Numbers

Arabic digits are not the same as European digits, but unlike the letters they go in the same order- the least significant digit goes last, so the digits in a three digit number would be hundreds, tens and units. The digits are:

Digit	English	Egyptian
00 ٠	zero	SifrSifr	صـِفر
11 ١	one	waahidwaaHid	وا َحـِد
22 ٢	two	'itneeniictnyn	إتنين
33 ٣	three	talaatatalaatao	تـَلا َتـَة
44 ٤	four	'arbaAaaacrbaAao	أربـَعـَة
55 ٥	five	KamsaKamsao	خـَمسـَة
66 ٦	six	sittasittao	سـِتّـَة
77 ٧	seven	sabAasabAao	سـَبعـَة
88 ٨	eight	tamanyatamaanyao	تـَما َنيـَة
99 ٩	nine	tisAatisAao	تـِسعـَة
1010 ١٠	ten	AasharaAasharao	عـَشـَر َة

Cardinals and Ordinals

In both English and Egyptian, there are two forms of number- cardinals and ordinals. Cardinals are used to count things (one, two, three), Ordinals are used to describe sequence (first, second, etc).

	Example	Function
Cardinal	five	used to count things
Ordinal	fifth	used to describe the order, or position in sequence, of something

Cardinals

Cardinals are used for counting and specifying how many of something. Usage of the first few numbers is complicated, but it gets easier after that :-). There are special rules for:

People of a particular nationality (eg one Englishman)
Quantities- weight, money, and when you are ordering something (eg teas)
People in general (men, women etc)
Things - everything else

The following table gives an overview of the situation:

Number	Form	Nationals Egyptians	Quantities weight money tea	People men women	Things books chairs minutes
zero	SifrSifr صـِفر
zero	mafeeshmafysh مـَفيش +plural noun	maSriyyinmaSriyyin مـَصر ِييـِن	waznwazn و َزن filoosfilws فـِلوس shaaishaay شا َي	rigaalarigaalaa ر ِجا َلاَ sittaatsittaat سـِتّا َت	kutoobkutwb كـُتوب karaasikaraasy كـَرا َسي da'aayi'daqaayiq د َقا َيـِق
one	waahidwaaHid وا َحـِد +sing noun	maSrimaSry مـَصري	keelwkylw كيلو gineehginyh جـِنيه shaaishaay شا َي
	wahdawaaHdao وا َحد َة +sing noun	maSriyamaSriyao مـَصر ِيـَة
	ns on its own			raagilraagil را َجـِل sittsitt سـِتّ	kitaabkitaab كـِتا َب kursikursy كـُرسي di'ee'adiqyqao د ِقيقـَة
two	'itneeniictnyn إتنين +plural noun	maSriyyinmaSriyyin مـَصر ِييـِن		rigaalarigaalaa ر ِجا َلاَ sittaatsittaat سـِتّا َت
	'itneeniictnyn إتنين +sing noun		keelwkylw كيلو geeneehgynyh جينيه shaaishaay شا َي
	noun-yn				kitabeenkitaabyn كـِتا َبين kursiyyinkursiyyin كـُرسـِييـِن di'i'teendiqiqtyn د ِقـِقتين
three	talaatatalaatao تـَلا َتـَة +sing noun	maSrimaSry مـَصري maSryamaSryao مـَصريـَة	keelwkylw كيلو geeneehgynyh جينيه shaaishaay شا َي
three	talattalat تـَلـَت +plural noun			rigaalarigaalaa ر ِجا َلاَ sittaatsittaat سـِتّا َت	kutoobkutwb كـُتوب karaasikaraasy كـَرا َسي da'aayi'daqaayiq د َقا َيـِق
four thru nine, same as 3

Zero

For zero, there is no equivalent of no as in no books. Instead, the verb or preposition is negated with mishmish مـِش. For example, fify في means there is..., and so mafeeshmafysh مـَفيش means there is no.... As in English, the noun is a plural. Alternatively, you can use or without- min Geermin Gyr مـِن غير.

English	Egyptian
zero	SifrSifr	صـِفر
no Egyptians (m/f)	mafeesh maSriyyinmafysh maSriyyin	مـَفيش مـَصر ِييـِن
no weight	mafeesh waznmafysh wazn	مـَفيش و َزن
no money	mafeesh filoosmafysh filws	مـَفيش فـِلوس
no tea	mafeesh shaaimafysh shaay	مـَفيش شا َي
no men	mafeesh ragaalamafysh raagaalaa	مـَفيش را َجا َلاَ
no women	mafeesh sittaatmafysh sittaat	مـَفيش سـِتّا َت
no books	mafeesh kutoobmafysh kutwb	مـَفيش كـُتوب
no chairs	mafeesh karaasimafysh karaasy	مـَفيش كـَرا َسي
no seconds	mafeesh da'aayi'mafysh daqaayiq	مـَفيش د َقا َيـِق

One

The number one has a masculine and feminine form. Both forms are used for people of a particular nationality eg an Englishman.

