Forming the Hundreds
To express hundreds in Arabic (from 300 to 900), attach the single digit directly to the word مئة (hundred). For example, ثلاثمئة (three hundred) or تسعمئة (nine hundred). The number two hundred uses the dual form: مئتان (or مئتين in the genitive or accusative cases).
Reading Years
When reading a year in Arabic, you read from the largest unit to the smallest, inserting the conjunction و (and) between every single part.
Years are usually preceded by the word عام (year), which puts the following numbers into the genitive case. This is especially important for the "tens" (20–90), which will use their ين ending (e.g., تسعين instead of تسعون).
For a year like 1903, the structure is: 1000 (ألف) + and (و) + 900 (تسعمئة) + and (و) + 3 (ثلاثة).
| The first aviation flight was in the year nineteen hundred and three. | كانت أول رحلة طيران في عام ألف وتسعمئة وثلاثة.kânat awwalu rihlati tayarânin fî âmi 'alfin wa tis'imi'atin wa thalâthatin |
For a year like 1890, the structure is: 1000 (ألف) + and (و) + 800 (ثمانمئة) + and (و) + 90 (تسعين).
| The famous pilot lived in the year eighteen hundred and ninety. | عاش الطيار المشهور في عام ألف وثمانمئة وتسعين.âsha at-tayyâru al-mash'hûru fî 'âmi alfin wa thamânimi'atin wa tis'în |
When a year includes both units and tens, remember that Arabic places the units before the tens (e.g., 1812 ends with واثني عشر, meaning "and twelve").
| The contractor built this factory in the year eighteen hundred and twelve. | بنى المقاول هذا المصنع في عام ألف وثمانمئة واثني عشر.banâ al-muqâwilu hâdhâ al-masnaa fî âmi alfin wa thamânimi'atin wathnay ashar |
More Years in Action
Here are a few more examples showing how different hundreds and tens combine to form years. Notice how 1200 becomes ألف ومئتين because the dual form مئتان shifts to مئتين in the genitive case after عام.
| The king built the huge castle in the year fourteen hundred and fifty. | بنى الملك القلعة الضخمة في عام ألف وأربعمئة وخمسين.banâ al-maliku al-qal'ata ad-dakhmata fî 'âmi alfin wa-arba'imi'atin wa-khamsîna |
| The famous university started in the year twelve hundred, not in the year thirteen hundred. | بدأت الجامعة المشهورة في عام ألف ومئتين، وليس في عام ألف وثلاثمئة.bada'ati aljâmi'atu almashhûratu fî âmi alfin wa mi'atayni, wa laysa fî âmi alfin wa thalâthimi'atin. |
| The plane arrived in Paris in the year nineteen hundred and twenty. | وصلت الطائرة إلى باريس في عام ألف وتسعمئة وعشرين.wasalati t-tâ'iratu ilâ bârîsa fî âmi alfin wa-tis'imi'atin wa-'ishrîn |
Full Dates
To express a full, exact date, you can use ordinal numbers to specify the day and the month before stating the year.
The formal structure is: اليوم (the day) + [ordinal number] + من الشهر (of the month) + [ordinal number] + عام (year) + [number].
| The first flight happened on the ninth day of the tenth month, year nineteen hundred and three. | حدثت أول رحلة في اليوم التاسع من الشهر العاشر، عام ألف وتسعمئة وثلاثة.hadathat awwalu rihlatin fi alyawmi attaasii mina ashshahri alaashiri, aama alfin watisimi'atin wathalathatin |
| The king died on the fifth day of the second month, year eighteen hundred. | توفي الملك في اليوم الخامس من الشهر الثاني، عام ألف وثمانمئة.tuwuffiya al-maliku fi al-yawmi al-khâmisi mina ash-shahri ath-thâni, âma alfin wa thamânimi'atin. |
