Egyptian Arabic Grammar

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:

DigitEnglishEgyptian
0
٠
zero Sifr
صـِفر
1
١
one waahid
وا َحـِد
2
٢
two 'itneen
إتنين
3
٣
three talaata
تـَلا َتـَة
4
٤
four 'arbaAa
أربـَعـَة
5
٥
five Kamsa
خـَمسـَة
6
٦
six sitta
سـِتّـَة
7
٧
seven sabAa
سـَبعـَة
8
٨
eight tamanya
تـَما َنيـَة
9
٩
nine tisAa
تـِسعـَة
10
١٠
ten Aashara
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).

ExampleFunction
Cardinalfiveused to count things
Ordinalfifthused 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:

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 Sifr
صـِفر
mafeesh
مـَفيش

+plural
noun
maSriyyin
مـَصر ِييـِن
wazn
و َزن

filoos
فـِلوس

shaai
شا َي
rigaala
ر ِجا َلاَ

sittaat
سـِتّا َت
kutoob
كـُتوب

karaasi
كـَرا َسي

da'aayi'
د َقا َيـِق
one waahid
وا َحـِد

+sing
noun
maSri
مـَصري
keelw
كيلو

gineeh
جـِنيه

shaai
شا َي
wahda
وا َحد َة

+sing
noun
maSriya
مـَصر ِيـَة
ns
on its own
raagil
را َجـِل

sitt
سـِتّ
kitaab
كـِتا َب

kursi
كـُرسي

di'ee'a
د ِقيقـَة
two 'itneen
إتنين

+plural
noun
maSriyyin
مـَصر ِييـِن
rigaala
ر ِجا َلاَ

sittaat
سـِتّا َت
'itneen
إتنين

+sing
noun
keelw
كيلو

geeneeh
جينيه

shaai
شا َي
noun-yn kitabeen
كـِتا َبين

kursiyyin
كـُرسـِييـِن

di'i'teen
د ِقـِقتين
three talaata
تـَلا َتـَة

+sing
noun
maSri
مـَصري

maSrya
مـَصريـَة
keelw
كيلو

geeneeh
جينيه

shaai
شا َي
talat
تـَلـَت

+plural
noun
rigaala
ر ِجا َلاَ

sittaat
سـِتّا َت
kutoob
كـُتوب

karaasi
كـَرا َسي

da'aayi'
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 mish مـِش. For example, fi في means there is..., and so mafeesh مـَفيش means there is no.... As in English, the noun is a plural. Alternatively, you can use or without- min Geer مـِن غير.

EnglishEgyptian
zeroSifr
صـِفر
no Egyptians (m/f)mafeesh maSriyyin
مـَفيش مـَصر ِييـِن
no weightmafeesh wazn
مـَفيش و َزن
no moneymafeesh filoos
مـَفيش فـِلوس
no teamafeesh shaai
مـَفيش شا َي
no menmafeesh ragaala
مـَفيش را َجا َلاَ
no womenmafeesh sittaat
مـَفيش سـِتّا َت
no booksmafeesh kutoob
مـَفيش كـُتوب
no chairsmafeesh karaasi
مـَفيش كـَرا َسي
no secondsmafeesh da'aayi'
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 waahid
وا َحـِد
one Egyptian (m) waahid maSri
وا َحـِد مـَصري
one Egyptian (f) wahda maSriya
و َحد َة مـَصر ِيـَة
a kilo waahid keelw
وا َحـِد كيلو
a guinea waahid gineeh
وا َحـِد جـِنيه
one tea waahid shaai
وا َحـِد شا َي
a man raagil
را َجـِل
a woman sitt
سـِتّ
a book kitaab
كـِتا َب
a chair kursi
كـُرسي

Two

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

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

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

English
two 'itneen
إتنين
two Egyptians (m/f) 'itneen maSryyin
إتنين مـَصرييـِن
two kilos 'itneen keelw
إتنين كيلو
two guineas 'itneen gineeh
إتنين جـِنيه
two teas 'itneen shaai
إتنين شا َي
two men 'itneen ragaala
إتنين ر َجا َلاَ
two women 'itneen sittaat
إتنين سـِتّا َت
two books kitabeen
كـِتا َبين
two chair kursiyyin
كـُرسـِييـِن
two minutes di'i'teen
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:

DigitEnglishEgyptianEnglishEgyptian
3
٣
three talaata
تـَلا َتـَة
three bookstalat kutub
تـَلـَت كـُتـُب
4
٤
four 'arbaAa
أربـَعـَة
four books'arbaAa kutub
أربـَع َ كـُتـُب
5
٥
five Kamsa
خـَمسـَة
five booksKamas kutub
خـَمـَس كـُتـُب
6
٦
six sitta
سـِتّـَة
six bookssitt kutub
سـِتّ كـُتـُب
7
٧
seven sabAa
سـَبعـَة
seven bookssabaA kutub
سـَبـَع كـُتـُب
8
٨
eight tamanya
تـَما َنيـَة
eight bookstaman kutub
تـَمـَن كـُتـُب
9
٩
nine tisAa
تـِسعـَة
nine bookstisAa kutub
تـِسع َ كـُتـُب
10
١٠
ten Aashara
عـَشـَر َة
ten booksAashara 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:

