Numbers in Arabic, a Quick Guide
Arabic Numbers: Origin & Types 🔢
Did you know that the numbers used in both English and Arabic languages originated from India? They are called the “Arabic numerals”, and the numbers used in English today were first transmitted to the Arabic-speaking regions during the Islamic Golden Age, who then introduced them to the Western world.
During the Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th centuries), Arab scholars, including mathematicians like Al-Khwarizmi, significantly contributed to various fields, particularly mathematics. They played a crucial role in popularizing numerals in the Arab world. As these numerals reached Europe, they replaced the Roman numeral system.
The reason why the symbols used in English today are referred to as "Arabic numerals" is because European scholars of the time associated these numerals with the Arab world, where they first came across them, leading to a misattribution of the term.
After this blog post, you will master reading the numbers in Arabic (up to Millions), so let’s jump right into it!
0 —> 10
0 Zero / صفر Sifer
1 One / واحد Wahid
2 Two / اثنيْن Ithnen
3 Three / ثلاثة Thalatha
4 Four / أربعة Arba’aa
5 Five / خمسة Khamsa
6 Six / ستّة Sitta
7 Seven / سبعة Sab’aa
8 Eight / ثمانية Thamanya
9 Nine / تِسعة Tis’aa
10 Ten / عشرة ‘Aashra
Tens
11 Eleven / إحدى عشر
12 Twelve / إثنا عشر
13 Thirteen / ثلاثة عشر
14 Fourteen / أربعة عشر
etc…
Note
“w” means “And”, so you would say 24 is 4 and 20, 38 is 8 and 30. Any Arabic number that is above 10 is spelled the opposite way to English.
For example: 23 - the 3 is spelled then 20 → Thalatha w ‘Ishreen “3 and 20”.
Twenties
21 Twenty-One / واحد وعشرين
22 Twenty-Two / اثنيْن وعشرين
etc…
Thirties
30 Thirty / ثلاثين
31 Thirty-One / واحد وثلاثين
etc…
The same spelling applies to all numbers after this point.
40 —> 90
40 Fourty / أربعين
50 Fifty / خمسين
60 Sixty / ستّين
70 Seventy / سبعين
80 Eighty / ثمانين
90 Ninety / تسعين
Hundreds
100 One-Hundred / ميّة
200 Two-Hundred / ميّتيْن
300 Three-Hundred / ثلاثة ميّة
400 Four-Hundred / أربعة ميّة
etc…
Spelling Numbers Over 100
Any 3-digit number over 100 is spelled as shown in the image.
You start with the first number (1), then the far right number (2), then the middle number (3). If there’s a Zero in the middle, then it’s unspelled.
523 is spelled as “500 and 3 and 20”
Khamsa Miyya w Thalatha w ‘Ishreen
خمسة ميّة وثلاثة وعشرين
So, the last two numbers are spelled the opposite way to English (as was shown in a previous Note above).
Thousands
1,000 One-Thousand / ألف
2,000 Two-Thousand / ألفيْن
3,000 Three-Thousand / ثلاثة آلاف
4,000 Four-Thousand / أربعة آلاف
Alif (Same word used to refer to the Arabic letter أ)
Millions
1,000,000 One Million / مليون
2,000,000 Two Millions / مليونيْن
3,000,000 Three Millions / ثلاثة مليون
etc…
Example: If you have 1,200,531 - you spell the Million first, then the Thousand, then the Hundred, and then apply the opposite method to 31.
Examples
124 / ميّة وأربعة وعشرين Miyya w Arba’aa w ‘Ishreen
256 / ميّتيْن وستّة وخمسين Miyyaten w Sitta w Khamseen
370 / ثلاثة ميّة وسبعين Thalatha Miyya w Sab’een
1,298 / ألف وميّتيْن وثمانية وتسعين Alif w Miyyaten w Thamanya w Tis’een
If you can read and understand the 2 big Arabic numbers below, this means you mastered this topic!
526,978 / خمسة ميّة وستّة وعشرين ألف وتسعة ميّة وثمانية وسبعين
Khamsa Miyya w Sitta w ‘Ishreen Alif w Tis’aa Miyya w Thamanya w Sab’een
87,654,321 / سبعة وثمانين مليون وستّة ميّة وأربعة وخمسين ألف وثلاثة ميّة وواحد وعشرين
Sab’aa w Thamaneen Milyon w Sitta Miyya w Arba’aa w Khamseen Alif w Thalatha Miyya w Wahid w ‘Ishreen
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