Arabic Numbers 1–100: How to Read, Write and Count in Arabic

Most people searching for “Arabic numbers” are actually thinking of 1, 2, 3 — the digits used across the Western world. The irony is that those are called Arabic numerals, because they were introduced to Europe from the Arab world in the Middle Ages. But if you’re learning Arabic, the numbers you’ll actually need look quite different: ١ ٢ ٣. These are Eastern Arabic numerals — the digits used in written Arabic today.

This article walks you through Arabic numbers from 1 to 100: what they look like, how to pronounce them, how the number system works, and where the dialects differ. If you’ve been staring at an Arabic text and couldn’t even figure out the page number, this is the right place to start.

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Eastern vs. Western Arabic Numerals — What’s the Difference?

This is the single most common point of confusion — and it’s worth clearing up before anything else.

When historians talk about “Arabic numerals”, they mean the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 — the ones used throughout Europe, the Americas, and most of the modern world. These were transmitted to medieval Europe from Arab mathematicians and scholars, which is why they carry that name. They’re also called Western Arabic numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, this numeral system was developed in India and adopted by Arab scholars before reaching Europe in the 10th century.

But if you open a book printed in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, the digits on the page look like this: ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩. These are Eastern Arabic numerals (also called Arabic-Indic numerals). They are the standard in most Arabic-speaking countries — and the ones you need to learn.

Western (0–9)	Eastern Arabic (٠–٩)	Used In
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩	Most Arabic-speaking countries, Farsi, Urdu
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	Morocco, Tunisia, global digital contexts

One practical note from my own experience learning Scandinavian languages and then observing Arabic learners: the script barrier feels steep at first, but the Eastern Arabic digit shapes become recognisable faster than you’d expect — especially ١ (1), ٩ (9) and ٠ (0), which have obvious visual similarities to their Western counterparts.

Arabic Numbers 1–10

The numbers 1 to 10 are the foundation. Learn these by heart before moving on — everything else builds on them. All pronunciations below follow Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is used in formal writing, news and education across the Arab world.

One thing that trips up almost every beginner: Arabic text runs right to left, but numbers are read and written left to right — just like in English. So if you see ١٢٣ in an Arabic text, you read it as one hundred and twenty-three, not the other way around. The number flows against the direction of the surrounding text.

Number	Eastern Arabic	Arabic Word	Transliteration	Pronunciation
1	١	وَاحِد	wāḥid	WAH-hid
2	٢	اثْنَان	ithnān	ith-NAAN
3	٣	ثَلَاثَة	thalātha	tha-LAA-tha
4	٤	أَرْبَعَة	arbaʿa	ar-BA-ah
5	٥	خَمْسَة	khamsa	KHAM-sa
6	٦	سِتَّة	sitta	SIT-ta
7	٧	سَبْعَة	sabʿa	SAB-ah
8	٨	ثَمَانِيَة	thamāniya	tha-MAA-ni-ya
9	٩	تِسْعَة	tisʿa	TIS-ah
10	١٠	عَشَرَة	ʿashara	ASH-a-ra

Note on ʿ and ḥ: The symbol ʿ represents the Arabic letter ʿayn — a voiced pharyngeal sound with no English equivalent. It’s produced deep in the throat. The ḥ in wāḥid is a breathy “h”, stronger than the English h. Don’t let these sounds paralyse you at this stage — focus on the vocabulary first, refine the sounds later.

Arabic Numbers 1–100

Numbers 11–20

In Arabic, the teens (11–19) are formed by combining the unit with the word ʿashar (ten). The logic is transparent once you’ve learned 1–10. Note that the unit comes first, followed by the “ten” part — so 11 is literally “one-ten”.

Number	Eastern Arabic	Arabic Word	Transliteration
11	١١	أَحَدَ عَشَر	aḥada ʿashar
12	١٢	اثْنَا عَشَر	ithnā ʿashar
13	١٣	ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَر	thalāthata ʿashar
14	١٤	أَرْبَعَةَ عَشَر	arbaʿata ʿashar
15	١٥	خَمْسَةَ عَشَر	khamsata ʿashar
16	١٦	سِتَّةَ عَشَر	sittata ʿashar
17	١٧	سَبْعَةَ عَشَر	sabʿata ʿashar
18	١٨	ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَر	thamāniyata ʿashar
19	١٩	تِسْعَةَ عَشَر	tisʿata ʿashar
20	٢٠	عِشْرُون	ʿishrūn

Tens: 20–100

The tens in Arabic follow a consistent pattern. From 30 onwards, the suffix -ūn (or -īn in spoken dialects) is added to the root of the unit. Once you’ve memorised the structure, counting to 100 becomes straightforward.