For weights, money and when ordering things, the masculine form only is used.

In English, we would usually say a book rather than one book: the same is true in Egyptian, but there is no word for a - the noun is simply used on its own.

English	Egyptian
one	waahidwaaHid	وا َحـِد
one Egyptian (m)	waahid maSriwaaHid maSry	وا َحـِد مـَصري
one Egyptian (f)	wahda maSriyawaHdao maSriyao	و َحد َة مـَصر ِيـَة
a kilo	waahid keelwwaaHid kylw	وا َحـِد كيلو
a guinea	waahid gineehwaaHid ginyh	وا َحـِد جـِنيه
one tea	waahid shaaiwaaHid shaay	وا َحـِد شا َي
a man	raagilraagil	را َجـِل
a woman	sittsitt	سـِتّ
a book	kitaabkitaab	كـِتا َب
a chair	kursikursy	كـُرسي

Two

For people of a particular nationality, eg two Englishmen or two Egyptians, use the number 'itneeniictnyn إتنين followed by a plural noun.

For weights, money and orders, use the number 'itneeniictnyn إتنين followed by a singular noun.

For things, you should use the suffix -yn_yn ـين for masculine nouns and -teen_tyn ـتين for feminine nouns. Nouns ending in -i_y ـي take the ending -iyyin_iyyin ــِييـِن. This is equivalent to a couple which can mean exactly two, or approximately two.

English
two	'itneeniictnyn	إتنين
two Egyptians (m/f)	'itneen maSryyiniictnyn maSryyin	إتنين مـَصرييـِن
two kilos	'itneen keelwiictnyn kylw	إتنين كيلو
two guineas	'itneen gineehiictnyn ginyh	إتنين جـِنيه
two teas	'itneen shaaiiictnyn shaay	إتنين شا َي
two men	'itneen ragaalaiictnyn ragaalaa	إتنين ر َجا َلاَ
two women	'itneen sittaatiictnyn sittaat	إتنين سـِتّا َت
two books	kitabeenkitaabyn	كـِتا َبين
two chair	kursiyyinkursiyyin	كـُرسـِييـِن
two minutes	di'i'teendiqiqtyn	د ِقـِقتين

Three to Ten

For People of nationalities, use the number followed by a plural noun.

For weights, money and when ordering things, use the number followed by a singular noun.

For people and things, use the short form listed below followed by a plural noun:

Digit	English	Egyptian	English	Egyptian
33 ٣	three	talaatatalaatao تـَلا َتـَة	three books	talat kutubtalat kutub تـَلـَت كـُتـُب
44 ٤	four	'arbaAaaacrbaAao أربـَعـَة	four books	'arbaAa kutubaacrbaAa kutub أربـَع َ كـُتـُب
55 ٥	five	KamsaKamsao خـَمسـَة	five books	Kamas kutubKamas kutub خـَمـَس كـُتـُب
66 ٦	six	sittasittao سـِتّـَة	six books	sitt kutubsitt kutub سـِتّ كـُتـُب
77 ٧	seven	sabAasabAao سـَبعـَة	seven books	sabaA kutubsabaA kutub سـَبـَع كـُتـُب
88 ٨	eight	tamanyatamaanyao تـَما َنيـَة	eight books	taman kutubtaman kutub تـَمـَن كـُتـُب
99 ٩	nine	tisAatisAao تـِسعـَة	nine books	tisAa kutubtisAa kutub تـِسع َ كـُتـُب
1010 ١٠	ten	AasharaAasharao عـَشـَر َة	ten books	Aashara kutubAasharao kutub عـَشـَر َة كـُتـُب

A very small number of nouns have a different plural when you are talking about between 3 and 10 of them. These are:

English	Singular		Plural
day	yoomywm	يوم	tiyaemtiyaem	تـِيا َم
mont	shahrshahr	شـَهر	tushhoortushhwr	تـُشهور
person	nafarnafar	نـَفـَر	tinfaartinfaar	تـِنفا َر
plate	Taba'Tabaq	طـَبـَق	tiTbaa'tiTbaaq	تـِطبا َق
thousand	'alfaaclf	ألف	talaaftalaaf	تـَلا َف

