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Level A1
Numbers 0-9
10 words · ~12 min
Grammar focus
Arabic numerals (the symbols 0-9 used worldwide) actually originated from Arabic and Indian mathematicians. The Arabic words for numbers 3-10 have a unique rule: the number takes the opposite gender of the noun it counts.
Cultural note
The numeral system used globally today is called 'Arabic numerals' because it was transmitted to Europe through Arab scholars. In modern Arabic, both Western Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) and Eastern Arabic numerals (used in some Arab countries) are common.
Lesson overview
Numbers 0-9 is a level A1 lesson of 10 words: 10 numerals. Its words come from 10 Arabic roots, listed below with links to each root family.
- Builds on: Personal Pronouns (A1)
- Leads to: Numbers 10-1000 (A1), Days of the Week (A1)
- Previous lesson: Connecting Words - Prepositions & Conjunctions (A1)
Word list
| Arabic | Meaning | Type | Root |
|---|---|---|---|
صِفْر ṣifr | zero | numeral | ص-ف-ر |
وَاحِد wāḥid | one | numeral | و-ح-د |
اِثْنَان ithnān | two | numeral | ث-ن-ي |
ثَلَاثَة thalātha | three | numeral | ث-ل-ث |
أَرْبَعَة arbaʿa | four | numeral | ر-ب-ع |
خَمْسَة khamsa | five | numeral | خ-م-س |
سِتَّة sitta | six | numeral | س-ت-ت |
سَبْعَة sabʿa | seven | numeral | س-ب-ع |
ثَمَانِيَة thamāniya | eight | numeral | ث-م-ن |
تِسْعَة tisʿa | nine | numeral | ت-س-ع |