In this lesson, we will study the use of cardinal numbers in Arabic in details along with the relevant complex grammatical rules.
Table of Contents
- Arabic Numerals vs. Indic Numerals
- Cardinal Numbers 0 – 10: The Basics
- Numbers 0 – 10: In More Depth
- Cardinal Numbers 11 – 19
- Cardinal Numbers 20 – 99
- Cardinal Numbers 100 – 999
- Cardinal Numbers 1,000 – 999,999
- Millions, Billions, and Trillions
- Level III – Intermediate I (B1)
Arabic Numerals vs. Indic Numerals
There are two numeral systems used in Arabic. Arabic numerals, widely used in European languages, were historically more common in the western part of the Arab world. Arabic numerals have gained wider adoption in the eastern part, which traditionally used Indic numerals—also known as Eastern Arabic numerals.
In Modern Standards Arabic (MSA), cardinal numbers have complex grammatical rules that many speakers often overlook. In regional dialects, these are rarely followed.
Cardinal Numbers 0 – 10: The Basics
Below are the cardinal numbers 0 – 10 in Arabic:
| 0 | ٠ | صِـفْـر | ṣifr |
| 1 | ١ | واحِــد | wāḥid |
| 2 | ٢ | اِثْـنـان / اِثْـنَـيْـن | ithnān / ithnayn |
| 3 | ٣ | ثَـلاثَـة | thalāthah |
| 4 | ٤ | أَرْبَـعَـة | ’arba‘ah |
| 5 | ٥ | خَـمْـسَـة | khamsah |
| 6 | ٦ | سِــتَّــة | sittah |
| 7 | ٧ | سَـبْـعَـة | sab‘ah |
| 8 | ٨ | ثَـمانِـيَـة | thamāniyah |
| 9 | ٩ | تِـسْـعَـة | tis‘ah |
| 10 | ١٠ | عَـشَـرَة | ‘asharah |
Notice that number 2 has two forms: اِثْـنـانِ (ithnān) is used in the nominative, and اِثْـنَـيْـنِ (ithnayn) is used in the accusative and genitive. In most regional dialects, the form اِثْـنَـيْـنِ (ithnayn) is commonly used in all grammatical cases for simplicity.
Numbers 0 – 10: In More Depth
Let us now examine more complex grammatical rules regarding the cardinal numbers 0 – 10 in Arabic.
The cardinal numbers 1 and 2 in Arabic can function as adjectives to emphasize quantity. Number 1 has two forms depending on gender: واحِــد (wāḥid) for masculine and واحِــدَة (wāḥidah) for feminine. On the other hand, number 2 has four forms based on gender and grammatical case:
| Case | masculine | feminine |
| nominative | اِثْـنـانِ ithnān | اِثْـنَـتـانِ ithnatān |
| accusative or genitive | اِثْـنَـيْـنِ ithnayn | اِثْـنَـتَـيْـنِ ithnatayn |
Here are some examples:
| هــذا كِـتـابٌ واحِـدٌ٠ hādhā kitābun wāḥid(un). This is one book. | اِشْـتَـرَيْـتُ سَـيّـارَةً واحِـدَةً٠ ishtaraytu sayyāratan wāḥidah(-tan). I bought one car. |
| هــذانِ كِـتـابـانِ اِثْـنـانِ٠ hādhāni kitābāni –thnān(i). These are two books. | هـاتـانِ سَـيّـارتـانِ اِثْـنَـتـانِ٠ hātāni sayyāratāni –thnatān(i). These (are) two cars. |
| قَــرَأْتُ كِـتـابَـيْـنِ اِثْـنَـيْـنِ٠ qara’tu kitābayni –thnayn(i). I read two books. | اِشْـتَـرَيْـتُ سَـيّـارتَـيْـنِ اِثْـنَـتَـيْـنِ٠ ishtaraytu sayyāratayni –thnatayn(i). I bought two cars. |
Note that because Arabic has a dual form, the use of the number 2 after the noun is solely for emphasis.
In most regional dialects, the forms اِثْـنَـيْـنِ (ithnayn) and اِثْـنَـتَـيْـنِ (ithnatayn) are commonly used for masculine and feminine forms, respectively, in all grammatical cases for simplicity.