Eleven to Ninety Nine

From 11 onwards, if the number is followed by a noun, the noun must be singular:

English	Egyptian	English	Egyptian
eleven	hidaasharHidaashar حـِدا َشـَر	eleven books	hidaashar kitaabHidaashar kitaab حـِدا َشـَر كـِتا َب
twelve	'itnaashariictnaashar إتنا َشـَر	twelve books	'itnaashar kitaabiictnaashar kitaab إتنا َشـَر كـِتا َب
thirteen	talatshartalaatshar تـَلا َتشـَر	thirteen books	talatshar kitaabtalaatshar kitaab تـَلا َتشـَر كـِتا َب
fourteen	'arbaAtasharaacrbaAtashar أربـَعتـَشـَر	fourteen books	'arbatAshar kitaabaacrbatAshar kitaab أربـَتعشـَر كـِتا َب
fifteen	KamastasharKamastashar خـَمـَستـَشـَر	fifteen books	Kamastashar kitaabKamastashar kitaab خـَمـَستـَشـَر كـِتا َب
sixteen	sittasharsittashar سـِتّـَشـَر	sixteen books	sittashar kitaabsittashar kitaab سـِتّـَشـَر كـِتا َب
seventeen	sabaAtasharsabaAtashar سـَبـَعتـَشـَر	seventeen books	sabaAtashar kitaabsabaAtashar kitaab سـَبـَعتـَشـَر كـِتا َب
eighteen	tamantashartamantashar تـَمـَنتـَشـَر	eighteen books	tamantashar kitaabtamantashar kitaab تـَمـَنتـَشـَر كـِتا َب
nineteen	tisAatashartisAatashar تـِسعـَتـَشـَر	nineteen books	tisAatashar kitaabtisAatashar kitaab تـِسعـَتـَشـَر كـِتا َب

The digits in Egyptian numbers are written in the same order as in European numbers. When expressed as words, however, the two digits are stated as units and tens, as in German not English, with wawa وَ in between:

35 thirty five

35 Kamsa wa talateen35 Kamsao wa talatyn٣٥ خـَمسـَة و َ تـَلـَتين

Here are the numbers from 20 to 90:

English	Egyptian
twenty	AashareenAasharyn	عـَشـَرين
thirty	talateentalatyn	تـَلـَتين
forty	'arbaAeenaacrbaAyn	أربـَعين
fifty	KamseenKamsyn	خـَمسين
sixty	sitteensittyn	سـِتّين
seventy	sabaAeensabaAyn	سـَبـَعين
eighty	tamaneentamanyn	تـَمـَنين
ninety	tisAeentisAyn	تـِسعين

Hundreds

Here are the numbers from one to nine hundred. Note that the short form meetmyt ميت is used when hundreds are followed by a noun (which must be singular):

English	Egyptian		short form + singular noun
one hundred	miyamiyao	مـِيـَة	meet kitaabmyt kitaab	ميت كـِتا َب
two hundred	miteenmityn	مـِتين	miteen kitaabmityn kitaab	مـِتين كـِتا َب
three hundred	tultumiyatultumiyao	تـُلتـُمـِيـَة	tultumeet kitaabtultumyt kitaab	تـُلتـُميت كـِتا َب
four hundred	rubAumiyarubAumiyao	ر ُبعـُمـِيـَة	rubAumeet kitaabrubAumyt kitaab	ر ُبعـُميت كـِتا َب
five hundred	KamsumiyaKamsumiyao	خـَمسـُمـِيـَة	Kamsameet kitaabKamsamyt kitaab	خـَمسـَميت كـِتا َب
six hundred	suttumiyasuttumiyao	سـُتّـُمـِيـَة	suttumeet kitaabsuttumyt kitaab	سـُتّـُميت كـِتا َب
seven hundred	subuAmiyasubuAmiyao	سـُبـُعمـِيـَة	subuAameet kitaabsubuAamyt kitaab	سـُبـُعـَميت كـِتا َب
eight hundred	tumunumiyatumunumiyao	تـُمـُنـُمـِيـَة	tumunumeet kitaabtumunumyt kitaab	تـُمـُنـُميت كـِتا َب
nine hundred	tusAumiyatusAumiyao	تـُسعـُمـِيـَة	tusAumeet kitaabtusAumyt kitaab تـُسعـُميت كـِتا َب

Thousands

Here are the numbers from one to nine thousand. Five thousand should really be Kamsaat 'alfKamsaat aaclf خـَمسا َت ألف, but it is pronounced as below.

