Numbers
Arabic numbers have complex gender agreement, but the basics are manageable.
Cardinal numbers 1–10
Numbers 3–10 have opposite gender agreement (feminine numbers with masculine nouns):
| Number | With masculine | With feminine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | واحد (wāḥid) | واحدة (wāḥida) |
| 2 | اثنان (ithnān) | اثنتان (ithnatān) |
| 3 | ثلاثة (thalātha) | ثلاث (thalāth) |
| 4 | أربعة (arbaʿa) | أربع (arbaʿ) |
| 5 | خمسة (khamsa) | خمس (khams) |
| 6 | ستة (sitta) | ست (sitt) |
| 7 | سبعة (sabʿa) | سبع (sabʿ) |
| 8 | ثمانية (thamāniya) | ثماني (thamānī) |
| 9 | تسعة (tisʿa) | تسع (tisʿ) |
| 10 | عشرة (ʿashara) | عشر (ʿashr) |
11–19
| Number | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | أحد عشر | aḥada ʿashar |
| 12 | اثنا عشر | ithnā ʿashar |
| 13 | ثلاثة عشر | thalāthat ʿashar |
| 20 | عشرون | ʿishrūn |
| 21 | واحد وعشرون | wāḥid wa-ʿishrūn |
| 100 | مائة | miʾa |
| 1000 | ألف | alf |
Eastern Arabic numerals
Arabic also uses Eastern numerals (used in the Middle East):
| Western | Eastern |
|---|---|
| 0 | ٠ |
| 1 | ١ |
| 2 | ٢ |
| 3 | ٣ |
| 4 | ٤ |
| 5 | ٥ |
| 6 | ٦ |
| 7 | ٧ |
| 8 | ٨ |
| 9 | ٩ |
Telling time
- كم الساعة؟ (kam as-sāʿa?) — What time is it?
- الساعة الثالثة (as-sāʿa ath-thālitha) — It's 3 o'clock
- الساعة الخامسة والنصف — It's 5:30
Days of the week
| Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| الأحد (al-aḥad) | Sunday |
| الاثنين (al-ithnayn) | Monday |
| الثلاثاء (ath-thulāthāʾ) | Tuesday |
| الأربعاء (al-arbiʿāʾ) | Wednesday |
| الخميس (al-khamīs) | Thursday |
| الجمعة (al-jumʿa) | Friday |
| السبت (as-sabt) | Saturday |
Months
MSA uses different systems:
- Syrian calendar (شهر كانون الثاني, etc.)
- Egyptian calendar (يناير, فبراير, etc.)
Dates
Day comes before month:
- ١٥ مارس ٢٠٢٤ — March 15, 2024