When used as a noun, the cardinal number 1 takes two different forms: أَحَــد (’aḥad) for masculine and إِحْــدى (’iḥdā) for feminine. For example:
| حَـضَـرَ أَحَـدُ الـرِّجـال٠ ḥaḍara ’aḥadu -r-rijāl. One of the men showed up. | حَـضَـرَتْ إِحْـدى الـنِّسـاءِ٠ ḥaḍarat ’iḥdā -n-nisā’. One of the women showed up. |
Note that when referring to non-human beings—such as animals, plants, objects, or concepts—in the plural, the feminine singular form إِحْــدى (’iḥdā) is used. For example:
| اِشْـتَـرَيْـتُ إِحْــدى تِـلْـكَ الـسَّـيّـارات٠ ishtaraytu ’iḥdā tilka-s-sayyārāt. I bought one of those cars. | اِشْـتَـرَيْـتُ إِحْــدى تِـلْـكَ الـكُـتُـبِ٠ ishtaraytu ’iḥdā tilka-l-kutub. I bought one of those books. |
The noun form أَحَــد (’aḥad) can also be used to construct the indefinite pronoun لا أَحَــد (lā ’aḥad) ‘no one,’ for example:
| لا أَحَــدَ هُــنـا٠ lā ’aḥad(a) hunā. No one is here. | لا أَحَــدَ يُــريـدُ ذلِـكَ٠ lā ’aḥad(a) yurīdu dhālik. No one wants that. |
Unlike in English, Arabic numbers 3 – 10 are treated as nouns, not adjectives. Grammatically, the noun following a cardinal number from 3 to 10 is considered a مُـضـاف إِلَيْـه (muḍāf ’ilayh) ‘annexer.’
We learned in Level II, Lesson 3 that the ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ generally indicates a feminine noun. In cardinal numbers, however, this rule is counter-intuitive because numbers 3 – 10 use a final ة (tā’ marbūṭah) with masculine nouns but drop the final ة (tā’ marbūṭah) with feminine nouns.
| with masculine nouns | with feminine nouns | ||||
| 3 | ٣ | ثَـلاثَـة | thalāthah | ثَـلاث | thalāth |
| 4 | ٤ | أَرْبَـعَـة | ’arba‘ah | أَرْبَـع | ’arba‘ |
| 5 | ٥ | خَـمْـسَة | khamsah | خَـمْـس | khams |
| 6 | ٦ | سِـتَّــة | sittah | سِـتّ | sitt |
| 7 | ٧ | سَـبْـعَـة | sab‘ah | سَـبْـع | sab‘ |
| 8 | ٨ | ثَـمانِـيَـة | thamāniyah | ثَـمانِ | thamān |
| 9 | ٩ | تِـسْـعَـة | tis‘ah | تِـسْـع | tis‘ |
| 10 | ١٠ | عَـشَـرَة | ‘asharah | عَـشْـر | ‘ashr |
Here are some examples:
| ثَـلاثَـةُ رِجـالٍ thālātha(tu) rijāl(in) three men | ثَـلاثُ نِـسـاءٍ thālāth(u) nisā’(in) three women |
| ثَـمـانِـيَـةُ أَوْلادٍ thamāniya(tu) ’awlād(in) eight boys | ثَـمـانِ بَـنـاتٍ thamān(i) banāt(in) eight girls |
Notice that in the examples above, the noun following the number is مَـجْـرور (majrūr) ‘genitive,’ and is indefinite. Thus, it is marked by a تَـنْـوين كَـسْـر (tanwīn kasr) if the noun is a triptote.
Cardinal Numbers 11 – 19
The numbers 11 – 19 are formed by combining the units (1, 2, 3, …, 9) and the number 10. The units 1 – 9 follow the same gender rules explained previously. The number 10 uses the form عَـشَـرَ (‘ashara) with masculine nouns and the form عَـشْـرَةَ (‘ashrata) with feminine nouns.
The indefinite noun following a number from 11 to 19 is always in the singular form and is مَـنْـصوب (manṣūb) ‘accusative.’ Grammatically, the noun is called تَـمْـيـيـز (tamyīz) ‘specification,’ which is used to specify kind or type. In Arabic, the تَـمْـيـيـز (tamyīz) ‘specification’ is always مَـنْـصوب (manṣūb) ‘accusative.’ We will discuss the تَـمْـيـيـز (tamyīz) ‘specification’ in more detail in Level VI, Lesson 5.
