Numbers in Arabic

Key Takeaways

Arabic uses the Eastern Arabic numerals (١٢٣) primarily.

Arabic numbers 1–10 have masculine and feminine forms that must agree grammatically with the noun being counted.

Two-digit Arabic numbers are pronounced units-first, then tens — so 23 is said “three and twenty,” not “twenty-three.”

Three-digit numbers follow the pattern: hundreds first, then units, then tens — 123 is “hundred, three, and twenty.”

The Hindu-Arabic numeral system, developed by Arab mathematicians, replaced Roman numerals in Europe and enabled modern mathematics.

Arabic numbers confuse most learners at first — not because they are complex, but because they follow rules no one explains clearly. 

The numeral shapes look unfamiliar, the grammar involves gender agreement, and the pronunciation order reverses what English speakers expect.

Arabic numbers are systematic and learnable once you understand three things: the numeral forms themselves, the gender agreement rules for 1–10, and the reversed pronunciation order for multi-digit numbers. 

What Are Arabic Numbers and Which System Do Arabs Actually Use?

Arabic speakers today use the Eastern Arabic numerals (٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩) primarily, it appears widely in the Arab world, Quran printing, and formal Arabic texts. 

Actually, the Western Arabic numerals (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) — which the entire world now uses — also can be used in modern Arabic media, digital content, and education across the region.

The confusion arises because Westerners call 1, 2, 3 “Arabic numerals” while Arabs themselves often call the Eastern forms “Indian numerals” (أرقام هندية), acknowledging their origin in the Indian subcontinent. 

Arab mathematicians transmitted and refined this system into what became the Hindu-Arabic number system — the foundation of all modern mathematics.

How to Write Numbers in Arabic?

Learning to write Eastern Arabic numerals requires recognizing shapes that only partly resemble Western numerals. Several digits — particularly ٤, ٥, and ٦ — look nothing like their Western counterparts and require deliberate memorization. Here are Arabic numbers 1-100:

What Was the Advantage of the Arabic Number System?

The Arabic number system introduced positional notation and the concept of zero as a placeholder — two innovations absent from Roman numerals. This made large calculations, fractions, and algebra possible in ways Roman numerals simply could not support. 

When Europe adopted the Hindu-Arabic system during the 10th–13th centuries, it directly enabled advances in trade, science, and engineering. Arithmetic that previously required an abacus could now be done on paper.

What Was the Effect of the Adoption of the Hindu-Arabic Number System in Europe?

The adoption transformed European mathematics fundamentally. Merchants could calculate profits and interest using written notation. 

Astronomers could record and compute vast numbers. Universities began teaching arithmetic systematically. 

What we recognize today as modern science, engineering, and commerce traces directly to this adoption. The shift from Roman to Hindu-Arabic numerals was one of the most consequential intellectual transfers in human history.

Arabic Numbers 1–10: Forms, Pronunciation, and Gender Rules

Arabic numbers 1–10 are the most important to master because every larger number builds on them. At Buruj Academy, we see the same pattern consistently: students who rush past 1–10 without internalizing gender agreement struggle with every two- and three-digit number afterward.

Number	Eastern Numeral	Masculine Form	Feminine Form	Pronunciation (Masc.)
1	١	وَاحِدٌ	وَاحِدَةٌ	Wāḥid
2	٢	اثْنَانِ	اثْنَتَانِ	Ithnān
3	٣	ثَلَاثَةٌ	ثَلَاثٌ	Thalātha
4	٤	أَرْبَعَةٌ	أَرْبَعٌ	Arba’a
5	٥	خَمْسَةٌ	خَمْسٌ	Khamsa
6	٦	سِتَّةٌ	سِتٌّ	Sitta
7	٧	سَبْعَةٌ	سَبْعٌ	Sab’a
8	٨	ثَمَانِيَةٌ	ثَمَانٍ	Thamāniya
9	٩	تِسْعَةٌ	تِسْعٌ	Tis’a
10	١٠	عَشَرَةٌ	عَشْرٌ	‘Ashara

Numbers 3–10 follow polarity (المخالفة): the masculine form is used with feminine nouns, and the feminine form is used with masculine nouns. This reversal surprises English speakers but follows a consistent grammatical rule well documented in classical Arabic grammar texts. 

