Arabic Numbers 1 to 10: Words, Numerals and Gender Rules

Arabic numbers 1 to 10 are wahid, ithnan, thalathah, arba'ah, khamsah, sittah, sab'ah, thamaniyah, tis'ah and 'asharah, written ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠. The surprise is gender: from 3 to 10 the number takes the opposite gender to the thing counted, so the Qur'an says "three days" with thalathah but "three nights" with thalath.

This guide is for beginners learning Arabic for the Qur'an who want to know how to count in Arabic properly. It covers the numerals and how to read them, both forms of every number from one to ten, how one and two behave, the opposite-gender rule with examples taken straight from the mushaf, a short look beyond ten, the ordinal numbers, and the mistakes nearly every learner makes on the way.

What are the Arabic numbers 1 to 10?

Each Arabic number from 1 to 10 has two forms, one used with masculine nouns and one with feminine nouns. When you simply count out loud with nothing after the number, use the first column: wahid, ithnan, thalathah, arba'ah and so on. The second column only comes into play when you count something feminine.

Three details catch people out. Ten changes its vowels as well as its ending: 'asharah has a fatha on the shin, while 'ashr has a sukun, and both appear in the Qur'an (2:196 and 89:2). Eight in the feminine column loses its final ya in the plain form (thamanin) but keeps it before a noun (thamaniya mudun, eight cities). And two changes with its case: ithnan as a subject, ithnayn after a verb or a preposition.

How do you write the Arabic numerals?

Arabic numerals in the Arab east are written ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩, and these are the digits you see at the end of every ayah in a Madinah mushaf. Arabs call them arqam hindiyya (Indian numerals), because the system came from India and was spread through Arabic mathematics, including al-Khwarizmi's book on calculating with them. The 0 to 9 that English calls "Arabic numerals" took their shape in North Africa, where they were in use from the 10th century; the Italian Fibonacci met them in Béjaïa, in today's Algeria, and his 13th-century book made them known in Europe.

Although Arabic is written from right to left, numbers with more than one digit are arranged the same way as in English: the lowest digit sits on the right. So ١٠ is ten, ٢٥ is twenty-five and ١١٤ is one hundred and fourteen, the number of surahs in the Qur'an. You read the digits left to right even in the middle of a right-to-left sentence. Persian and Urdu print a few digits differently (for example ۴ for four), so numbers in books from those languages can look slightly different.

How do numbers 1 and 2 work in Arabic?

Numbers 1 and 2 are usually not needed in Arabic, because the noun itself already says how many. A singular noun means one (kitab, a book) and the dual ending means two (kitaban, two books). When wahid or ithnan is used, it comes after the noun, agrees with it in gender, and adds emphasis, as in this ayah:

Look at the two numbers. Ilahayn already means "two gods" through its dual ending, and ithnayn after it drives the point home; it is ithnayn, not ithnan, because the phrase is the object of the verb. Ilahun wahid, "one God", works the same way: the noun first, then wahid agreeing with it. With a feminine noun you would use wahidah and ithnatan instead.

Why do Arabic numbers 3 to 10 take the opposite gender?

Arabic numbers 3 to 10 take the opposite gender to the noun they count: a masculine noun gets the number with ta marbuta, and a feminine noun gets the number without it. Arabic grammar books describe such a number as mukhalif, "differing" from its noun. It feels backwards to English speakers, because ta marbuta usually marks a feminine word, but it is completely regular and the Qur'an is full of it.

The clearest single example is in Surah al-Haqqah, where both forms sit side by side in one breath. The punishment sent on the people of 'Ad lasted seven nights and eight days: nights are feminine, so seven has no ta marbuta; days are masculine, so eight has one.

Learn this ayah and you have the rule for life. Whenever you are unsure, ask yourself: is it like layal (nights) or like ayyam (days)? Two more details from the grammarians matter. First, judge the gender from the singular: rijal (men) is a plural, but its singular rajul is masculine, so "three men" is thalathatu rijal. Second, what counts is the grammatical gender of the word, not its meaning: shakhs (person) is a masculine word, so it takes thalathah even if the people are women.

How do you count things from 3 to 10?

Counting in Arabic from 3 to 10 takes five steps, made in the same order every time. The number comes first, and the noun after it is plural, indefinite and in the genitive case, so it ends in -in or -i (kutubin, layalin).

If case endings are new to you, the short vowels behind them are explained in our guide to the harakat: fatha, kasra, damma and sukun. Numbers are nouns in Arabic grammar, so they behave like every other ism; our introduction to ism, fi'l and harf, the three building blocks of Arabic shows what that means.

What happens after 10?

After 10, the counted noun becomes singular and accusative, and the gender pattern shifts. Eleven and twelve agree with the noun in gender, so twelve springs is ithnata 'ashrata 'aynan (2:60) and twelve months is ithna 'ashara shahran (9:36). From 13 to 19 the first part takes the opposite gender and the second part agrees. Joseph's dream gives the classic example of eleven:

Notice kawkaban: one star, in the accusative, even though there are eleven of them. That is the pattern for every number from 11 to 99, as in thalathina laylatan, thirty nights (7:142). The ayah that gives twelve months (9:36) then says "of these, four are sacred" with arba'ah, ta marbuta and all, because shahr (month) is masculine. Once 1 to 10 are secure, the teens follow quickly.

What are the ordinal numbers in Arabic?

Ordinal numbers in Arabic (first, second, third) are adjectives built on the pattern fa'il from the same roots as the numbers, and unlike 3 to 10 they agree with their noun in gender. Thalith (third) comes from thalathah, rabi' (fourth) from arba'ah. The Qur'an uses them in the account of the people of the cave:

First is the odd one out: awwal and ula do not follow the fa'il pattern. Sixth, sadis, also looks quite different from sittah, so learn it on its own. A neat example of an ordinal next to a cardinal is 36:14, where two messengers were sent and then strengthened "with a third" (bi-thalith).

Common mistakes with Arabic numbers

A five-minute daily drill fixes most of these. Count objects around you in Arabic, three cups, five books, seven doors, and say the full phrase each time. Then open the mushaf, read the ayah numbers on one page out loud, and find any number words in the verses themselves. Numbers in the Qur'an turn up constantly, which is why they belong early in any plan for how much Arabic you need to understand the Qur'an. If you are still learning the letters, start with how to read Arabic: the alphabet for beginners.

Number agreement is one of those rules that is easy to read about and slow to use without hesitation. A teacher can drill it with you in conversation and correct your endings as you go. On My Tijarah you can find an Arabic teacher of your choice for one-to-one lessons that focus on Qur'anic Arabic.