| with masculine nouns | with feminine nouns | ||||
| 11 | ١١ | أَحَـدَ عَـشَـرَ | ’aḥada ‘ashara | إِحْــدى عَـشْـرَة | ’iḥdā ‘ashrata |
| 12 | ١٢ | اِثْـنـا عَـشَـرَ | ithnā ‘ashara | اِثْـنَـتـا عَـشْـرَة | ithnatā ‘ashrata |
| 13 | ١٣ | ثَـلاثَـةَ عَـشَـرَ | thalāthata ‘ashara | ثَـلاثَ عَـشْـرَة | thalātha ‘ashrata |
| 14 | ١٤ | أَرْبَـعَـةَ عَـشَـرَ | ’arba‘ata ‘ashara | أَرْبَـعَ عَـشْـرَة | ’arba‘a ‘ashrata |
| 15 | ١٥ | خَمْـسَةَ عَـشَـرَ | khamsata ‘ashara | خَمْـسَ عَـشْـرَة | khamsa ‘ashrata |
| 16 | ١٦ | سِـتَّــةَ عَـشَـرَ | sittata ‘ashara | سِـتَّ عَـشْـرَة | sitta ‘ashrata |
| 17 | ١٧ | سَـبْـعَةَ عَـشَـرَ | sab‘ata ‘ashara | سَـبْـعَ عَـشْـرَة | sab‘a ‘ashrata |
| 18 | ١٨ | ثَمانِيَـةَ عَـشَـرَ | thamāniyata ‘ashara | ثَـمانِـيَ عَـشْـرَة | thamāniya ‘ashrata |
| 19 | ١٩ | تِـسْـعَةَ عَـشَـرَ | tis‘ata ‘ashara | تِـسْـعَ عَـشْـرَة | tis‘a ‘ashrata |
Here are some examples:
| ثَـلاثَــةَ عَـشَـرَ رَجُــلًا thalāthata ‘ashara rajulan 13 men | ثَـلاثَ عَـشْـرَة اِمْــرَأَةً thalātha ‘ashrata imra’atan 13 women |
| ثَمانِيَـةَ عَـشَـرَ وَلَــدًا thamāniyata ‘ashara waladan 18 boys | ثَـمانِـيَ عَـشْـرَة بِـنْـتًـا thamāniya ‘ashrata bintan 18 girls |
| قَــرَأْتُ اِثْـنَـيْ عَـشَـرَ كِـتـابًا٠ qara’tu ithnay ‘ashara kitāban. I have read 12 books. | هـذِهِ اِثـنَـتـا عَـشْـرَةَ سَـيّـارَةً٠ hādhihi ithnatā ‘ashrata sayyāratan. These (are) 12 cars. |
Note that the numbers 11 – 19 are indeclinable, except for the number 12. The nominative forms of the number 12 are اِثْـنـا عَـشَـرَ (ithnā ‘ashara) for masculine and اِثْـنَـتـا عَـشْـرَة (ithnatā ‘ashrata) for feminine, whereas the accusative and genitive forms are اِثْـنَيْ عَـشَـرَ (ithnay ‘ashara) for masculine and اِثْـنَـتيْ عَـشْـرَة (ithnatay ‘ashrata) for feminine.
Cardinal Numbers 20 – 99
In Arabic, the cardinal numbers of the tens (20, 30, … 90) are considered plural nouns, ending with ـون (-ūn) in the nominative and ـيـن (-īn) in the accusative and genitive.
| 20 | ٢٠ | عِـشْـرونَ / عِـشْـريـنَ | ‘ishrūn / ‘ishrīn |
| 30 | ٣٠ | ثَـلاثـونَ / ثَـلاثـيـنَ | thalāthūn / thalāthīn |
| 40 | ٤٠ | أَرْبَـعـونَ / أَرْبَـعـيـنَ | ’arba‘ūn / ’arba‘īn |
| 50 | ٥٠ | خَـمْـسـونَ / خَـمْـسـيـنَ | khamsūn / khamsīn |
| 60 | ٦٠ | سِـتّـونَ / سِـتّـيـنَ | sittūn / sittīn |
| 70 | ٧٠ | سَـبْـعـونَ / سَـبْـعـيـنَ | sab‘ūn / sab‘īn |
| 80 | ٨٠ | ثَـمـانـونَ / ثَـمـانـيـنَ | thamānūn / thamānīn |
| 90 | ٩٠ | تِـسْـعـونَ / تِـسْـعـيـنَ | tis‘ūn / tis‘īn |
The compound numbers from 20 to 99 are formed by inserting the conjunction و (wa) ‘and’ between the units and tens.