English	Egyptian
one thousand	alfaalf	ا َلف
two thousand	alfeenaalfyn	ا َلفين
three thousand	talat talaaftalat t-alaaf	تـَلـَت تـَلا َف
four thousand	'arbaA talaafaacrbaA t-alaaf	أربـَع تـَلا َف
five thousand	Kamas talaafKamas t-alaaf	خـَمـَس تـَلا َف
six thousand	sit talaafsit t-alaaf	سـِت تـَلا َف
seven thousand	sabaA talaafsabaA t-alaaf	سـَبـَع تـَلا َف
eight thousand	taman talaaftaman t-alaaf	تـَمـَن تـَلا َف
nine thousand	tisaA talaaftisaA t-alaaf	تـِسـَع تـَلا َف
ten thousand	Aashar talaafAashar t-alaaf	عـَشـَر تـَلا َف

Ordinals

To explain the sequence of things (first, second, third), you use the ordinal. It can be either as an adjective or as a noun in the genitive form: As an adjective, the ordinal be preceded by iliil- ا ِل and, for 1 to 9, must agree with the gender of the noun. From 11 onwards, the cardinal numbers are the same as ordinals, and are used as adjectives only.

English	Egyptian
the third day	ilyoom iltaalitiil-ywm iil-taalit	ا ِليوم ا ِلتا َلـِت
third day	taalit yoomtaalit ywm	تا َلـِت يوم
the third time	ilmarra iltaltaiil-marrao iil-taaltao	ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلتا َلتـَة
third time	taalit marrataalit marrao	تا َلـِت مـَرّ َة
the tenth day	ilyoom ilAaashiriil-ywm iil-Aaashir	ا ِليوم ا ِلعا َشـِر
tenth day	Aaashir yoomAaashir ywm	عا َشـِر يوم
the tenth time	ilmarra ilAashraiil-marrao iil-Aaashirao	ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلعا َشـِر َة
tenth time	Aaashir marraAaashir marrao	عا َشـِر مـَرّ َة
the eleventh day	ilyoom ilhidaashariil-ywm iil-Hidaashar	ا ِليوم ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
eleventh time	ilmarra ilhidaashariil-marrao iil-Hidaashar	ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
the twentieth day	ilyoom ilAashareeniil-ywm iil-Aasharyn	ا ِليوم ا ِلعـَشـَرين
twentieh time	ilmarra ilAashareeniil-marrao iil-Aasharyn	ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلعـَشـَرين

Here are the first ten ordinals:

English	Egyptian		English	Egyptian
first	awwilaawwil	ا َوّ ِل	the first book	ilkitaab il'awwiliil-kitaab iil-aacwwil	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلأوّ ِل
	'uoolauucwlaa	أ ُولاَ	the first cat	il'uTTa il'uoolaiil-quTTao iil-uucwlaa	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلأ ُولاَ
second	taanitaany	تا َني	the second book	ilkitaab iltaaniiil-kitaab iil-taany	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َني
	tanyataanyao	تا َنيـَة	the second cat	il'uTTa iltanyaiil-quTTao iil-taanyao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َنيـَة
third	taalittaalit	تا َلـِت	the third book	ilkitaab iltaalitiil-kitaab iil-taalit	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َلـِت
	taltataaltao	تا َلتـَة	the third cat	il'uTTa iltaltaiil-quTTao iil-taaltao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َلتـَة
fourth	rabAaraabAa	را َبعَ	the fourth book	ilkitaab ilrabAaiil-kitaab iil-raabAa	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلرا َبعَ
	rabAarabAao	ر َبعـَة	the fourth cat	il'uTTa ilrabAaiil-quTTao iil-rabAao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلر َبعـَة
fifth	KamsKaams	خا َمس	the fifth book	ilkitaab ilKaamisiil-kitaab iil-Kaamis	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلخا َمـِس
	KamsaKamsao	خـَمسـَة	the fifth cat	il'uTTa ilKamsaiil-quTTao iil-Kamsao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلخـَمسـَة
sixth	saadissaadis	سا َد ِس	the sixth book	ilkitaab ilsaadisiil-kitaab iil-saadis	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلسا َد ِس
	saatitsaatio	سا َتـِة	the sixth cat	il'uTTa ilsaatitiil-quTTao iil-saatio	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلسا َتـِة
seventh	saabiAsaabiA	سا َبـِع	the seventh book	ilkitaab ilsaabiAiil-kitaab iil-saabiA	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلسا َبـِع
seventh	sabAasaabiAao	سا َبـِعـَة	the seventh cat	il'uTTa ilsabAaiil-quTTao iil-saabiAao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلسا َبـِعـَة
eighth	taamintaamin	تا َمـِن	the eighth book	ilkitaab iltaaminiil-kitaab iil-taamin	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َمـِن
eighth	tamnatamnao	تـَمنـَة	the eighth cat	il'uTTa iltamnaiil-quTTao iil-tamnao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتـَمنـَة
ninth	taasiAtaasiA	تا َسـِع	the ninth book	ilkitaab iltaasiAiil-kitaab iil-taasiA	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َسـِع
ninth	tasAataasAao	تا َسعـَة	the ninth cat	il'uTTa iltasAaiil-quTTao iil-taasiAao	ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َسـِعـَة
tenth	AaashirAaashir	عا َشـِر	the tenth book	ilkitaab ilAaashiriil-kitaab iil-Aaashir	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلعا َشـِر
tenth	AashraAaashirao	عا َشـِر َة	the tenth cat	il'uTTa ilAashraiil-quTTao iil-Aaashirao ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلعا َشـِر َة

