Arabic Numerals (how the numbers look) consist of two types: the numerals used in most of the world, which originate from Arabic, and those used in the Arabic language today. Interestingly, while the Arabic language is written from right to left, Arabic Numerals are written from left to right, for example:
“I am 42 years old today!” is translated into Arabic as “!اليوم عندي ٤٢ سنة.”
A pattern you might notice is that words containing a ١ or ٢ have word-forms that differ from any patterns
Sometimes, the numbers themselves are written in different forms, depending on the country.
| Western Arabic | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Eastern Arabic numerals[note 1] | ٠ | ١ | ٢ | ٣ | ٤ | ٥ | ٦ | ٧ | ٨ | ٩ | ١٠ |
| Persian[note 2] | ۰ | ۱ | ۲ | ۳ | ۴ | ۵ | ۶ | ۷ | ۸ | ۹ | ۱۰ |
| Urdu[note 3] | ۰ | ۱ | ۲ | ۳ | ۴ | ۵ | ۶ | ۷ | ۸ | ۹ | ۱۰ |
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Though the Persian & Urdu variants are not often found outside of Iran & Pakistan respectively, it is not impossible to run into them. It is also accepted to use western Arabic numerals, especially in typing where they are heavily favored. In this course, we will only use the eastern Arabic numerals in order to help better recognize them
Numbers ١٠-١ have no rhyme or reason, so the best thing to do is memorize them
Numbers ١٩-١١ are constructed by placing "عشر" after the number, with the exception of ١١ and ١٢ which have special word-forms. Even though these numbers are written with two separate words, they are spoken as if they are one, so ة is pronounced as ت
Numbers ending with ٠, also known as tens in English, are formed methodically by replacing ـة- with ـون-; the numbers ١٠ and ٢٠ have special forms
Hundreds also have their own forms, made by replacing ـة- and attaching the word for hundred to the base number, ـمائة-; the numbers ١٠٠ and ٢٠٠ have special forms
Other complex numbers under a thousand can be made placing the two words next to each other and adding the word "and", "-و", to the beginning of the next word; keep in mind that when reading numbers, the order is hundreds,ones, andthen tens. Here are a few examples: