If you've seen "I want 30 apple" in an example and wondered whether it was a mistake: it isn't. In Arabic, the form of the noun depends on the number in front of it, and from 11 upwards the noun is singular.
The rule
| Number | Noun form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | singular (+ waa7id for emphasis) | كتابٌ kitaabun |
| 2 | dual | كتابان kitaabaani |
| 3 to 10 | genitive plural | ثلاثةُ كتبٍ thalaathatu kutubin |
| 11 to 99 | accusative singular (-an) | أحدَ عشرَ كتاباً a7ada 3ashara kitaaban |
| 100, 1,000… | genitive singular (-in) | مئةُ كتابٍ mi2atu kitaabin |
So 3 to 10 is the only range that uses the plural. From 11 on the noun stays singular, with an -an ending up to 99 and an -in ending after hundreds and thousands.
- أريدُ ثلاثين تفاحةًuriidu thalaathiina tuffaa7atanI want thirty apples.
- معه مئةُ دولارٍma3ahu mi2atu duulaarinHe has a hundred dollars.
- عشرون سنةً3ishruuna sanatantwenty years
11 to 19
Both parts are fixed with a final -a. For 13 to 19, the units take the opposite gender to the noun, and 3ashara matches it:
| With a masculine noun | With a feminine noun | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | أحد عشر a7ada 3ashara | إحدى عشرة i7daa 3ashrata |
| 12 | اثنا عشر ithnaa 3ashara | اثنتا عشرة ithnataa 3ashrata |
| 13 | ثلاثة عشر thalaathata 3ashara | ثلاث عشرة thalaatha 3ashrata |
| 15 | خمسة عشر khamsata 3ashara | خمس عشرة khamsa 3ashrata |
Tens, hundreds, thousands
| Number | Fusha | Number | Fusha |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | عشرون 3ishruuna | 60 | ستّون sittuuna |
| 30 | ثلاثون thalaathuuna | 70 | سبعون sab3uuna |
| 40 | أربعون arba3uuna | 80 | ثمانون thamaanuuna |
| 50 | خمسون khamsuuna | 90 | تسعون tis3uuna |
| 100 | مئة mi2a | 1,000 | ألف alf |
The tens end in -uuna as a subject and -iina otherwise: ra2aytu 3ishriina taaliban (I saw twenty students).
Numbers like 25: units first
- خمسةٌ وعشرونkhamsatun wa 3ishruunatwenty-five