Teaching your child to count in Arabic can feel harder than it should be. They know English numbers well past 100, but in Arabic they manage wahid, ithnan, thalatha, and then the guessing starts.
That is normal, and it is not a sign that your child is struggling. Arabic numbers for kids are difficult mainly because there is nothing familiar to lean on. New words, different digits, and a word order that does not match English. What makes it manageable is that Arabic numbers are built from a few repeating patterns, so a child is really learning about four rules, not a hundred separate words.
Below are seven tricks for teaching them, arranged in the order we would actually teach a child, with a game for each stage.
How Arabic Numbers Connect to Your Child’s Deen
Numbers are already part of your child’s religious routine. Fajr is two rak’ahs, Maghrib is three. Tasbih after prayer is 33 of each phrase. Surah Al-Fatiha has seven verses and they recite it in every single rak’ah.
Learning the Arabic words for these numbers ties them to something your child does every day, rather than leaving them as vocabulary from a lesson. It also makes certain Quranic verses more interesting. In Surah Al-Kahf, for instance, we are told the young men of the cave stayed there 300 years, and nine more.
One more thing that children usually enjoy hearing. The digits they write in their school books are commonly called Arabic numerals. The system originated in India and was passed on to Europe through Muslim mathematicians. If your child is old enough to be curious, Britannica’s entry on Hindu-Arabic numerals explains the story well.
Trick 1: Start With a Strong 1 to 10
Everything else in this article is built out of the first ten numbers. Teens, tens, and numbers such as 47 all reuse them, so it is worth spending real time here before going further.
| Number | Arabic Digit | Arabic Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ١ | واحد | waa-hid |
| 2 | ٢ | اثنان | ith-naan |
| 3 | ٣ | ثلاثة | tha-laa-tha |
| 4 | ٤ | أربعة | ar-ba-‘a |
| 5 | ٥ | خمسة | kham-sa |
| 6 | ٦ | ستة | sit-ta |
| 7 | ٧ | سبعة | sab-‘a |
| 8 | ٨ | ثمانية | tha-maa-ni-ya |
| 9 | ٩ | تسعة | tis-‘a |
| 10 | ١٠ | عشرة | ‘a-sha-ra |
Three ways to practise them:
- Count on fingers. One finger for each word. Children this age learn better when their hands are involved.
- Put the numbers to a rhythm. Clapping works, so does tapping the table or repeating them in the car on the way to school.
- Count backwards from ten. This is the test. A child who can go from ‘ashara down to wahid knows the numbers. A child who can only go upwards has memorised a tune.
A week on these ten numbers is reasonable. Children who move on too early usually end up returning to them anyway.
Trick 2: Give Each Digit a Picture
Many families teach the spoken numbers and leave the written ones for later. Teaching both at once tends to work better, since your child then has a shape and a sound for every number instead of just a sound.
Comparing each digit to something familiar helps:
- ١ (1): a straight line, same as the English 1
- ٢ (2): a line with a hook on top
- ٣ (3): the same as ٢ but with two bumps instead of one
- ٤ (4): like a 3 turned the other way round
- ٥ (5): a small circle, roughly the size of a coin
- ٦ (6): fairly close to an English 7
- ٧ (7): a V shape, or a bird with its wings open
- ٨ (8): the same V upside down, like a tent
- ٩ (9): nearly the same as the English 9
- ٠ (0): a dot
Most children pick up ٧ and ٨ quickly once they notice one is the other flipped over. Draw both on paper and ask which is the bird and which is the tent.
Worth knowing: Arabic is written from right to left, but numbers of two or more digits are still read left to right. ٢٥ is twenty-five, not fifty-two. Parents get this wrong as often as children do.
Trick 3: Use One Rule for 11 to 19
The teens follow a single pattern. From 13 to 19, your child takes the small number and adds ‘ashar after it.
