With numbers, you can finally answer “how many” for anything you've learned to name. Arabic numbers have a famous quirk: from three to ten, the number's gender is the opposite of the noun it counts — it feels backwards at first, but once it clicks, you'll count confidently.
Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.
BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Count from one to ten in Arabic
Apply the ‘reversed agreement’ rule for the numbers 3–10
Ask and state simple quantities using عِنْدَ (‘have’) and كَمْ (‘how many’)
Read a verse naming a well-known number from Islamic practice
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 60 min — numbers 1–10 with gender polarity is genuinely dense.
Watch out for: Gender-reversed agreement (٣ كُتُبٍ but ثَلَاثَة) is the single hardest rule in early Arabic — budget extra drill time.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf and Maryam count copies of the Qur'ān in a box. Listen twice, then read aloud.
YŪSUF
كَمْ مُصْحَفًا فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ؟
kam muṣḥafan fi-ṣ-ṣundūq?
How many muṣḥafs are in the box?
MARYAM
فِيهِ خَمْسَةُ مَصَاحِفَ.
fīhi khamsatu maṣāḥif.
There are five muṣḥafs in it.
YŪSUF
وَكَمْ صَفًّا هُنَا فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ؟
wa kam ṣaffan huna fi-l-madrasah?
And how many classes are there here at the school?
MARYAM
ثَلَاثَةُ صُفُوفٍ فَقَطْ.
thalāthatu ṣufufin faqaṭ.
Only three classes.
YŪSUF
وَعِنْدَنَا خَمْسُ صَلَوَاتٍ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ.
wa ‘indanā khamsu ṣalawātin kulla yawm.
And we have five prayers every day.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
Notice how the number's own ending changes depending on the noun's gender — the reversed pattern explained below.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEWوَاحِدٌ/وَاحِدَةٌ
wāḥid / wāḥidah
one (m./f.)
Agrees normally, like an adjective.
NEWثَلَاثَةُ
thalāthatu
three
Used with feminine nouns — see grammar box.
NEWأَرْبَعَةُ
arba‘atu
four
—
NEWخَمْسَةُ
khamsatu
five
خَمْسُ صَلَوَاتٍ — the five daily prayers.
NEWعَشَرَةُ
‘asharatu
ten
—
NEWكَمْ
kam
how many, how much
Followed by a singular accusative noun.
NEWصُنْدُوقٌ
ṣundūq
a box
—
NEWعِنْدَ
‘inda
to have, at (a location word)
عِنْدِي — ‘I have’, literally ‘at me.’
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYكَمْ
kam
how many?
The natural question word to pair with numbers — كَمْ كِتَابًا عِنْدَكَ؟, "how many books do you have?"
EARLYفَقَطْ
faqaṭ
only, just
—
EARLYسُؤَالٌ
su’āl
a question
—
EARLYمَرَّةً / مَعًا
marratan / ma‘an
once, a time / together
—
EARLYيُوجَدُ
yūjad
there is, there exists
—
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
Reversed agreement, 3–10. With the numbers three through ten, the number takes the opposite gender marker from the noun it counts.
ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ
thalāthatu kutub three books — كِتَابٌ is masculine, so the number takes ة
خَمْسُ صَلَوَاتٍ
khamsu ṣalawāt five prayers — صَلَاةٌ is feminine, so the number drops ة
عِنْدَ + suffix = “to have.” Arabic has no verb “to have” — instead, it uses the location word عِنْدَ (“at”) plus a possessive suffix, still nominal, no conjugated verb.
عِنْدِي خَمْسَةُ كُتُبٍ
‘indī khamsatu kutub I have five books (literally: at me, five books)
Quick check: would you say خَمْسُ or خَمْسَةُ before صَلَوَاتٍ (prayers, feminine)? (خَمْسُ — drop the ة because the noun is feminine.)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
A number woven into the very structure of Muslim daily life — named directly in the Qur'ān.
SŪRAT AL-BAQARAH — 2:196 (PHRASE PATTERN)
فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ
then a fast of three days...
فَصِيَامُ
fa ṣiyāmu
then a fast of
ثَلَاثَةِ
thalāthati
three
أَيَّامٍ
ayyāmin
days
ثَلَاثَةِ takes ة because يَوْمٌ (day) is masculine — exactly this chapter's rule. صِيَامُ here is a noun (‘a fast’), not a conjugated verb, so the whole phrase stays within what you already know.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Common phrases and set expressions using numbers.
الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ
aṣ-ṣalawātu-l-khams — the five daily prayers
أَرْكَانُ الْإِسْلَامِ الْخَمْسَةُ
the Five Pillars of Islam
مَرَّةً وَاحِدَةً
marratan wāḥidatan — one time, once
أَرْبَعَةُ فُصُولٍ
arba‘atu fuṣūl — four seasons
سَبْعُ سَمَاوَاتٍ
sab‘u samāwāt — seven heavens
عِنْدِي سُؤَالٌ
‘indī su’āl — I have a question
عِنْدَكَ وَقْتٌ؟
‘indaka waqt? — do you have time?
لَا يُوجَدُ عِنْدِي شَيْءٌ
lā yūjadu ‘indī shay’ — I don't have anything
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 7.1
Salmā counts her siblings for Aḥmad. Listen first, script second.
1. Four. 2. Three. 3. Pray the five daily prayers together.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Ask “كَمْ ___ عِنْدَكَ؟” about siblings, books, or pens, and answer with the correctly-gendered number.
Recycling round. Answer with كِتَابٌ or حَقِيبَةٌ from Chapter Four rather than generic objects, so the numbers attach to nouns your partner already recognises.
6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)
فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ سِتَّةُ مَصَاحِفَ.true / false
فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ ثَلَاثَةُ صُفُوفٍ.true / false
الصَّلَوَاتُ الْيَوْمِيَّةُ أَرْبَعٌ.true / false
Reveal answers
1. False — there are five. 2. True. 3. False — there are five daily prayers.
SKILLS PRACTICE
قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading
Hover to check — no test, just read
A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.