From the eleventh onwards, the cardinal and ordinal are the same. Here are some examples:

Number	Ordinal		English	Egyptian
eleven	hidaasharHidaashar	حـِدا َشـَر	the eleventh book	ilkitaab ilhidaashariil-kitaab iil-Hidaashar	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
twelve	'itnaashariictnaashar	إتنا َشـَر	the twelfth book	ilkitaab il'itnashariil-kitaab iil-iictnashar	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلإتنـَشـَر
thirteen	talaatashartalaatashar	تـَلا َتـَشـَر	the thirteenth book	ilkitaab iltalaatashariil-kitaab iil-talaatashar	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـَلا َتـَشـَر
twenty	AashareenAasharyn	عـَشـَرين	the twentieth book	ilkitaab ilAashareeniil-kitaab iil-Aasharyn	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلعـَشـَرين
thirty	thalateenthalatyn	ثـَلـَتين	the thirtieth book	ilkitaab iltalateeniil-kitaab iil-talatyn	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـَلـَتين
forty	'arbaAeenaacrbaAyn	أربـَعين	the fortieth book	ilkitaab il'arbaAeeniil-kitaab iil-aacrbaAyn	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلأربـَعين
one hundred	miyamiyao	مـِيـَة	the hundredth book	ilkitaab ilmiyaiil-kitaab iil-miyao	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلمـِيـَة
two hundred	miteenmityn	مـِتين	the two hundredth book	ilkitaab ilmiteeniil-kitaab iil-mityn	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلمـِتين
three hundred	tultumiyatultumiyao	تـُلتـُمـِيـَة	the three hundredth book	ilkitaab iltultumiyaiil-kitaab iil-tultumiyao	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـُلتـُمـِيـَة
one thousand	'alfaaclf	ألف	the thousandth book	ilkitaab il'alfiil-kitaab iil-aaclf	ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلألف

Fractions

The following fractions are widely used:

English	Egyptian
half	nooSnwS	نوص
a third	tilttilt	تـِلت
a quarter	rubaArubaA	ر ُبـَع
three quarters	talaat 'arbaAatalaat aacrbaAa	تـَلا َت أربـَعَ

Questions

To ask how many people or things, you should use kamkam كـَم before the noun. To ask for a sequence or reference number (what or which, you put the kamkam كـَم after the noun. In all of these cases, the noun is singular.

Type	English	Egyptian
count	How many children do you have?	Aandak kam walad?Aandak kam walad?	عـَند َك كـَم و َلـَد؟
count	How many days will you stay?	kam yoom hatinizil?kam ywm hatinizil?	كـَم يوم هـَتـِنـِز ِل؟
count	How many guests tomorrow?	kam ziboon bukrah?kam zibwn bukrah?	كـَم ز ِبون بـُكر َه؟
what	What is your telephone number?	nimritak kaam?nimritak kaam?	نـِمر ِتـَك كا َم؟
what	What time is it?	ilsaaAa kaam?iil-saaAao kaam?	ا ِلسا َعـَة كا َم؟
what	What time is the meeting?	il'igtimaaA ilsaaAa kaam?iil-iicgtimaaA iil-saaAao kaam?	ا ِلإجتـِما َع ا ِلسا َعـَة كا َم؟
what	What is your apartment number?	sha''eetak raQam kaam?shaqqyt-ak raQam kaam?	شـَقّيتـَك ر َقـَم كا َم؟
which	Which floor do you want?	Aaayiz door kaam?Aaayiz dwr kaam?	عا َيـِز دور كا َم؟

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