Here are some examples:
| رَأَيْـتُ تِـسْـعَـةً وَتِـسْـعـيـنَ رَجُــلًا٠ ra’aytu tis‘atan wa-tis‘īna rajulan. I saw 99 men. | عِـشْـرونَ اِمْــرَأَةً كـانوا هُـنـا٠ ‘ishrūna -mra’atan kanū hunā. Twenty women were here. |
| سَـبْـعَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعـونَ وَلَــدًا sab‘atun wa-’arba‘ūna waladan Forty-seven boys | فـي الْـفَـصْـلِ ثَـلاثـونَ بِـنْـتًـا٠ fī -l-faṣli thalāthūna bintan. In the classroom, (there are) 30 girls. |
| قَــرَأْتُ خَـمْـسًـا وَعِـشْـريـنَ عِـبَـارَةً٠ qara’tu khamsan wa-‘ishrīna ‘ibāratan. I read 25 phrases. | رَأَيْـتُ إِحْـدى وَثَـمـانـيـنَ سَـيّـارَةً٠ ra’aytu iḥdā wa-thamānīna sayyāratan. I saw 81 cars. |
Note that in Arabic, the units are read before the tens in numbers from 21 to 99, in contrast to English, e.g., سَـبْـعَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعـون (sab‘atun wa-’arba‘ūn) ‘forty-seven.’
The indefinite noun following a number from 20 to 99 is always in the singular form and is مَـنْـصوب (manṣūb) ‘accusative’ because it is considered a تَـمْـيـيـز (tamyīz) ‘specification.’
In spoken Arabic, most people use the accusative/genitive case, regardless of the grammatical case. The nominative case is rarely used in most regional dialects.
Cardinal Numbers 100 – 999
The number hundred in Arabic is مِـئَـة (mi’ah), sometimes written as مـائَـة but pronounced the same as مِـئَـة (mi’ah). The percentage sign % is read as فـي الـمِـئَـة (fī-l-mi’ah) or بِـالـمِـئَـة (bi-l-mi’ah).
Here are some examples:
| مِـئَـةٌ وَتِـسْـعَـةٌ وَخَـمـسـونَ mi’atun wa-tis‘atun wa-khamsūn 159 | مِـئَـةٌ فـي الـمِـئَـة mi’atun fī-l-mi’ah 100% |
| مِـئَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعـونَ وَلَــدًا mi’atun wa-’arba‘ūna waladan 140 boys | مِـئَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعُ طُـلّابٍ mi’atun wa-’arba‘u ṭullāb(in) 104 students |
| خَـمْـسـونَ بِـالْـمِـئَـة khamsūna bi-l-mi’ah 50% | مِـئَـةُ طـالِـبٍ mi’atu ṭālib(in) 100 students |
Notice that the noun following the number مِـئَـة (mi’ah) ‘hundred’ is considered a مُـضـاف إِلَـيْـه (muḍāf ’ilayh) ‘annexer,’ which is in the genitive, e.g., مِـئَـةُ طـالِـبٍ (mi’atu ṭālibin) ‘a hundred students.’
If the number contains units, tens, and hundreds, e.g., 245, the grammatical case of the following noun is determined by the last number read. For example:
| مِـئَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعـونَ وَلَــدًا mi’atun wa ’arba‘ūna waladan 140 boys | مِـئَـةٌ وَأَرْبَـعُ طُـلّابٍ mi’atun wa ’arba‘u ṭullāb(in) 104 students |
Notice that in the first example above, the noun following أَرْبَـعـونَ (’arba‘ūn) ‘forty’ is in the singular and is a تَـمْـيـيـز (tamyīz) ‘specification,’ which is in the accusative.
In the second example, the noun following أَرْبَـع (’arba‘) ‘four’ is in the plural form and is considered a مُـضـاف إِلَيْـه (muḍāf ’ilayh) ‘annexer,’ which is in the genitive.
The number two hundred is مِـئَـتـان (mi’atān) in the nominative and مِـئَـتَـيْـن (mi’atayn) in the accusative and genitive.
