Numbers in Arabic Text

When I'm reading an Arabic sentence, the words flow right-to-left — but the numbers inside them quietly read left-to-right. I had to slow down and watch this happen. Once I noticed it, I started seeing why dates, phone numbers, and prices break in surprising ways.

Numeral Systems

Designers often face choices between Arabic-Indic numerals (٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩) and Western numerals (0123456789), depending on region, audience, and context. Beyond the numeral style, numbers affect layout details like punctuation, dates, phone numbers, and measurements, where direction, spacing, and alignment can easily break if the system isn't handled carefully.