Watch: Type Hebrew that reads right to left
Pick a font that supports Hebrew, then use the right-to-left button so every line reads correctly.
⏱ 1:20 · real Canva, step by step See all videos →In this chapter
You'll need
- Your Canva account (from Chapter 1)
- A Hebrew keyboard turned on in your computer's settings
- Optional: a Hebrew worksheet or PDF to practise the bonus trick
Your goal: move between English and Hebrew in Canva as easily as you do in your classroom.
Switch back to English
Same path, now in Hebrew. Select your profile picture, then:
החשבון שלך→הפרופיל שלך→שפה→English
The Hebrew labels may differ slightly from these. Look for the same places: your profile, your account, and the language dropdown. Canva's own guide: Language settings.
Typing Hebrew in your designs
Good news: you don't need Hebrew menus to type in Hebrew. Simply switch your computer's keyboard to Hebrew and type in any text box. For results that look right:
- Choose a font that supports Hebrew. If your letters appear as empty boxes, or suddenly change style, that font doesn't include Hebrew. Pick another.
- Align Hebrew text to the right using the alignment button on the toolbar.
- Set the text direction to right-to-left. Select the text box, then find the text direction button (right-to-left / left-to-right) in the text toolbar. Depending on your version, it sits next to the alignment button or under the ••• More menu. It's there even when Canva is in English, and it keeps punctuation at the correct end of a Hebrew line.
- Keep languages in separate text boxes. Mixing English and Hebrew in one line can shuffle the word order and punctuation.
The Hebrew PDF trick
The problem: you upload a PDF or Word file that contains Hebrew, especially with nikud, and Canva brings it in scrambled. Letters come out reversed, nikud lands under the wrong letter, and fixing it by hand is painful. Here is the way around it.
- Turn each page into an image. Export or save every page of the original file as a high-resolution image (PNG or JPEG, about 300 dpi). Most PDF readers offer Export or Save as image; if you can't do it yourself, ask whoever sent the file for page images.
- Make each image a page background. Upload the images to Canva, drag one onto each page, then right-click it and choose Set image as background (or stretch it to fill the page).
- Add new text on top. Type any new or editable text in Canva's own text boxes, using a Hebrew-supporting font, aligned right and set to right-to-left.
- Change existing words. Cover the old words with a shape in the background colour, then type the new text over it.
Why this works: the original page stays pixel-perfect, nikud and all, because it's now a picture. Canva only has to handle the new text you type.
Translating a whole design? Canva's Translate app (under Apps) has a setting called Mirror page to match text direction, which flips your layout so it reads naturally from right to left.
A Hebrew round trip
Use the welcome sign you made in Chapter 1, or any design you like.
- Switch Canva's menus to Hebrew.
- Find your design again in your projects (the same place in the side menu, now labelled in Hebrew) and open it.
- Add a new text box and type a short Hebrew greeting, such as ברוכות הבאות!
- Choose a font that supports Hebrew, align the text to the right and set the direction to right-to-left.
- Switch Canva back to English. If you can do all that, you truly know your way around.
By the end of this chapter you can…
🎉 Wonderful! You've completed Chapter 2.
Stuck on something?
Hebrew in Canva has a few quirks. If something looks scrambled, send me a screenshot.