The cardinal numbers are the ones you use to count: one, two, three, four, five, etc. Note that in Arabic we have a masculine and a feminine variant for each number:
| # | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | واحد waaHid |
واحدة waaHda |
| 2 | إثنين ithneyn |
ثنتين thinteyn or إثنتين ithnateyn |
| 3 | ثلاث thalaath |
ثلاثة thalaatha(t) |
| 4 | أربع arba^ |
أربعة arba^a(t) |
| 5 | خمس xams |
خمسة xamsa(t) |
| 6 | ست sitt |
ستة sitta(t) |
| 7 | سبع sab^ |
سبعة sab^a(t) |
| 8 | ثمان thimaan |
ثمانية thimaaniya(t) |
| 9 | تسع tis^ |
تسعة tis^a(t) |
| 10 | عشر ^ashar |
عشرة ^ashra(t) |
يوم واحد yoom waaHid – one day (lit. day one)
حجرة واحدة Hijra waaHda – one room (lit. room one)
For numbers 3-10, use plural nouns, disagreeing (!) with the gender of the noun; they precede the noun, e.g.
خمسة أولاد xamsat awlaad – 5 boys
ثمان بنات thimaan banaat – 8 girls
أربعة مواتر arba^at mawaatir – 4 cars
ثمانية بيبان thimaaniyat biibaan – 8 doors (baab, pl. biibaan – door)
سبع درايش sab^ diraaysh – 7 windows (diriisha, pl. diraayish – window)
If the plural of the noun begins with a vowel then the hidden -t- may appear (in speech), as in the first example above and as in the following two:
ثلاثة أشهر thalaathat ashhur – 3 months
تسعة أوراق tis^at awraag – 9 sheets of paper, 9 leaves
The ordinal numbers show order: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. Here are the Gulf Arabic ordinals:
| # | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | أول awwal |
أولى uula or more folksy أولة awwala |
| 2nd | ثاني thaani |
ثانية thaaniya(t) |
| 3rd | ثالث thaalith |
ثالثة thaalitha(t) |
| 4th | رابع raabi^ |
رابعة raab^a(t) |
| 5th | خامس xaamis |
خامسة xaamsa(t) |
| 6th | سادس saadis |
سادسة saadsa(t) |
| 7th | سابع saabi^ |
سابعة saab^a(t) |
| 8th | ثامن thaamin |
ثامنة thaamina(t) |
| 9th | تاسع taasi^ |
تاسعة taasi^a(t) |
| 10th | عاشر ^aashir |
عاشرة ^aashira(t) |
مرة
marra – time, occasion
(1) المرة الاولى il-marra il-uula – the first time (the number must agree in gender with the noun)
(2) أول مرة awwal marra – the first time (use the masc. number regardless of the gender of the noun following; do not use the definite article il- when the numeral is in front of the noun)
حرمة
Hurma, pl. حريم Hariim – woman
(1) الحرمة الثانية il-Hurma ith-thaaniya – the second woman
(2) ثاني حرمة thaani Hurma – the second woman
(3) ثانية الحريم في الصف thaaniya il-Hariim fi-S-Saff – the second woman in (the) line (the second of the women; if they are more than two women in line)
سباق
sibaag – race (competition)
(1) السيارة الرابعة في السباق الثالث is-sayyaara ir-raabi^a fi-s-sibaag ith-thaalith – the fourth car in the third race
(2) رابع سيارة في السباق الثالث raabi^ sayyaara fi-s-sibaag ith-thaalith – the fourth car in the third race
(3) رابعة السيارات في ثالث سباقraabi^a is-sayyaaraat fi thaalith sibaag - the fourth car in the third race
خامس كتبي xaamis kutubii – the fifth of my books (You can also say: خامس من كتبي xaamis min kutubii)
زيارة
ziyaara, pl. زيارات ziyaaraat – visit
في زيارتك الثالثة لقطر fii ziyaaratik ith-thaalitha li giTar – on your third visit to Qatar
خذ ثالث شارع على اليمين xudh thaalith shaari^ ^ala l-yimiin – Take the third street to the right.
Exception to pattern (3) above: أول awwal (first) and آخر aaxir (last) are used in the masculine form, thus:
أول السيارات awwal is-sayyaaraat – the first of the cars
not 'uula is-sayyaaraat'
آخر الحكي aaxir il-Hachi – in the last (part) of the talk
not 'aaxira il-Hachi'
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