Beth Mardutho The Syriac Institute

Syriac on Mac

Setting up Syriac on a Mac takes two things: Syriac fonts (so Syriac text displays properly) and a Syriac keyboard (so you can type it). Both are free and take only a few minutes. The steps differ slightly depending on how new your macOS is, so start by checking your version.

Step 1 — Find your macOS version

  1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Choose About This Mac.
  3. Note the version name and number — for example "macOS Sequoia 15.3" or "macOS Big Sur 11.7".

Recent versions, newest first: Tahoe (26) · Sequoia (15) · Sonoma (14) · Ventura (13) · Monterey (12) · Big Sur (11) · Catalina (10.15) and earlier.

Step 2 — Install Syriac fonts (same on every version)

  1. Download the free Meltho Fonts — 22 Unicode Syriac typefaces in Estrangela, Serto, and East Syriac styles (see the Meltho page for details and additional fonts).
  2. Double-click the downloaded zip file to unpack it. You'll get a folder named "melthofonts-1" — open it, then open the "melthofonts-1.21" folder inside it. That inner folder holds the fonts. (The "melthofonts-1.21.msi" file next to it is a Windows installer — Mac users can ignore it.)
  3. In that inner folder, select just the font files — the ones ending in .otf: click the first one, then hold Shift and click the last. (The folder also contains a license file and an old instruction document, "melthoguide.doc", which you don't need.)
  4. Double-click the selected fonts, or drag them into the Font Book app (in Applications). Font Book shows a preview — click Install (older versions say "Install Font").

Note: recent macOS versions (Sonoma and later) already include a basic Syriac font, so Syriac text on the web may display without this step — but the Meltho fonts are still recommended for proper Estrangela, Serto, and East Syriac typography.

Step 3 — Turn on Syriac typing (pick your macOS version)

macOS 13 Ventura or later (Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, Tahoe)

These versions include Syriac keyboards built in — nothing to download.

  1. Click the Apple menu () and choose System Settings.
  2. Click Keyboard in the sidebar.
  3. Under “Text Input”, next to “Input Sources”, click Edit…
  4. Click the + button in the lower-left corner and type “Syriac” in the search box (the keyboards are listed under the Assyrian language).
  5. Choose Syriac – QWERTY (letters arranged by their sound on an English keyboard) or Syriac – Arabic (arranged like an Arabic keyboard), then click Add.

Prefer the classic Beth Mardutho keyboard layout instead? The download in the “Big Sur or earlier” section below works on new versions of macOS too.

macOS 12 Monterey

Monterey also includes Syriac keyboards built in — only the settings app has a different name and layout.

  1. Click the Apple menu () and choose System Preferences.
  2. Click Keyboard, then the Input Sources tab.
  3. Click the + button and type “Syriac” in the search box (listed under the Assyrian language).
  4. Choose Syriac – QWERTY or Syriac – Arabic and click Add.
  5. Tick Show Input menu in menu bar so you can switch languages from the top of your screen.
macOS 11 Big Sur or earlier

These versions have no built-in Syriac keyboard, so install Beth Mardutho’s free layout:

  1. Download the Syriac keyboard layout and double-click the zip to unpack it. You will get a “SyriacKeyboard” folder containing two files: Syriac.keylayout and Syriac.icns.
  2. In the Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder…, type /Library/Keyboard Layouts and press Return.
  3. Drag the two files into that folder (enter your administrator password if asked).
  4. Restart your Mac.
  5. Open System Preferences → Keyboard → Input Sources, click the + button, scroll to the bottom of the language list and click Others, select Syriac JChill, and click Add.
  6. Tick Show Input menu in menu bar so you can switch languages from the top of your screen.

Step 4 — Type some Syriac!

  1. Click the Input menu near the right end of the menu bar (it shows a flag or language symbol) and choose your Syriac keyboard. On newer keyboards you can also press the Globe (🌐)/Fn key to switch input sources.
  2. Open any app that handles text — TextEdit, Pages, or Word — and start typing. Syriac runs right to left, and macOS handles this automatically.
  3. To write in a particular script style, select a Meltho font in your app's font menu — for example Estrangelo Edessa, Serto Jerusalem, or East Syriac Adiabene.

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Contact us and we'll be glad to help.