Language/Standard-arabic/Vocabulary/Numbers

Arabic Vocabulary ➡ Numbers

Hello and welcome to our lesson about Arabic numerals!

Whether you're shopping at the market, giving your age, or providing your phone number, having a solid grasp of numbers and the ability to count in Arabic can be incredibly valuable.

Throughout this lesson, we'll be delving into the fundamentals of counting in standard Arabic. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a strong foundation in Arabic numerals and be able to confidently use them in a variety of settings.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Fish and Seafood, Breakfast, Popular Arabic sports & To know.

What are Arabic Numerals?

Arabic numerals are a set of ten digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) that are widely used in the world today to represent numbers in mathematical operations and in everyday life. These numerals originated in India around the 6th or 7th century and were later adopted and refined by Arab mathematicians in the 9th century.

The term "Arabic numerals" is somewhat of a misnomer, as the numerals were not actually invented by Arabs, but rather they were introduced to Europe by Arab scholars during the Middle Ages. The use of Arabic numerals eventually became widespread in Europe, and they replaced the Roman numerals that had been used for centuries.

One of the key features of Arabic numerals is the decimal system, which is based on the idea of using ten digits to represent all numbers. This system makes arithmetic operations much simpler and more efficient than other number systems that have been used in the past.

Today, Arabic numerals are used in virtually all mathematical and scientific calculations, as well as in everyday life for tasks such as telling time, reading street addresses, and tracking financial transactions.

Cardinal Numbers

To learn Arabic numbers and digits, you will first need to know the numbers 0 to 9 by heart.

It is from them that the other numbers of the Arabic numbering are made up!

From 0 to 9

Number	Literary Arabic	Writing	Writing (number)
0	Sifr	صفر	٠
1	Wahid	واحد	١
2	I thnan	إثنان	٢
3	Thalaathah	ثلاثة	٣
4	Arbahah	أربع	٤
5	Khamsah	خمسة	٥
6	Sittah	ستة	٦
7	Sabhah	سبعة	٧
8	Thamaniyah	ثمانية	٨
9	Tishah	تسعة	٩

From 10 to 19

A little comparison with other languages:

• In French, and unlike other languages with fewer exceptions, between the numbers 11 and 19, you will find 6 exceptions. From 11 to 16. Only then will we begin to associate the tens with the final figure.
• In Spanish, you have to wait for the number 16 for that (dieciséis).
• English waits for the number 13 to proceed with the association (thirteen).

The Arabic numbers are a kind of exception, on the 11, but then resume the logic of association of the ten with the unit.

Let’s say it’s easier to learn Arabic numbers than French numbers when it is a foreign language.

Number	Literary Arabic	Writing	Writing (number)
10	Hasharah	عَشَرة	١٠
11	Ahad ’ashar	أحَدَ عَشَر	١١
12	Isna ’ashar	إثنا عَشَر	١٢
13	Salasata ’ashar	ثلاثة عَشَر	١٣
14	Arba’ata ’ashar	أربَعة عَشَر	١٤
15	Hamsata ’ashar	خَمْسة عَشَر	١٥
16	Sittata ’ashar	سِتّة عَشَر	١٦
17	Sab’ata ’ashar	سَبْعة عَشَر	١٧
18	Samaniyata ’ashar	ثَمانية عَشَر	١٨
19	Tis’ata ’ashar	تِسْعة عَشَر	١٩

From 20 to 29

It is from the number 20 that the Arabic numbering completely resumes its logic of association:

Number	Literary Arabic	Writing	Writing (number)
20	’ishroun	عِشْرون	٢٠
21	Wahid wa-’ishroun	وَاحِد وَعِشْرون	٢١
22	Isnan wa-’ishroun	إثنان وَعِشْرون	٢٢
23	Salasah wa-’ishroun	ثلاثة وَعِشْرون	٢٣
24	Arba’ah wa-’ishroun	أربَعة وَعِشْرون	٢٤
25	Hamsah wa-’ishroun	خَمْسة وَعِشْرون	٢٥
26	Sittah wa-’ishroun	سِتّة وَعِشْرون	٢٦
27	Sab’ah wa-’ishroun	سَبْعة وَعِشْرون	٢٧
28	Samaniyah wa-’ishroun	ثَمانية وَعِشْرون	٢٨
29	Tis’ah wa-’ishroun	تِسْعة وَعِشْرون	٢٩

from 30 to 100

It will be relatively easy for you to learn Arabic numbers in terms of tens. Why that ?

Quite simply because if "20" does not look like two and must be learned by heart, this is no longer the case for the next dozen. Thus, from 30 to 90, each ten takes root from 3 to 9:

Number	Literary Arabic	Writing	Writing (number)
Trente	Thalaathoune	ثلاثون	٣٠
Quarante	Arbahoune	أربعون	٤٠
Cinquante	Khamsoune	خمسون	٥٠
Soixante	Sittoune	ستون	٦٠
Soixante-dix	Sabhoune	سبعون	٧٠
Quatre-vingt	Thamaniyoune	ثمانون	٨٠
Quatre-vingt-dix	Tishoune	تسعون	٩٠
Cent	Mia	مئة	١٠٠

From 101 to one bilion

English	Arabic	Pronunciation
one hundred and one	مئة وواحد	mia'a wa wahed
two hundred	مئتان	mia'atan
three hundred	ثلاثمئة	thalathu mia'a
four hundred	اربعمئة	arba'au mia'a
five hundred	خمسمئة	khamsu mia'a
six hundred	ستمئة	sittu mia'a
seven hundred	سبعمئة	saba'u mia'a
eight hundred	ثمانمئة	thamanu mia'a
nine hundred	تسعمئة	tiso'u mia'a
one thousand	ألف	alf
ten thousand	عشرة آلاف	asharatu alaf
one hundred thousand	مئة ألف	mi'at alf
million	مليون	malyon
one bilion	مليار	miliyar

Ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers in Arabic are derived from numbers and they are used as adjectives. Therefore, they need the masculine or feminine form.

From 1st to 10th:

English	Arabic masculine	Pronunciation	Arabic feminine	Pronunciation
First	الأول	Al-Awal	الأولى	Oula
Second	الثاني	A-Thani	الثانية	Thania
Third	الثالث	Thaleth	الثالثة	Thaletha
Fourth	الرابع	Rabe3	الرابعة	Rabe3a
Fifth	الخامس	Khames	الخامسة	Khaamesa
Sixth	السادس	Sadis	السادسة	Sadisa
Seventh	السابع	Sabe3	السابعة	Sabe3a
Eighth	الثامن	Thamen	الثامنة	Thamena
Ninth	التاسع	Tase3	التاسعة	Tase3a
Tenth	العاشر	3acher	العاشرة	achera

Adverbial Numbers

English	Arabic	Pronunciation
once	مرّة	Marrah
twice	مرتين	Marratayn
Three times	ثلاث مرات	Thalath Marrat
Eleven times	إحدى عشرة مرة	ihda ashara marrah
twenty times	عشرون مرة	Oshroon Marrah
Double	الضعف	alda'af
Triple	ثلاثة أضعاف	thalathata ada'af
four fold	أربعة أضعاف	Arba'ata ada'af
Ten fold	عشرة أضعاف	Asharata ada'af
Hundred fold	مئة ضعف	Mia'at da'af

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