Arabic Numbers 1-100: Reading, Writing, and Pronouncing
Numbers are the most immediately useful thing you can learn in Arabic. Prices, phone numbers, addresses, bus routes, times — you will meet numbers within minutes of any real interaction, long before you need full sentences. They are also beautifully systematic: once you know 1-10 and two simple patterns, you can build every number to 99.
There are actually two things to learn: the numerals (the written digits you will see on price tags and license plates) and the number words (what you say aloud). This guide covers both, with full harakat on every word, following the same forms taught in Fahm's numbers lessons. It also clears up the most common surprise for learners: in Arabic text that flows right-to-left, multi-digit numbers are still written and read left-to-right.
The numerals: ٠ through ٩
Most of the Arab world writes digits with Eastern Arabic numerals: ٠ (0), ١ (1), ٢ (2), ٣ (3), ٤ (4), ٥ (5), ٦ (6), ٧ (7), ٨ (8), ٩ (9). You will see them on banknotes, menus, street signs, and clocks, so learning to read them at a glance is essential.
Ironically, the digits English speakers call 'Arabic numerals' (0-9) are also used across the region — especially in North Africa, phone numbers, and anything technical. In Egypt, the Gulf, and the Levant, expect the Eastern forms to dominate. A few pairs deserve extra attention because they trip learners up: ٥ (5) looks like an English zero, ٦ (6) looks like an English seven, and ٧ (7) is a V-shape.
- ٠ = 0 (a dot, ṣifr — the word from which English gets both 'cipher' and 'zero')
- ١ = 1 and ٩ = 9 look familiar
- ٢ = 2, ٣ = 3, ٤ = 4 — think of ٢ and ٣ as rotated versions of 2 and 3
- ٥ = 5 (looks like a zero — the most common misreading)
- ٦ = 6 (looks like a seven), ٧ = 7 (a V shape), ٨ = 8 (an upside-down V)
Numbers 1-10 with full harakat
These eleven words (zero through ten) are the foundation for everything else — every teen, ten, and compound number is built from them. Learn them with their vowels; the rhythm makes them easier to keep apart.
The teens: 11-19 follow one pattern
From eleven to nineteen, Arabic says the unit first, then a form of ten: عَشَرَ (ʿashara). So thirteen is literally 'three-ten', fourteen is 'four-ten', and so on. Eleven and twelve are slightly irregular, but 13-19 are perfectly predictable once you know 3-9.
The tens: 20, 30, 40... 90
The tens from thirty upward are formed from the unit word plus the ending ـُون (-ūn): thalātha (three) gives thalāthūn (thirty), arbaʿa (four) gives arbaʿūn (forty). Twenty is the exception — it comes from ʿashara (ten), not from ithnān.
Compound numbers: 21-99 (units first!)
Here is the pattern English speakers find charming: compound numbers say the unit before the ten, joined by وَ (wa, and). Twenty-one is 'one and twenty' — wāḥidun wa-ʿishrūna. Sixty-seven is 'seven and sixty'. If you know German ('einundzwanzig') the order will feel familiar.
And the round hundred: مِئَة (miʾa) is 100, written ١٠٠.
Which direction do numbers go?
Arabic text runs right-to-left, but multi-digit numbers are written left-to-right, exactly as in English — the highest place value sits on the left. The year 1995 is written ١٩٩٥, with the ١ on the left. When you read an Arabic sentence and hit a number, your eyes briefly reverse direction, jump to the left edge of the number, read it rightward, then resume reading the sentence leftward.
This is less strange than it sounds in practice, and speech reflects it too: within a compound like 45, you say the unit first (five and forty), so the spoken order and written order interleave naturally for native readers. For learners, the rule of thumb is simple: read digits the same way you would in English.
Putting numbers to work
The fastest way to make numbers stick is to use them for something real: prices at the سُوق (bikam hādha? — how much is this?), phone numbers digit by digit, or the time (سَاعَة sāʿa, hour; دَقِيقَة daqīqa, minute; نِصْف niṣf, half; رُبْع rubʿ, quarter). Fahm's numbers section drills the ٠-٩ numerals, the 1-100 words, and ordinals like الْأَوَّل (al-awwal, first) and الثَّانِي (ath-thānī, second) with audio and spaced repetition, and the travel section pairs them with price and fare phrases.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to learn both numeral systems?
Yes, but it is a small job — the Eastern Arabic numerals are only ten symbols, and several (١، ٩) already look familiar. Western digits appear widely too, especially in North Africa and in phone numbers, so most learners are comfortable within a week of practice.
Why do some number words seem to change endings?
The endings (-un, -a, -ūna vs -ūn) reflect Arabic case endings, which shift with a word's role in the sentence. In counting and everyday speech the bare forms — khamsa, ʿishrūn — are all you need; the fully vowelled forms here show correct formal MSA.
Is it true that Arabic numbers have complicated gender rules?
In formal MSA, numbers 3-10 take the opposite gender of the counted noun — a rule called polarity. It is real, but do not let it block you: learn the number words first, use them, and pick up the agreement rules later in a grammar lesson. Everyday communication works fine without perfect polarity.
How do I say years like 2026?
Build them from thousands and hundreds: alfāni (two thousand) plus sittatun wa-ʿishrūna (twenty-six). Written in digits it is ٢٠٢٦, left-to-right. Fahm's extended numbers lesson covers hundreds, thousands, and مِلْيُون (milyūn, million).
What is the difference between raqm and ʿadad?
رَقْم (raqm) is a digit or a number-as-label (phone number, room number); عَدَد (ʿadad) is a number-as-quantity or count. On a hotel door you see a raqm; counting guests gives you an ʿadad.
Fahm covers this with interactive lessons, spaced repetition, and quizzes — start free, no account needed.
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