How to compare two Arabic texts and see what changed
This tool shows the difference between two versions of an Arabic text: what was removed from the first and what was added in the second. Use it to review edits to a contract or an announcement before it goes out, to check that an editor or translator changed only what was agreed, to compare a copied quotation with its source, or to find out why two names that look identical do not match.
The comparison runs character by character. You can ask it to ignore cosmetic differences such as diacritics and tatweel, and neither original changes when you do.
How to use it
- Paste the first version into First text · A and the edited version into Second text · B. If you pasted them the wrong way round, click Swap versions.
- Read the status line above the result: Texts match or Differences found, followed by whether the comparison was exact or used your options.
- In the result, text removed from A is struck through and text added in B is underlined.
- If the differences are only cosmetic, tick what fits under Comparison options only — originals preserved: Ignore common diacritics, Ignore tatweel, Normalize alef variants or Normalize ordinary spaces.
- Copy or download either version with Copy original A, Copy original B, Download A and Download B, or save the Comparison report JSON if you need a full record.
Worked examples from the tool
يبدأ التسجيل يوم الأحد ويستمر أسبوعين.
يبدأ التسجيل يوم الاثنين ويستمر ثلاثة أسابيع.
The texts differ.
Settings: Exact comparison, no options
الْوَقْتُ كَالسَّيْفِ
الوقت كالسيف
The texts match after the comparison options.
الوقت كالسيف الوقت كالسيف
Text as compared
Settings: Ignore common diacritics
تُسلَّم البحوث قبل ١٥ مايو.
تسلم البحوث قبل 15 مايو.
The texts differ.
تسلم البحوث قبل ١٥ مايو. تسلم البحوث قبل 15 مايو.
Text as compared
Settings: Ignore common diacritics
How to read the highlighting
The tool compares characters the way you see them: a letter with its vowel marks counts as one unit, and so does a combined emoji. That is why an edited word can appear in pieces. When أسبوعين becomes أسابيع, the letters both words share stay unmarked and only the rest is highlighted. Read the whole word before you judge the edit.
To see both texts after your comparison options were applied, open Texts used for comparison. It shows compared versions A and B, and you can copy or download compared version B.
When to ignore cosmetic differences
- Ignore common diacritics when you compare vowelled text with an unvowelled copy. Leave it off if the vowels themselves are under review, because it hides the difference between عَلِمَ and عُلِّمَ.
- Normalize alef variants for names written sometimes with a hamza and sometimes without, such as أحمد and احمد.
- Normalize ordinary spaces ignores repeated spaces and spaces at line edges. It does not cover line breaks or non-breaking spaces.
The tool does not ignore ى versus ي, ة versus ه, or Arabic versus Western digits. If you need that, prepare both texts in the Cleaner first, as the search normalization guide explains.
Limits
- Up to 5,000 text units per version. Compare longer texts in sections.
- When there are very many differences or the comparison takes too long, highlighting stops and both versions are shown as they are.
- The comparison is about characters, not meaning: two sentences that say the same thing in different words show as different.
- Invisible characters and non-breaking spaces count as differences even though you cannot see them.
- Only text is compared, not formatting such as bold or colour.
Frequently asked questions
Why does an edited word appear in pieces?
The comparison works character by character. Letters that the old and new word share stay unmarked, so removals and additions show up at separate points inside the word.
The texts look identical but the tool says Differences found. Why?
One of them probably contains a character you cannot see, such as a non-breaking space or a direction mark, or a look-alike letter such as the Persian ی. Paste both into the invisible character inspector to see what is inside.
Do the comparison options change my text?
No. They apply only to the compared versions. Both originals stay exactly as you pasted them, and Copy original A and Copy original B copy them unchanged.
Can I compare two Word files?
Copy the text from each file and paste it into the two boxes. The tool compares text only, so formatting changes and comments do not show up.
Are my texts saved or sent to a server?
No. The comparison runs in your browser, and nothing is kept after you reload the page, so download both texts if you need them later.