Counting from 3 to 10
When counting items from three to ten in Arabic, two unique rules apply:
- The counted noun must be plural and in the genitive case (forming an Idafa or possession structure with the number).
- The number and the noun use reverse gender agreement.
Reverse gender agreement means the gender of the number is the opposite of the gender of the noun's singular form.
- If the singular noun is masculine, the number takes a feminine form (ending in ة).
- If the singular noun is feminine, the number takes a masculine form (without ة).
| Number | Used with Feminine Nouns (Masculine Form) | Used with Masculine Nouns (Feminine Form) |
|---|
| 3 | ثلاث | ثلاثة |
| 4 | أربع | أربعة |
| 5 | خمس | خمسة |
| 6 | ست | ستة |
| 7 | سبع | سبعة |
| 8 | ثماني | ثمانية |
| 9 | تسع | تسعة |
| 10 | عشر | عشرة |
Counting Feminine Nouns
When counting a noun that is feminine in its singular form, use the masculine form of the number (without ة).
For example, "year" (سنة) is feminine. To count years, we use masculine numbers like ثلاث (three) and أربع (four), followed by the plural "years" (سنوات).
The singular words for "tree" (شجرة) and "village" (قرية) are also feminine, so they are counted using masculine numbers.
Counting Masculine Nouns
When counting a noun that is masculine in its singular form, you must use the feminine form of the number (ending in ة).
For example, "dollar" (دولار) is masculine. To say "six dollars", use the feminine number ستة. Even if the plural ends in ات (a typical feminine plural suffix), the rule always relies on the gender of the singular noun.
Words like "pupil" (تلميذ), "exercise" (تمرين), or "question" (سؤال) are also masculine in the singular, so they take numbers ending in ة.
Mixed Examples
Because the rule relies strictly on the singular form, it is important to know the singular of any plural noun you wish to count.
Notice how masculine singular nouns ("dollar", "answer", "cup") pair with numbers ending in ة, while feminine singular nouns ("toy", "point", "star") take numbers without ة.
