Arabic Numbers and Counting: Digits, Words and the Reverse-Gender Rule

Numbers in Arabic come with two surprises: two sets of digits in everyday use, and a grammar rule that seems to work backwards.

Two digit systems

The digits used in English (0 to 9) are called Western Arabic numerals, and are common in North Africa. Across the Middle East you will also see the Eastern Arabic numerals:

٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩

They are 0 to 9 in order. Notably, numbers are written left to right even within right-to-left text, so ١٢٣ reads as one hundred twenty-three, not the other way around.

Number words one to ten

• واحد (wahid) — 1
• اثنان (ithnan) — 2
• ثلاثة (thalatha) — 3
• أربعة (arba'a) — 4
• خمسة (khamsa) — 5
• ستة (sitta) — 6
• سبعة (sab'a) — 7
• ثمانية (thamaniya) — 8
• تسعة (tis'a) — 9
• عشرة ('ashara) — 10

Zero is صفر (sifr), which is also the origin of the English words "cipher" and, via Italian, "zero".

The reverse-gender rule

For numbers three through ten, Arabic grammar uses the opposite gender of the noun being counted. A masculine noun takes the feminine-looking form of the number (ending in ة), and a feminine noun takes the shorter, masculine-looking form. For instance, "three books" (masculine noun) is ثلاثة كتب (thalathat kutub), while "three cars" (feminine) is ثلاث سيارات (thalath sayyarat).

Learners usually meet this rule a bit later. The helpful thing is to know it exists so it doesn't feel like an error when you see it.

The noun after the number

Numbers three through ten take a plural noun in the genitive case. Numbers eleven through ninety-nine take a singular noun. This is a genuine difference from English, where all numbers above one are followed by plurals.

Prices and bargaining

In markets, numbers appear constantly. Knowing the words for tens (عشرين 'ishrin, 20; ثلاثين thalathin, 30) and hundreds (مئة mi'a) is useful. Vendors often use dialect forms, so a few listening sessions in the local dialect are worth the effort.

Ordinals

"First" is أول (awwal), "second" is ثاني (thani), "third" is ثالث (thalith), and so on, following a regular pattern.

Practice

1. Write digits from 0 to 9 in the Eastern style.
2. Count objects around you up to ten.
3. Read prices in Arabic on menus and shop signs.
4. Look up any number word in script to check its spelling.

Look up number words in Arabic script with English Arabic Dictionary →