Numbers in Arabic

The best-known rule of Arabic numbers is that from 3 to 10 the number takes the opposite gender of the noun: ⁨ثَلَاثَة كُتُب⁩ (three books) has ⁨ة⁩ because ⁨كِتَاب⁩ is masculine, and ⁨ثَلَاث سَيَّارَات⁩ (three cars) has none because ⁨سَيَّارَة⁩ is feminine.

One and Two

The numbers 1 and 2 work like adjectives: they come after the noun and agree with it. Usually they are left out, because a singular noun already means one and the dual means two. ⁨وَاحِد⁩ and ⁨اثْنَان⁩ only add weight, as in "just one".

Three to Ten: The Opposite Gender

From 3 to 10 the number comes first and the noun follows in the plural. Look at the singular to decide: if it is masculine, the number takes ⁨ة⁩; if it is feminine, the number has no ⁨ة⁩. So ⁨رِجَال⁩ (men) takes ⁨ثَلَاثَة⁩, because ⁨رَجُل⁩ is masculine.

Eleven to Nineteen

From 11 on, the noun is singular and in the accusative, so it takes the ending ⁨ـًا⁩: ⁨أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كِتَابًا⁩ (eleven books). In 11 and 12 both parts agree with the noun. From 13 to 19 the first part takes the opposite gender, as from 3 to 10, while the second part agrees: ⁨ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَرَ كِتَابًا⁩, ⁨ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ سَيَّارَةً⁩.

Both parts always end in fatha, whatever their role in the sentence, so this course writes them in full. Only the first part of 12 changes: it becomes ⁨اثْنَيْ⁩ or ⁨اثْنَتَيْ⁩ after a preposition or as an object.

Twenty to Ninety-Nine

The tens have one form for both genders: ⁨عِشْرُون⁩, ⁨ثَلَاثُون⁩, ⁨أَرْبَعُون⁩, ⁨خَمْسُون⁩, ⁨سِتُّون⁩, ⁨سَبْعُون⁩, ⁨ثَمَانُون⁩, ⁨تِسْعُون⁩. Like a masculine plural, they change ⁨ـُون⁩ to ⁨ـِين⁩ after a preposition or as an object. From 21 on, the unit comes first, then ⁨وَ⁩ and the tens: ⁨وَاحِد وَعِشْرُون⁩ (21), ⁨خَمْسَة وَأَرْبَعُون⁩ (45). The unit keeps the opposite gender from 3 on, and the noun stays singular with ⁨ـًا⁩.

A Hundred and a Thousand

⁨مِئَة⁩ (100) and ⁨أَلْف⁩ (1000) are followed by a singular noun in the genitive, as in an idafa: ⁨مِئَة كِتَاب⁩ (a hundred books), ⁨أَلْف طَالِب⁩ (a thousand students). ⁨مِئَة⁩ is also spelled ⁨مِائَة⁩, with the same pronunciation. In longer numbers the last part decides the form of the noun: ⁨مِئَة وَعِشْرُون كِتَابًا⁩ (120 books).

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers (first, second, third) are adjectives on the pattern ⁨فَاعِل⁩, built from the same roots. They come after the noun and agree with it in gender and definiteness like any adjective, with no opposite gender. First is irregular: ⁨الْأَوَّل⁩, feminine ⁨الْأُولَى⁩.

Common Mistakes

• Giving the number the same gender as the noun from 3 to 10: say ⁨ثَلَاثَة كُتُب⁩, not ⁨ثَلَاث كُتُب⁩.
• Using a plural noun after 10: say ⁨عِشْرُون طَالِبًا⁩, not ⁨عِشْرُون طُلَّاب⁩.
• Putting ⁨وَاحِد⁩ before the noun: say ⁨كِتَاب وَاحِد⁩, not ⁨وَاحِد كِتَاب⁩.
• Giving ordinals the opposite gender: say ⁨الْبِنْت الثَّالِثَة⁩, not ⁨الْبِنْت الثَّالِث⁩.

Example Sentences