The numbers from 300 to 900 are as follows:
| 300 | ٣٠٠ | ثَـلاثُ مِـئَـة | thalāthu-mi’ah |
| 400 | ٤٠٠ | أَرْبَـعُ مِـئَـة | ’arba‘u-mi’ah |
| 500 | ٥٠٠ | خَـمْـسُ مِـئَـة | khamsu-mi’ah |
| 600 | ٦٠٠ | سِـتُّ مِـئَـة | sittu-mi’ah |
| 700 | ٧٠٠ | سَـبْـعُ مِـئَـة | sab‘u-mi’ah |
| 800 | ٨٠٠ | ثَـمـانُ مِـئَـة | thamānu-mi’ah |
| 900 | ٩٠٠ | تـسْـعُ مِـئَـة | tis‘u-mi’ah |
Each of the above numbers is sometimes written as a single word. For example, 300 can be written as ثَـلاثُ مِـئَـة or ثَـلاثُـمِـئَـة, and both are pronounced in the same way, i.e., thalāthu-mi’ah.
Cardinal Numbers 1,000 – 999,999
The word for “a thousand” in Arabic is أَلْـف (’alf). To refer to numbers between three thousand and ten thousand, we use the plural آلاف (’ālāf) instead. For example:
| أَلْـف ’alf 1,000 | ثَـلاثَـةُ آلافٍ thalāthatu ’ālāf(in) 3,000 |
| خَـمْـسَـةُ آلافٍ khamsatu ’ālāf(in) 5,000 | عَـشْـرَةُ آلافٍ ‘ashratu ’ālāf(in) 10,000 |
The dual form of أَلْـف (’alf) ‘a thousand’ is أَلْـفـان (’alfān) ‘two thousand’ in the nominative case and أَلْـفَـيْـن (’alfayn) ‘two thousand’ in the accusative and genitive cases. In a genitive phrase, the final ن (nūn) ‘n’ is dropped. The indefinite noun following a number in thousands is considered a مُـضـاف إِلَيْـه (muḍāf ’ilayh) ‘annexer,’ and is مَـجْـرور (majrūr) ‘genitive.’
Here are some additional examples:
| أَلْـفُ وَلَـدٍ ’alfu walad(in) a thousand boys | أَلْـفـا بِـنْـتٍ ’alfā bint(in). two-thousand girls |
| أَرْبَـعَـةُ آلافِ كِـتـابٍ ’arba‘atu ’ālāfi kitāb(in) four-thousand books | ثَـلاثَـةَ عَـشَـرَ أَلْـفِ سَـيّـارَةٍ thalāthata ‘ashra ’alfi sayyārah 13,000 cars |
| سَـنَـةُ أَلْـفٍ وَتِـسْـعِـمِـئَـةٍ وَخَـمْـسٍ وَأَرْبَـعـيـن sanatu ’alfin wa-tis‘imi’atin wa-khamsin wa-’arba‘īn the year 1945 | |
| سَـنَـةُ أَلْـفٍ وَثَـمـانِ مِـئَـةٍ وَسَـتٍّ وَتِـسْـعـيـن sanatu ’alfin wa-thamāni mi’atin wa-sittin wa-tis‘īn the year 1896 | |
| سَـنَـةُ أَلْـفَـيْـنِ وَخَـمْـسَـة sanatu ’alfayni wa-khamsah the year 2005 | |
Notice that in numbers between 21 and 99, the units are read before the tens. However, for numbers in the hundreds, thousands, and beyond, the order follows the same pattern as in English.
Millions, Billions, and Trillions
The numbers million, billion, and trillion are as follows:
| مِـلْـيـون milyūn million | مِـلْـيـار milyār billion | تِـرِلْـيـون tirilyūn trillion |
The plural forms, used only with 3 – 10 multiples, are as follows:
| مَـلايـيـن malāyīn millions | مِـلْـيـارات milyārāt billions | تِـرِلْـيـونـات tirilyūnāt trillions |
Here are some examples:
| مِـلْـيـون وَمِـئَـتـا أَلْـف milyūn wa-mi’atā ’alf 1,200,000 | مِـلْـيـونـان/مِـلْـيـونَـيْـن milyūnān/milyūnayn 2,000,000 |
| أَرْبَـعَـةُ مَـلايـيـن ’arba‘atu malāyīn 4,000,000 | ثَـلاثَـةَ عَـشَـرَ مِـلْـيـونَ شَـخْـص thalāthata ‘ashara milyūna shakhṣ 13,000,000 persons |
| خَـمْـسـونَ مِـلْـيـارًا khamsūna milyāran 50 billion | سـبْـعَــةُ مِـلْـيـارات sab‘atu milyārāt 7 billion |
Other lessons in Level III: