reference, such as an order note containing REF-2024-A, can look reordered: the reference still reads left to right inside a right-to-left sentence. That is normal bidirectional display, not an error.
• Alignment. A cell left-aligned in the source stays left-aligned. An Arabic label pushed against the left edge of a wide column looks off to an Arabic reader; right alignment usually reads more naturally.
• Digits. Depending on the country, 2024 is written in Western Arabic digits or as ٢٠٢٤ in Eastern Arabic digits. Numeric cells are not touched; only digits inside text cells may be affected.
• Fonts. A decorative font without Arabic glyphs falls back to a substitute font on screen. Arial, Calibri and Tahoma include the Arabic alphabet.

Formulas, numbers and dates stay put

Manuce does not touch formulas: a calculated cell keeps its formula and keeps calculating. Numbers, dates and amounts stay exactly as they are, with their number formats.

The direct consequence for Arabic: text written inside a formula is not translated. A cell containing =B2&" items" will still display "12 items" in the source language. This matters more than with most languages, because Arabic has six plural forms (zero, one, two, few, many, other): the word for "item" agrees differently with 1, 2, 5 or 11 units. A formula that appends one fixed word after a number cannot produce correct Arabic.

The cleanest fix is to keep the number and its label apart, for example a "Quantity" column with a translated header, rather than joining them in a formula.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

You get your original .xlsx back with the text replaced in place: column widths, colours, borders, number formats, filters and merged cells are preserved. You also receive a Word version, a PDF and the plain text, handy for an Arabic-speaking reviewer who does not work in Excel.

Not translated:

• sheet tab names ("Q1 Sales" stays as it is);
• cell comments;
• charts, and shapes or text boxes placed on the sheet. If a chart takes its labels from cells, they follow those cells; a chart title typed by hand stays in the source language.

Narrow columns are not widened: a longer Arabic label may be cut off on screen, just as it would be in the original. Because the layout is preserved, the sheet also keeps its original direction. Manuce does not produce sworn or certified translations: if an authority in an Arabic-speaking country requires one, you will need an accredited translator.

Preparing the workbook

• Put everything that needs translating into cells: text in a text box or a comment will not be translated.
• Replace concatenations such as ="Total: "&C5 with a label in a neighbouring cell.
• Keep product codes, batch numbers and IDs that must stay unchanged in numeric cells or clearly identifiable columns.
• Use a font that supports Arabic for text columns.
• Plan to rename the tabs yourself after delivery if the recipient needs to navigate by them.

Checking the Arabic file on delivery

Open the .xlsx and go through it sheet by sheet. Look for truncated text or ### in columns that are too narrow, and widen them. If the workbook is for an Arabic-speaking reader, switch the sheet to right-to-left view in Excel so that column A sits on the right, matching the reading direction. Then check that formulas containing text and chart titles are consistent with the rest, and decide whether digits inside text should follow the recipient country's convention.

In practice

1. Move all text to be translated into cells and separate numbers from their labels.
2. Upload the .xlsx file: an instant quote appears, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free sample paragraph in Arabic at your chosen level, then pay.
4. Download the translated .xlsx, Word version, PDF and plain text from your client area.
5. Widen any clipped columns, switch to right-to-left view if needed and translate tabs and charts.