Numbers in Arabic language 2023 counting from 0 to infinity
Numbers are an essential part of our life. People use them almost in all aspects of their lives, from business to education to daily life.
The first invention and use of numbers started about 4,000 BC in Sumeria, one of the earliest civilizations. The counting system they used was based on sixty and called “sexagesimal”.
The Hindu-Arabic numerals were invented in India by the Hindus between the 6th and 7th centuries. Later, in the 12th century, they were introduced to Europe through the writings of Middle Eastern mathematicians, like Al-Khwarizmi, who, later, designed the Arabic numbers that are mostly used today. He based their shapes on the number of angels that each one has.
Today we are going to talk about Arabic numbers and how to count in Arabic.
English versus Hindu-Arabic numerals
The Hindu-Arabic numerals are quite different from the ordinary Arabic numerals we use. In the following table you can see a comparison between them:
| Hindu-Arabic numerals | Western-Arabic numerals |
| ٠ | 0 |
| ١ | 1 |
| ٢ | 2 |
| ٣ | 3 |
| ٤ | 4 |
| ٥ | 5 |
| ٦ | 6 |
| ٧ | 7 |
| ٨ | 8 |
| ٩ | 9 |
| ١٠ | 10 |
Hindu numerals are rarely used nowadays in Arab countries, so you do not have to memorize them.
Arabic counting from zero to ten
The most essential part of learning numbers in Arabic is the set of numerals. They make it easier to learn the next numbers.
Let’s start by learning Arabic numbers from 1 to 10, as presented in the table:
| Numeral | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 0 | صفر | sefr |
| 1 | واحد | Wahed |
| 2 | اثنان | Ethnan |
| 3 | ثلاثة | Thalatha |
| 4 | أربعة | Arba’a |
| 5 | خمسة | Khamsa |
| 6 | ستة | Sitta |
| 7 | سبعة | Sab’aa |
| 8 | ثمانبة | Thamanya |
| 9 | تسعة | Tis’aa |
| 10 | عشرة | Ashara |
To learn how to pronounce each numeral in Arabic, you can watch the video below.
- Numerals and numbers in Arabic are related to gender, which means they could be feminine or masculine. Each Arabic numeral between three and ten ends with a “Taa marbuta” تاء مربوطة which means that they are feminine.
- The numeral one in Arabic has no “Taa marbuta” in the end, because it is masculine.
- The numeral two is dual, which we call in Arabic “muthanna” مُثنّى.
Arabic counting from 11 to 19
Numbers from 11 to 19 are slightly similar to the numerals. The next table represents them:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 11 | أحد عشر | Ahada ashar |
| 12 | اثنا عشر | Ethnaa ashar |
| 13 | ثلاثة عشر | Thalathata ashar |
| 14 | أربعة عشر | Arba’ata ashar |
| 15 | خمسة عشر | Khamsata ashar |
| 16 | ستة عشر | Sittata ashar |
| 17 | سبعة عشر | Sab’ata ashar |
| 18 | ثمانية عشر | Thamanyata ashar |
| 19 | تسعة عشر | Tis’ata ashar |
To learn how to pronounce each number in Arabic, you can watch the video below.
- Numbers from 13 to 19 consist of two parts, the first part is the Arabic numeral (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) which is femenine, the second is the word عشر which means ten, and it is masculine.
- The number 11 also consists of two parts, the first part is أحد which is masculine, the second is the word عشر.
- The number 12 consists of two parts, the first part is the word two اثنا which is masculine dual, the second is the word عشر.
Multiples of 10 in Arabic
To compose a multiple of 10, we take the corresponding numeral, remove the “Taa marbuta,” then add the ending “woun”ون, as mentioned in the table:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 20 | عشرون | Eishroun |
| 30 | ثلاثون | Thalathoun |
| 40 | أربعون | Arba’oun |
| 50 | خمسون | Khamsoun |
| 60 | ستون | Sittoun |
| 70 | سبعون | Sab’oun |
| 80 | ثمانون | Thamanoun |
| 90 | تسعون | Tis’oun |
You can watch the video below to learn how to pronounce each number in Arabic.
Hundreds in Arabic
The hundreds between 300 and 900 consist of two parts. The first part is the corresponding masculine numeral, the second is the word مئة, which means hundred.
