Egyptian 13–19 are compact spoken words: تلاتاشر، أربعتاشر، خمستاشر and so on. In mainstream Cairene they precede a singular counted noun and do not change for the noun’s gender: تلاتاشر كتاب and تلاتاشر عربية use the same numeral.
That system is much simpler than formal MSA, but it is not just MSA with endings removed. The teen words have specifically Egyptian shapes, and the singular counted noun remains a real grammatical requirement. This page uses ordinary urban Cairo speech (informal) and excludes arithmetic terminology.
The Cairene teen series
This page chooses تلاتاشر as its house spelling for 13. تلتاشر is also widespread in Egyptian writing and reflects a reduced first part; both spellings are genuine (informal; speaker- and platform-sensitive).
| Value | Egyptian form | Cairene reading |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | تلاتاشر | talattāshar |
| 14 | أربعتاشر | ʾarbaʿtāshar |
| 15 | خمستاشر | khamastāshar |
| 16 | ستاشر | sittāshar |
| 17 | سبعتاشر | sabaʿtāshar |
| 18 | تمنتاشر | tamantāshar |
| 19 | تسعتاشر | tisaʿtāshar |
The ending -tāshar is historically related to “ten,” but learners should store each teen as a word. Trying to rebuild the forms from modern MSA ثلاثة عشر، أربعة عشر produces the wrong everyday pronunciation and often the wrong gender logic.
عندي تلاتاشر رسالة لازم أرد عليها.
ʿandi talattāshar risāla lāzim ʾarodd ʿalēha.
I have thirteen messages I need to answer.
المخزن استلم تسعتاشر كرتونة النهارده.
il-makhzan istalam tisaʿtāshar kartūna innaharda.
The warehouse received nineteen cartons today.
Rule 1: the numeral precedes a singular counted noun
From 11 through 99, an exact Egyptian cardinal normally takes a singular counted noun. English says thirteen books with a plural; Egyptian says literally “thirteen book.”
اشتريت تلاتاشر كتاب من المعرض.
ishtarēt talattāshar kitāb min il-maʿraḍ.
I bought thirteen books at the fair—literally ‘thirteen book.’
قدامنا تمنتاشر دقيقة قبل القطر.
ʾoddāmna tamantāshar daʾīʾa ʾabl il-ʾaṭr.
We have eighteen minutes before the train—literally ‘eighteen minute.’
The word order numeral + noun matches English, but the noun number does not. Do not carry the 3–10 pattern forward: 3–10 normally take a plural noun, while 13–19 take a singular. See numbers 3–10 for that earlier tier.
Rule 2: the numeral is gender-invariant in ordinary Cairo speech
The same teen counts masculine and feminine nouns. Gender remains lexical in the noun—كتاب is masculine and عربية feminine—but it does not select a second teen form in mainstream Cairene.
في الفصل سبعتاشر ولد وخمستاشر بنت.
fi l-faṣl sabaʿtāshar walad wi-khamastāshar bint.
There are seventeen boys and fifteen girls in the class.
الشركة اشترت أربعتاشر كمبيوتر وأربعتاشر شاشة.
ish-sherka ishtarit ʾarbaʿtāshar kombyūtar wa-ʾarbaʿtāshar shāsha.
The company bought fourteen computers and fourteen screens.
This is a sharp contrast with formal MSA (formal), where 13–19 have gender-sensitive component forms and the counted noun takes accusative singular marking. Those forms are correct in formal Arabic, recitation, news reading, or deliberate code-switching. They are not the production model for ordinary Cairene conversation.
Rule 3: no MSA case ending is added
Egyptian تلاتاشر كتاب stays the same whether it is subject, object, or follows a preposition. There is no spoken alternation comparable to formal case marking, and the noun does not take accusative tanwīn.
دفعت تمن خمستاشر تذكرة.
dafaʿt taman khamastāshar tazkara.
I paid for fifteen tickets.
اتكلمنا مع تلاتاشر عميل الأسبوع ده.
itkallimna maʿ talattāshar ʿamīl il-ʾusbūʿ da.
We spoke with thirteen clients this week.
The preposition مع does not alter the numeral or add a case ending to عميل. A mixed form such as Egyptian تلاتاشر followed by formal كتابًا is a register collision in the baseline taught here.
Rule 4: definiteness and scope surround the complete quantity
A bare teen phrase normally introduces an indefinite quantity: تلاتاشر كتاب “thirteen books.” To refer to a known set, conversational Egyptian can make the whole quantity definite: التلاتاشر كتاب “the thirteen books.” Approximators and limiting particles take scope over the quantity.
قريت حوالي تلاتاشر صفحة قبل ما أنام.
ʾarēt ḥawāli talattāshar ṣafḥa ʾabl ma ʾanām.
I read about thirteen pages before going to sleep.
