Counting with 100 and 1000
In Arabic, the grammatical rules for counting change depending on the number. While numbers 3 through 10 are followed by a plural noun, the words for one hundred (مئة) and one thousand (ألف) require the counted noun to be singular.
Additionally, this singular noun must be in the genitive case (majrūr), which typically means it takes a Kasratayn (ٍ ) at the end when indefinite.
| The author wrote a hundred pages. | كتب المؤلف مئة صفحة.kataba al-mu'allifu mi'ata safhatin |
| I want to read a thousand words from this text. | أريد أن أقرأ ألف كلمة من هذا النص.urîdu an aqra'a alfa kalimatin min hâdhâ an-nassi. |
The Publishing World
This numerical rule is especially useful when talking about book publishing, where an author (مؤلف) or a publisher (ناشر) deals with large quantities of words, texts (نص), and pages. Notice how the nouns following مئة and ألف remain singular in these examples.
| The publisher printed a thousand copies of the dictionary. | طبع الناشر ألف نسخة من القاموس.taba'a an-nâshiru alfa nuskhatin mina al-qâmûs. |
| This volume has a thousand pages in it. | هذا المجلد فيه ألف صفحة.hâdhâ al-mujalladu fîhi alfu safhatin |
| Indeed, it is a beautiful poem; it has a hundred words. | إنها قصيدة جميلة، فيها مئة كلمة.innahâ qaṣîdatun jamîlatun, fîhâ mi'atu kalimatin |
Editors and Printing Presses
As a manuscript moves through the publishing process, you might encounter an editor (محرر) reviewing texts, or a printing press (مطبعة) producing physical volumes (مجلد) with covers (غلاف).
| The editor did not read a hundred pages of the text. | لم يقرأ المحرر مئة صفحة من النص.lam yaqra'i al-muharriru mi'ata safhatin mina an-nassi |
| The printing press produces a thousand books every day. | تنتج المطبعة ألف كتاب كل يوم.tuntiju al-matba'atu alfa kitâbin kulla yawmin |
| This cover is for a volume of a thousand pages. | هذا الغلاف لمجلد من ألف صفحة.hâdhal-ghilâfu limujalladin min alfi safhah |
Whether counting poems or checking book titles (عنوان), the grammatical rule remains exactly the same: always use the singular genitive noun after hundreds and thousands.
| The editor read a hundred titles before the agreement. | قرأ المحرر مئة عنوان قبل الموافقة.qara'a al-muharriru mi'ata 'unwânin qabla al-muwâfaqati |
| I want to buy a hundred volumes with a beautiful cover. | أريد أن أشتري مئة مجلد بغلاف جميل.urîdu an ashtariya mi'ata mujalladin bighilâfin jamîlin |