100 hundred is مئة, and to write 200 we just add ان “an” to it, as you can see in the table:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 100 | مئة | Mi’aa |
| 200 | مئتان | Mi’atan |
| 300 | ثلاث مئة | Thalathu mi’aa |
| 400 | أربع مئة | Arba’u mi’aa |
| 500 | خمس مئة | Khamsu mi’aa |
| 600 | ست مئة | Sittu mi’aa |
| 700 | سبع مئة | Sab’u mi’aa |
| 800 | ثمان مئة | Thamanu mi’aa |
| 900 | تسع مئة | Tis’u mi’aa |
Some of you may ask about 200 why we added “tan” while we’ve said we just add “an” it’s due to the t “taa marbota” (ة) is already there but it pronounced as “ah” and when it’s connected to another letter we pronounce it as “taa” it’s a kind of an advanced level clarification if your a beginner don’t pay a lot of attention about it.
Thousands in Arabic
The thousands consist of two parts. The first part is the corresponding feminine numeral, the second is the word “ألف”, which means thousand, as you can see in the table:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 1000 | ألف | Alf |
| 2000 | ألفان | Alfan |
| 3000 | ثلاثة آلاف | Thalathatu aalaf |
| 4000 | أربعة آلاف | Arba’atu aalaf |
| 5000 | خمسة آلاف | Khamsatu aalaf |
| 6000 | ستة آلاف | Sittatu aalaf |
| 7000 | سبعة آلاف | Sab’atu aalaf |
| 8000 | ثمانية آلاف | Thamaniyatu aalaf |
| 9000 | تسعة آلاف | Tisa’atu aalaf |
You can watch the video below to learn how to pronounce each number in Arabic.
Numbers from 21 to 99
In these numbers, we put together the numerals and multiples of ten that we mentioned above. Still, when we read them, unlikely English, we begin with the ones then continue to tens, putting “و” which means “and” in-between, as you can see in the examples:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 52 | اثنان وخمسون | Eithnan wa khamsun |
| 78 | ثمانية وسبعون | Thamanya wa sab’oun |
| 33 | ثلاثة وثلاثون | Thalatha wa thalathoun |
| 42 | اثنان وأربعون | Eithnan wa arba’oun |
| 99 | تسعة وتسعون | Tis’aa wa tis’oun |
As you see, the idea is very simple. All you need is to practice by mixing the numerals and multiples of ten. always check if you’re doing it right by using the google translater and hearing the right pronunciation for the number you tried to create.
Numbers from 101 to 9999
In these numbers, we put together the numerals, tens, hundreds, and thousands. To read the number, we start from thousands, then continue to hundreds, then ones, and lastly tens, putting “و” which means “and” between each part, as you can see in the examples:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 110 | مئة وعشرة | Mi’aa wa ashara |
| 563 | خمس مئة وثلاثة وستون | Khamsu mi’aa wa thalatha wa sittun |
| 1280 | ألف ومئتان وثمانون | Alf wa mi’atan wa thamanoun |
| 2021 | ألفان وواحد وعشرون | Alfan wa wahed wa oushroun |
| 5608 | خمسة آلاف وست مئة وثمانية | Khamsatu aalaf wa sittumi’a wa thamanya |
| 9125 | تسعة آلاف ومئة وخمسة وعشرون | Tis’atu aalaf wa mi’a wa khamsa wa oushroun |
It may look harder than the numbers from 21 to 99, but still, practice always makes perfect ;).
Million and billion in Arabic
Million in Arabic is the same as English: مليون. However, a billion in Arabic is مليار, and when we read such a number we start with it, then we continue to the less as mentioned above.
The plural of million is ملايين and the plural of billion is مليارات.
Here are some examples:
| Number | Arabic | Pronunciation |
| 1,755,830 | مليون وسبع مئة وخمسة وخمسون ألفاً وثمان مئة وثلاثون | milyun wa sab’umiaya wa khamsa wa khamsuna alfaan wa thamanu mi’aa wa thalathun |
| 5,800,130 | خمسة ملايين وثمان مئة ألف ومئة وثلاثون | khamsatu malayin wa thamanu mi’ati ‘alf wa mi’aa wa thalathwn |
| 1,960,320,000 | مليار وتسع مئة وستون مليوناً وثلاث مئة وعشرون ألفاً | milyar wa tis’u mi’aa wa sittwun mlywnaan wa thalathu mi’aa wa eishrwun alfaan |
| 3,600,123,990 | ثلاثة مليارات وستة ملايين ومئة وثلاثة وعشرون ألفاً وتسع مئة وتسعون | thalathatu milyarat wa sitatu malayin wa mi’aa wa thalatha wa eishruna alfaan wa tis’u mi’aa wa tis’un |
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