وصل خمستاشر ضيف بس.
wiṣil khamastāshar ḍēf bass.
Only fifteen guests arrived.
In the first, حوالي widens the exact count to an approximation. In the second, final بس limits the number that arrived. These scope words do not change the singular counted noun.
Prices, dates, and time
Money uses the same singular-noun rule. A shop exchange makes the pattern especially easy to hear:
التذكرة بكام؟
it-tazkara bi-kām?
How much is the ticket?
بخمستاشر جنيه، ولو رايح جاي بتسعتاشر.
bi-khamastāshar ginēh, wi-law rāyiḥ gāy bi-tisaʿtāshar.
Fifteen pounds, or nineteen for a return ticket.
The first price names singular جنيه after 15. In the second amount, the noun is omitted because it is recoverable; a teen can stand alone when the unit is clear.
For a calendar date, Egyptian commonly puts the day number after يوم or directly before the month name: يوم تلاتاشر “the thirteenth/day thirteen,” تلاتاشر أكتوبر “October thirteenth.” Clock time in ordinary conversation normally uses the 12-hour system, so do not assume that a written railway time like 18:00 must be spoken as تمنتاشر; speakers usually say الساعة ستة with context.
المعاد يوم تلاتاشر أكتوبر، الساعة ستة بالليل.
il-maʿād yōm talattāshar ʾoktōbar, is-sāʿa sitta bil-lēl.
The appointment is on October thirteenth at six in the evening.
Careful and fast forms
Careful Cairene تلاتاشر is talattāshar. Many speakers reduce the first part in fast connected speech to taltāshar and may write تلتاشر (informal). This page keeps تلاتاشر in its targets so the orthography remains consistent.
هما تلاتاشر واحد، مش اتناشر.
humma taltāshar wāḥid, mish itnāshar.
There are thirteen of them, not twelve—rapid pronunciation of تلاتاشر.
The romanization records the rapid reduction without changing the chosen spelling. This is connected-speech variation, not a gender form or a case form.
Common Mistakes
Using a plural counted noun
❌ اشتريت تلاتاشر كتب.
Incorrect—13–19 take a singular counted noun in Egyptian.
✅ اشتريت تلاتاشر كتاب.
ishtarēt talattāshar kitāb.
I bought thirteen books.
Inventing a feminine teen form
❌ عندي تلاتعشرة رسالة.
Incorrect in mainstream Cairene—the teen numeral does not change for a feminine counted noun.
✅ عندي تلاتاشر رسالة.
ʿandi talattāshar risāla.
I have thirteen messages.
Mixing a formal MSA numeral into a Cairene sentence
❌ دفعت تمن خمس عشرة تذكرة.
Register mismatch—the formal MSA numeral has been inserted into an otherwise Cairene sentence.
✅ دفعت تمن خمستاشر تذكرة.
dafaʿt taman khamastāshar tazkara.
I paid for fifteen tickets.
Adding MSA tanwīn to an Egyptian counted noun
دفعت تمن خمستاشر تذكرة.
dafaʿt taman khamastāshar tazkara.
dafaʿt taman khamastāshar tazkaratan
I paid for fifteen tickets—not with an MSA accusative -an on the counted noun.
Placing the counted noun before the cardinal
❌ اشتريت كتاب تلاتاشر.
Incorrect for the cardinal meaning ‘thirteen books’; noun + teen is read as an ordinal-like label such as ‘book thirteen.’
✅ اشتريت تلاتاشر كتاب.
ishtarēt talattāshar kitāb.
I bought thirteen books.
Key Takeaways
- Learn 13–19 as Egyptian words ending in -tāshar.
- Put the cardinal before one singular counted noun, regardless of the English plural translation.
- Mainstream Cairene uses the same teen numeral with masculine and feminine nouns.
- Do not add MSA case endings or tanwīn to ordinary Egyptian phrases.
- تلاتاشر and reduced تلتاشر are genuine colloquial variants; keep one spelling consistently within a text.
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- Numbers 11 and 12B1 — Use Cairene حداشر and اتناشر before a singular counted noun, without MSA gender or case inflection.
- Numbers 3–10 and Gender PolarityB1 — Learn the short, largely gender-invariable Cairene numerals used before plural nouns and distinguish them from formal Arabic gender polarity.
- The Decades 20–90B1 — Use the Egyptian tens with singular counted nouns, no gender alternation, and one invariant -ين form.
- 21–99: Coordinating Units and DecadesB1 — Build Egyptian numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine with unit-before-decade order, و coordination, and the correct singular counted noun.
- Dates, Years, and CenturiesB1 — Say everyday Egyptian dates in day–month–year order, read modern years naturally, and distinguish calendar labels from counted durations.
- Decimals, Prices, and CurrenciesB1 — Read decimal quantities and everyday prices with natural Cairene numeral and currency patterns.