Number	Eastern Arabic	Arabic Word	Transliteration
20	٢٠	عِشْرُون	ʿishrūn
30	٣٠	ثَلَاثُون	thalāthūn
40	٤٠	أَرْبَعُون	arbaʿūn
50	٥٠	خَمْسُون	khamsūn
60	٦٠	سِتُّون	sittūn
70	٧٠	سَبْعُون	sabʿūn
80	٨٠	ثَمَانُون	thamānūn
90	٩٠	تِسْعُون	tisʿūn
100	١٠٠	مِئَة	miʾa

How Compound Numbers Work (21–99)

Compound numbers between 21 and 99 follow a simple pattern: unit + wa (and) + ten. So 21 is literally “one and twenty” — wāḥid wa-ʿishrūn (وَاحِد وَعِشْرُون). A few examples:

• 21 → وَاحِد وَعِشْرُون — wāḥid wa-ʿishrūn
• 35 → خَمْسَة وَثَلَاثُون — khamsa wa-thalāthūn
• 47 → سَبْعَة وَأَرْبَعُون — sabʿa wa-arbaʿūn
• 99 → تِسْعَة وَتِسْعُون — tisʿa wa-tisʿūn

The logic is the reverse of English (where we say “forty-seven”, putting the ten first). In Arabic MSA, the unit comes first. This flips back in spoken dialects, where most people say the ten before the unit — more on that below.

How to Write Arabic Numbers — Right to Left?

Arabic is written and read from right to left. Numbers, however, are a notable exception: multi-digit numbers are always written and read from left to right, regardless of the surrounding text direction. The digit representing the largest value always comes first from the left — exactly as in English.

So in a right-to-left Arabic sentence, a number like ٢٠٢٦ (2026) sits within the text as a left-to-right “island”. Screen readers and typesetting systems handle this automatically, but it’s worth understanding when you’re reading handwritten material or older printed texts.

A second practical point: in modern urban Arabic contexts — on street signs, receipts, digital interfaces and social media — Western digits (1, 2, 3) are used interchangeably with Eastern Arabic numerals, particularly in Morocco and Tunisia, where the French influence made Western digits standard. If you’re learning Arabic primarily for travel or digital communication, you’ll encounter both.

Arabic Numbers in Different Dialects

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the formal written language. But spoken Arabic varies significantly by region — and numbers are no exception. The digit symbols (١ ٢ ٣) stay the same in writing, but pronunciation and compound number structure differ.

Here’s a practical overview of how numbers shift across the main dialect regions:

Number	MSA	Egyptian	Levantine (Syr/Leb/Jor)	Moroccan (Darija)
1	wāḥid	wāḥid	wāḥad	wāḥed
3	thalātha	talāta	tlāte	tlāta
5	khamsa	khamsa	khamse	khmsa
10	ʿashara	ʿashara	ʿashara	ʿshra
20	ʿishrūn	ʿishrīn	ʿishrīn	ʿshrīn

A few things stand out. Egyptian Arabic drops the classical th sound (ث), so thalātha becomes talāta. Moroccan Darija compresses vowels heavily — partly due to Berber and French influence — which makes it the hardest Arabic dialect for MSA learners to follow by ear. The Levantine dialects (Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian) are generally considered the most similar to MSA in terms of pronunciation.

For compound numbers in spoken dialects, word order also flips: instead of “one and twenty” (MSA), most dialects say “twenty and one” — mirroring English structure. So 21 in Egyptian is wāḥid wa-ʿishrīn.

If you’re focused on a specific dialect, the numbers section is one of the easier parts — the differences are mostly phonetic rather than structural. Here are the dialect-specific resources on this site:

• Egyptian Arabic Phrases — the most widely understood spoken dialect
• Syrian Arabic Phrases
• Lebanese Arabic Phrases
• Jordanian Arabic Phrases
• Moroccan Arabic Phrases — Darija, very different from MSA
• Tunisian Arabic Phrases

Tips to Learn Arabic Numbers Faster

Numbers are one of the first things to drill when learning any language — they come up constantly in everyday situations: prices, addresses, phone numbers, times, dates. From my experience working through multiple language systems, including ones with non-Latin scripts, a few principles reliably speed up the process.

1. Separate the digit shapes from the words. Learn to recognise ١ ٢ ٣ visually first, without worrying about pronunciation. Treat it like memorising a new font. Once the shapes are in your head, layer in the spoken words. Trying to learn both simultaneously slows both down.

2. Use spaced repetition for 1–20. Anki or any flashcard system works well here. The teen numbers (11–19) are where most learners stall because the compounds feel long. Spaced repetition handles this automatically by drilling the harder ones more frequently.

3. Anchor numbers in real context early. Arabic prices, phone numbers, and street numbers. Even passively reading price tags in Arabic script builds recognition faster than abstract drilling. If you have access to Arabic-language shopping apps or news, spend five minutes a day scanning for numbers.

4. Choose your dialect from the start. If you’re learning Arabic to travel to Egypt, learn Egyptian number pronunciations from day one — not MSA and then Egyptian. Switching pronunciation systems mid-learning is genuinely frustrating, as I’ve seen with learners who started with textbook Arabic before encountering spoken Levantine. Pick your target dialect and commit.

For structured vocabulary learning with audio, 17 Minute Languages Arabic Course* covers MSA vocabulary including numbers with a spaced repetition system built in. For learners who prefer an app-based approach with dialect options, Babbel Arabic* is worth a look — it focuses on practical spoken Arabic.

If you want to get a broader picture of what learning Arabic actually involves — time investment, script challenges, dialect decisions — the Arabic learning overview on this site is a good next step. For everyday vocabulary beyond numbers, the Arabic phrases guide covers the most common expressions you’ll need.