Our Arabic grammar course addresses this rule systematically in the context of sentence construction.

For a deeper foundation in Arabic sentence patterns including number-noun agreement, our article on Arabic sentence structure provides accessible groundwork.

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Arabic Numbers 1–20: How to Count in Arabic Beyond Ten

Arabic numbers 11–19 are compound forms that combine units with the word for ten. Their pronunciation is more phonetically demanding than English equivalents — and several have distinct masculine and feminine forms that must be learned as pairs.

Number	Eastern	Arabic	Pronunciation
11	١١	أَحَدَ عَشَرَ	Aḥada ‘ashara
12	١٢	اثْنَا عَشَرَ	Ithnā ‘ashara
13	١٣	ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَرَ	Thalāthata ‘ashara
14	١٤	أَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ	Arba’ata ‘ashara
15	١٥	خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ	Khamsata ‘ashara
16	١٦	سِتَّةَ عَشَرَ	Sittata ‘ashara
17	١٧	سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ	Sab’ata ‘ashara
18	١٨	ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ	Thamāniyata ‘ashara
19	١٩	تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ	Tis’ata ‘ashara
20	٢٠	عِشْرُونَ	‘Ishrūn

Notice that 11 and 12 have their own unique constructions. From 13–19, the pattern is consistent: unit + عَشَرَ. Twenty (عِشْرُونَ) begins a new category — the tens — and pronunciation shifts accordingly.

At Buruj Academy, our Online Arabic Classes cover number pronunciation with audio correction from native-speaker instructors, ensuring students develop accurate phonetic habits from the outset rather than reinforcing mispronunciations through self-study.

Book your FREE Arabic trial online Arabic class at Buruj 

The Reversed Order Rule for Two-Digit Numbers in Arabic Numbers Pronunciation

This is where most learners make consistent errors — and where we want to be precise, because the mistake is predictable and fixable.

In Arabic, two-digit numbers above 20 are pronounced units first, then tens, connected by the word وَ (wa, meaning “and”). The number 35 is not said as “thirty-five” — it is said as خَمْسَةٌ وَثَلَاثُونَ — “five and thirty.”

Tens	Arabic	Pronunciation
20	عِشْرُونَ	‘Ishrūn
30	ثَلَاثُونَ	Thalāthūn
40	أَرْبَعُونَ	Arba’ūn
50	خَمْسُونَ	Khamsūn
60	سِتُّونَ	Sittūn
70	سَبْعُونَ	Sab’ūn
80	ثَمَانُونَ	Thamānūn
90	تِسْعُونَ	Tis’ūn

Practical examples with correct pronunciation:

• 23 → ثَلَاثَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ — “Three and twenty” (NOT “twenty and three”)
• 47 → سَبْعَةٌ وَأَرْبَعُونَ — “Seven and forty”
• 99 → تِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ — “Nine and ninety”

In our sessions with adult learners, the unit-before-tens order initially feels reversed — but it becomes intuitive quickly once students practice ten or fifteen examples aloud with a teacher providing real-time correction. 

Our Arabic pronunciation guide offers additional phonetic guidance for building this accuracy independently.

How to Read Arabic Three-Digit Numbers Correctly?

Three-digit number pronunciation follows a specific order that differs from both English and the two-digit rule. This is the area where we see the most errors — even among intermediate learners — and precise instruction here makes a significant difference.

The correct order for three-digit Arabic numbers is: hundreds → units → tens.

The number 123 is pronounced: مِائَةٌ وَثَلَاثَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ — “one hundred, three, and twenty” — NOT “one hundred and twenty and three.”

How to Say Hundreds in Arabic

Number	Arabic	Pronunciation
100	مِائَةٌ	Mi’a
200	مِئَتَانِ	Mi’atān
300	ثَلَاثُمِائَةٍ	Thalāthu mi’a
400	أَرْبَعُمِائَةٍ	Arba’u mi’a
500	خَمْسُمِائَةٍ	Khamsu mi’a
600	سِتُّمِائَةٍ	Sittu mi’a
700	سَبْعُمِائَةٍ	Sab’u mi’a
800	ثَمَانُمِائَةٍ	Thamānu mi’a
900	تِسْعُمِائَةٍ	Tis’u mi’a

Applied three-digit examples:

• 135 → مِائَةٌ وَخَمْسَةٌ وَثَلَاثُونَ — “hundred, five, and thirty”
• 472 → أَرْبَعُمِائَةٍ وَاثْنَانِ وَسَبْعُونَ — “four hundred, two, and seventy”
• 999 → تِسْعُمِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ — “nine hundred, nine, and ninety”

This structure is consistent across all three-digit numbers without exception. Once the pattern is internalized, four-digit numbers (thousands) follow a similarly logical system.