EnglishSingular Plural
dayyoom
يوم tiyaem
تـِيا َم
montshahr
شـَهر tushhoor
تـُشهور
personnafar
نـَفـَر tinfaar
تـِنفا َر
plateTaba'
طـَبـَق tiTbaa'
تـِطبا َق
thousand'alf
ألف talaaf
تـَلا َف

Eleven to Ninety Nine

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

English EgyptianEnglish Egyptian
eleven hidaashar
حـِدا َشـَر
eleven bookshidaashar kitaab
حـِدا َشـَر كـِتا َب
twelve 'itnaashar
إتنا َشـَر
twelve books'itnaashar kitaab
إتنا َشـَر كـِتا َب
thirteen talatshar
تـَلا َتشـَر
thirteen bookstalatshar kitaab
تـَلا َتشـَر كـِتا َب
fourteen 'arbaAtashar
أربـَعتـَشـَر
fourteen books'arbatAshar kitaab
أربـَتعشـَر كـِتا َب
fifteen Kamastashar
خـَمـَستـَشـَر
fifteen booksKamastashar kitaab
خـَمـَستـَشـَر كـِتا َب
sixteen sittashar
سـِتّـَشـَر
sixteen bookssittashar kitaab
سـِتّـَشـَر كـِتا َب
seventeen sabaAtashar
سـَبـَعتـَشـَر
seventeen bookssabaAtashar kitaab
سـَبـَعتـَشـَر كـِتا َب
eighteen tamantashar
تـَمـَنتـَشـَر
eighteen bookstamantashar kitaab
تـَمـَنتـَشـَر كـِتا َب
nineteen tisAatashar
تـِسعـَتـَشـَر
nineteen bookstisAatashar 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 wa وَ in between:

35 thirty five
35 Kamsa wa talateen
٣٥ خـَمسـَة و َ تـَلـَتين

Here are the numbers from 20 to 90:

English Egyptian
twenty Aashareen
عـَشـَرين
thirty talateen
تـَلـَتين
forty 'arbaAeen
أربـَعين
fifty Kamseen
خـَمسين
sixty sitteen
سـِتّين
seventy sabaAeen
سـَبـَعين
eighty tamaneen
تـَمـَنين
ninety tisAeen
تـِسعين

Hundreds

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

English Egyptianshort form
+ singular noun
one hundred miya
مـِيـَةmeet kitaab
ميت كـِتا َب
two hundred miteen
مـِتينmiteen kitaab
مـِتين كـِتا َب
three hundred tultumiya
تـُلتـُمـِيـَةtultumeet kitaab
تـُلتـُميت كـِتا َب
four hundred rubAumiya
ر ُبعـُمـِيـَةrubAumeet kitaab
ر ُبعـُميت كـِتا َب
five hundred Kamsumiya
خـَمسـُمـِيـَةKamsameet kitaab
خـَمسـَميت كـِتا َب
six hundred suttumiya
سـُتّـُمـِيـَةsuttumeet kitaab
سـُتّـُميت كـِتا َب
seven hundred subuAmiya
سـُبـُعمـِيـَةsubuAameet kitaab
سـُبـُعـَميت كـِتا َب
eight hundred tumunumiya
تـُمـُنـُمـِيـَةtumunumeet kitaab
تـُمـُنـُميت كـِتا َب
nine hundred tusAumiya
تـُسعـُمـِيـَةtusAumeet kitaab
تـُسعـُميت كـِتا َب

Thousands

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

EnglishEgyptian
one thousand alf
ا َلف
two thousand alfeen
ا َلفين
three thousand talat talaaf
تـَلـَت تـَلا َف
four thousand 'arbaA talaaf
أربـَع تـَلا َف
five thousand Kamas talaaf
خـَمـَس تـَلا َف
six thousand sit talaaf
سـِت تـَلا َف
seven thousand sabaA talaaf
سـَبـَع تـَلا َف
eight thousand taman talaaf
تـَمـَن تـَلا َف
nine thousand tisaA talaaf
تـِسـَع تـَلا َف
ten thousand Aashar talaaf
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 il 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.

