Zero to four
Learn the first five digit shapes and their number names.
Counting pattern
Eastern Arabic digits represent the same values as 0–9. Zero ٠ is a small dot or ring; five ٥, coming next, is a larger loop. We use Standard Arabic citation forms for counting. Number words can change with the gender of what is counted and their grammatical role; this is not a rule for attaching every form to every noun. All base letters are familiar by this point; ة and hamza were introduced with shadda and laam–alif. If these signs are new to you, revisit that lesson. Names below use pause pronunciation without final case endings.
٠ – ٤
0 to 4
0 — ٠
Use emphatic ṣ, short i, then f and tapped r without inserting another vowel.
صِفْر
ṣifr — 0
1 — ١
Hold aa after w; ḥ is the breathy throat consonant.
وَاحِد
waaḥid — 1
2 — ٢
Begin with short i and th as in thin; hold the aa after n. The initial alif has a joining hamza (hamzat al-waṣl), pronounced when starting here.
اِثْنَان
ithnaan — 2
3 — ٣
Both th sounds are as in thin; hold the middle aa and say final -a at a pause.
ثَلَاثَة
thalaatha — 3
4 — ٤
Start with hamza and short a; stop the first syllable on r, and pronounce the ayn after b.
أَرْبَعَة
arbaʿa — 4