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Are Arabic Numbers Written Left to Right or Right to Left?

Arabic numbers are written left to right, even though Arabic text reads right to left. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of the Arabic writing system.

When a number appears within an Arabic sentence, the sentence flows right to left, but the number itself is written in its normal left-to-right digit order. Eastern Arabic numerals (١٢٣) follow the same directional convention as Western Arabic numerals (123) — left to right, with the largest digit first.

This directional switch within right-to-left text is handled automatically by Arabic typesetting software and is standard across all Arabic publications. 

For learners building reading skills, our beginners’ guide to Modern Standard Arabic addresses script directionality in practical reading contexts.

Why Are There Numbers in Arabic Words?

Some Arabic words — particularly proper nouns, transliterations, and internet-era writing — contain numerals used as phonetic substitutes for Arabic sounds not representable in the Latin alphabet. This system, called Arabizi or Franco-Arabic, uses numbers because certain Arabic letters have no Latin equivalent.

Number Used	Arabic Letter	Sound Represented
2	ء (Hamza)	Glottal stop
3	ع (Ayn)	Deep pharyngeal voiced sound
7	ح (Haa)	Breathy voiceless pharyngeal
5	خ (Kha)	Velar fricative (like Scottish “loch”)
8	غ (Ghain)	Voiced velar fricative
9	ص (Saad)	Emphatic S

This convention is informal and primarily used in digital messaging, social media, and transliteration contexts. It is not standard in formal Arabic writing, academic texts, or Quranic contexts. Understanding it helps learners read informal Arabic online content without confusion. 

For building proper writing skills, our Arabic writing course teaches standard script without relying on these informal substitutions.

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Original Arabic Numbers: The Historical Context of the Numeral System

The numerals the world uses today — 0 through 9 — are called “Arabic numerals” because Arab mathematicians transmitted them from India to the Western world between the 8th and 13th centuries. Scholars such as Al-Khwarizmi (خوارزمي), whose name gave us the word “algorithm,” formalized the system in Arabic mathematical texts that were later translated into Latin.

The original Arabic numbers in their Eastern form (١ ٢ ٣…) remain visually closer to the Indian Devanagari numerals from which they derive. The Western forms we use globally were adapted through North African Arabic manuscripts reaching Spain and Italy during the medieval period.

This historical transmission represents one of the most significant contributions of classical Islamic civilization to world knowledge — directly connecting Quranic-era scholarship to the foundations of modern science.

Start Learning Arabic Numbers with Buruj Academy’s Expert Instructors

Mastering Arabic numbers — from basic counting to correct three-digit pronunciation — requires structured guidance, not just memorization. Buruj Academy’s Online Arabic Classes provide exactly that through personalized 1-on-1 sessions with Al-Azhar University graduates who have 12+ years of experience teaching non-Arabic speakers globally.

Our Arabic for Beginners course covers number systems, gender agreement, pronunciation, and real reading skills from day one. 

With flexible 24/7 scheduling, real-time correction, and the Buruj Method’s context-before-abstraction approach, students build confident, accurate Arabic from the foundation up.

Book your free trial lesson today and begin learning Arabic numbers — and the entire language — with a qualified instructor who will personalize every session to your level and goals.

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Conclusion

Arabic numbers follow logical, learnable patterns once the underlying rules are clear. The gender agreement in 1–10, the unit-before-tens order in two-digit numbers, and the hundred-unit-tens sequence in three-digit numbers are not arbitrary — they reflect a grammatically consistent system with deep roots in classical Arabic.

Beyond counting, understanding the Arabic number system connects learners to one of history’s most significant intellectual contributions. 

The Hindu-Arabic numerals used worldwide today traveled through Arabic scholarship — a legacy worth knowing as you build your language skills.

Frequently Asked Questions About Numbers in Arabic