EnglishEgyptian
the third dayilyoom iltaalit
ا ِليوم ا ِلتا َلـِت
third daytaalit yoom
تا َلـِت يوم
the third timeilmarra iltalta
ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلتا َلتـَة
third timetaalit marra
تا َلـِت مـَرّ َة
the tenth dayilyoom ilAaashir
ا ِليوم ا ِلعا َشـِر
tenth dayAaashir yoom
عا َشـِر يوم
the tenth timeilmarra ilAashra
ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلعا َشـِر َة
tenth timeAaashir marra
عا َشـِر مـَرّ َة
the eleventh dayilyoom ilhidaashar
ا ِليوم ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
eleventh timeilmarra ilhidaashar
ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
the twentieth dayilyoom ilAashareen
ا ِليوم ا ِلعـَشـَرين
twentieh timeilmarra ilAashareen
ا ِلمـَرّ َة ا ِلعـَشـَرين

Here are the first ten ordinals:

EnglishEgyptianEnglishEgyptian
first awwil
ا َوّ ِل the first book ilkitaab il'awwil
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلأوّ ِل
'uoola
أ ُولاَ the first cat il'uTTa il'uoola
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلأ ُولاَ
second taani
تا َني the second book ilkitaab iltaani
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َني
tanya
تا َنيـَة the second cat il'uTTa iltanya
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َنيـَة
third taalit
تا َلـِت the third book ilkitaab iltaalit
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َلـِت
talta
تا َلتـَة the third cat il'uTTa iltalta
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َلتـَة
fourth rabAa
را َبعَ the fourth book ilkitaab ilrabAa
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلرا َبعَ
rabAa
ر َبعـَة the fourth cat il'uTTa ilrabAa
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلر َبعـَة
fifth Kams
خا َمس the fifth book ilkitaab ilKaamis
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلخا َمـِس
Kamsa
خـَمسـَة the fifth cat il'uTTa ilKamsa
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلخـَمسـَة
sixth saadis
سا َد ِس the sixth book ilkitaab ilsaadis
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلسا َد ِس
saatit
سا َتـِة the sixth cat il'uTTa ilsaatit
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلسا َتـِة
seventh saabiA
سا َبـِع the seventh book ilkitaab ilsaabiA
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلسا َبـِع
seventh sabAa
سا َبـِعـَة the seventh cat il'uTTa ilsabAa
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلسا َبـِعـَة
eighth taamin
تا َمـِن the eighth book ilkitaab iltaamin
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َمـِن
eighth tamna
تـَمنـَة the eighth cat il'uTTa iltamna
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتـَمنـَة
ninth taasiA
تا َسـِع the ninth book ilkitaab iltaasiA
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتا َسـِع
ninth tasAa
تا َسعـَة the ninth cat il'uTTa iltasAa
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلتا َسـِعـَة
tenth Aaashir
عا َشـِر the tenth book ilkitaab ilAaashir
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلعا َشـِر
tenth Aashra
عا َشـِر َة the tenth cat il'uTTa ilAashra
ا ِلقـُطّـَة ا ِلعا َشـِر َة

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

NumberOrdinalEnglish Egyptian
eleven hidaashar
حـِدا َشـَر the eleventh bookilkitaab ilhidaashar
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلحـِدا َشـَر
twelve 'itnaashar
إتنا َشـَر the twelfth bookilkitaab il'itnashar
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلإتنـَشـَر
thirteen talaatashar
تـَلا َتـَشـَر the thirteenth bookilkitaab iltalaatashar
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـَلا َتـَشـَر
twenty Aashareen
عـَشـَرين the twentieth bookilkitaab ilAashareen
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلعـَشـَرين
thirty thalateen
ثـَلـَتين the thirtieth bookilkitaab iltalateen
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـَلـَتين
forty 'arbaAeen
أربـَعين the fortieth bookilkitaab il'arbaAeen
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلأربـَعين
one hundred miya
مـِيـَة the hundredth bookilkitaab ilmiya
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلمـِيـَة
two hundred miteen
مـِتين the two hundredth bookilkitaab ilmiteen
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلمـِتين
three hundred tultumiya
تـُلتـُمـِيـَة the three hundredth bookilkitaab iltultumiya
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلتـُلتـُمـِيـَة
one thousand 'alf
ألف the thousandth bookilkitaab il'alf
ا ِلكـِتا َب ا ِلألف

Fractions

The following fractions are widely used:

EnglishEgyptian
halfnooS
نوص
a thirdtilt
تـِلت
a quarterrubaA
ر ُبـَع
three quarterstalaat 'arbaAa
تـَلا َت أربـَعَ

Questions

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

TypeEnglishEgyptian
countHow many children do you have?Aandak kam walad?
عـَند َك كـَم و َلـَد؟
countHow many days will you stay?kam yoom hatinizil?
كـَم يوم هـَتـِنـِز ِل؟
countHow many guests tomorrow?kam ziboon bukrah?
كـَم ز ِبون بـُكر َه؟
whatWhat is your telephone number?nimritak kaam?
نـِمر ِتـَك كا َم؟
whatWhat time is it?ilsaaAa kaam?
ا ِلسا َعـَة كا َم؟
whatWhat time is the meeting?il'igtimaaA ilsaaAa kaam?
ا ِلإجتـِما َع ا ِلسا َعـَة كا َم؟
whatWhat is your apartment number?sha''eetak raQam kaam?
شـَقّيتـَك ر َقـَم كا َم؟
whichWhich floor do you want?Aaayiz door kaam?
عا َيـِز دور كا َم؟

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