Reading historical years and exact populations aloud in formal Arabic is a pinnacle of grammatical mastery. It requires chaining together rules for case endings, reverse gender agreement, and compound structures.
Historical Years: CE and AH
When reciting a year, you generally use the preposition في (in) followed by either the masculine عام or the feminine سنة. Because of the preposition, the entire chain of numbers that follows must drop into the genitive case (مجرور).
- Thousands and Hundreds: Take a kasra (e.g., ألفِ, مئةِ).
- Tens (20-90): Use the genitive/accusative suffix ـين.
- Units (3-9): Take a kasra and must apply reverse gender agreement with the word for "year".
Because عام is masculine, the unit digit in a compound year must take the feminine marker (ة).
| The king founded the university in the year one thousand, nine hundred and eighty-five CE. | أسس الملك الجامعة في عام ألف وتسعمئة وخمسة وثمانين الميلادي.assasa al-maliku al-jâmi'ata fî 'âmi alfin wa tis'imi'atin wa khamsatin wa thamânîna al-mîlâdiyyi |
There is a strict exception for compound numbers from 11 to 19. These numbers are indeclinable—both parts are permanently locked with a fatha ending (ـَ), even when they sit in a genitive position like reading a year.
| The first global war began in the year one thousand, nine hundred and fourteen CE. | بدأت الحرب العالمية الأولى في عام ألف وتسعمئة وأربعة عشر الميلادي.bada'ati al-harbu al-âlamiyyatu al-'ûlâ fî âmi alfin wa tis'imi'atin wa arba'ata ashara al-mîlâdiyyi |
When using the Islamic calendar, years are cited using the feminine noun سنة. Because سنة is feminine, reverse agreement dictates that the unit digits (3-9) must drop the feminine marker and appear in their masculine form.
| The great scientist died in the year one thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine AH. | توفيت العالمة العظيمة في سنة ألف وثلاثمئة وتسع وتسعين الهجرية.tuwuffiyat il-'âlimatu l-'azhîmatu fî sanati alfin wa thalâthi mi'atin wa tis'in wa tis'îna l-hijriyyah |
| We are now in the year one thousand, four hundred and forty-four AH. | نحن الآن في سنة ألف وأربعمئة وأربع وأربعين الهجرية.nahnu al-ân fî sanati alfin wa-arba'imi'atin wa-arba'in wa-arba'îna al-hijriyyah |
Large Populations and Budgets
When citing statistics, large numbers frequently act as the direct object of a verb like بلغ (to reach), forcing the number chain into the accusative case (منصوب). The units take a fatha (ـَ) or fathatayn (ـً), and the tens use the ـين suffix.
| In that era, the population did not reach sixty-seven million people. | في تلك الحقبة، لم يبلغ عدد السكان سبعة وستين مليون نسمة.fi tilka al-hiqbah, lam yablugh adadu as-sukkani sabatan wa sittina milyuna nasamah |
However, if the large number is preceded by a preposition, such as لـ (for/to), the entire sequence shifts back into the genitive case.
| In this era, there is neither injustice nor hunger for one million and five hundred thousand people. | في هذه الحقبة، لا ظلم ولا جوع لمليون وخمسمئة ألف نسمة.fi hâdhihi l-hiqbati, lâ zulma walâ jû'a limilyûnin wa-khamsimi'ati alfi nasamah |
When compound numbers include the digit 2 (such as 12), the units behave like a dual noun. In the accusative or genitive case, 12 becomes اثني عشر (for masculine nouns like ألف).
| The population of the city reached one hundred and twelve thousand people. | بلغ عدد سكان المدينة مئة واثني عشر ألف نسمة.balagha adadu sukkâni al-madînati mi'atan wathnay ashara alfa nasamatin. |
The same accusative rules apply when stating large financial figures acting as direct objects. The hundreds (تِسْعَمِئَةٍ: the case goes on تسع, and مئة stays genitive), units (أربعةً), and tens (خمسينَ) must all agree in case.
| We hope that the budget of the project reaches nine hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars. | عسى أن تبلغ ميزانية المشروع تسعمئة وأربعة وخمسين ألف دولار.asâ an tablugha mîzâniyyatu al-mashrûi tisami'atin wa-arbaatan wa-khamsîna alfa dûlârin. |
Seeing the endings
This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is usually something you hear in the audio but cannot see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:
| as written | fully vocalized | case of the number |
|---|---|---|
| توفيت العالمة العظيمة في سنة ألف وثلاثمئة وتسع وتسعين الهجرية. | تُوُفِّيَتِ العَالِمَةُ العَظِيمَةُ فِي سَنَةِ أَلْفٍ وَثَلَاثِمِئَةٍ وَتِسْعٍ وَتِسْعِينَ الهِجْرِيَّةِ. | genitive (after سنة) |
| بدأت الحرب العالمية الأولى في عام ألف وتسعمئة وأربعة عشر الميلادي. | بَدَأَتِ الحَرْبُ العَالَمِيَّةُ الأُولَى فِي عَامِ أَلْفٍ وَتِسْعِمِئَةٍ وَأَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ المِيلَادِيِّ. | genitive, but 14 never changes |
| في تلك الحقبة، لم يبلغ عدد السكان سبعة وستين مليون نسمة. | فِي تِلْكَ الحِقْبَةِ، لَمْ يَبْلُغْ عَدَدُ السُّكَّانِ سَبْعَةً وَسِتِّينَ مِلْيُونَ نَسَمَةٍ. | accusative (object) |
After سنة or عام the year is the second half of an idafa, so every part of it takes a kasra: أَلْفٍ وَثَلَاثِمِئَةٍ وَتِسْعٍ, and the tens use ـين: وَتِسْعِينَ. Fourteen keeps a fatha on both halves, even here: أَرْبَعَةَ عَشَرَ. As the object of يبلغ the units take fathatayn, سَبْعَةً, and the tens again use ـين: وَسِتِّينَ.