- 13 → thalatha ‘ashar
- 14 → arba’a ‘ashar
- 15 → khamsa ‘ashar
Two numbers sit slightly outside the pattern: 11 (ahada ‘ashar) and 12 (ithna ‘ashar). Mention them early and give them a bit of extra practice so they do not cause confusion later.
Try this: say a number between 13 and 19 in English and ask your child to build the Arabic version themselves. Seven numbers learned from one rule.
Trick 4: Learn the Tens by Adding “-un”
The tens follow a pattern too. Take the number from 3 to 9 and add -un to the end.
- thalatha (3) → thalathun (30)
- arba’a (4) → arba’un (40)
- khamsa (5) → khamsun (50)
- sitta (6) → sittun (60)
- sab’a (7) → sab’un (70)
- thamaniya (8) → thamanun (80)
- tis’a (9) → tis’un (90)
Twenty does not follow it. The word is ‘ishrun, taken from the word for ten rather than two, so your child has to learn that one separately.
For practice, write 20, 30, 40 and so on onto paper cups and stack them up. You call a number in Arabic and your child knocks over the right cup. It takes five minutes and works well with younger children.
Trick 5: Say the Ones Before the Tens (21 to 99)
This part slows down almost every English-speaking child. In Arabic, numbers like 21 are said with the ones digit first, then wa, which means “and”, then the tens.
- 21 → wahid wa ‘ishrun (one and twenty)
- 35 → khamsa wa thalathun (five and thirty)
- 99 → tis’a wa tis’un (nine and ninety)
If your child says this sounds backwards, you can tell them English used to work the same way. The old rhyme about “four and twenty blackbirds” uses exactly the same order.
A method that helps children get there:
- Write a two-digit number on paper, say 47.
- Your child covers the 4 and reads only the 7: sab’a.
- They move their finger and add wa arba’un.
- Then the whole number: sab’a wa arba’un.
After a week or two most children stop needing the finger. And 100, the number at the end of all this, is mi’a.
Trick 6: Practise During Normal Family Routines
Numbers stay in a child’s memory when they are used for something real. You do not need to set aside study time for this. Look instead at the parts of your day where counting already happens.
- After prayer: count the tasbih together in Arabic, 33 for each phrase.
- Before Salah: ask how many rak’ahs the next prayer has and ask for the answer in Arabic.
- At mealtimes: dates, pieces of fruit, or how many plates need to go on the table.
- On the stairs: count going up, and count backwards coming down.
- While reading Quran: ask how many verses are in Surah Al-Ikhlas (arba’a) or Al-Fatiha (sab’a).
Each of these takes a few seconds, but a child who counts in Arabic several times a day will get further than one who does a worksheet once a week. This matters most between the ages of four and ten, when attention spans are short.
Our guide to teaching Islamic values in daily family life uses the same idea for manners and character, if you want to apply it more widely.
Trick 7: Keep Number Games Short and Frequent
Five minutes a day is enough, and short sessions suit young children far better than long ones. Change the game every few days so it does not become routine.
- Bingo: make cards using Eastern Arabic digits from ١ to ٣٠. You call the numbers in Arabic and your child covers them.
- Hide and seek: whoever is counting has to do it in Arabic. Start with 20 and work up to 50, then 100.
- Pretend shop: price tags in Arabic digits on a few toys. Your child reads the price aloud in order to buy one.
- Card hunt: hide number cards around the room. Your child keeps a card only after saying its number correctly.
- Timed counting: time how long it takes to count from 1 to 30, then try again a week later.
A chart on the fridge helps as well. Mark 10, 20, 50 and 100 on it and tick each one off as your child reaches it.
If you would rather follow a ready-made programme than plan the lessons yourself, Noor World’s Arabic Track teaches children Arabic in stages using animated lessons, games and quizzes. It follows the ACTFL and CEFR standards, and there is a 3-day free trial.
A 4-Week Plan for Learning Arabic Numbers 1 to 100
For parents who prefer a timeline, this is a reasonable pace:
- Week 1: numbers 1 to 10, with finger counting and the digit shapes
- Week 2: the teens, then the tens from 20 to 90
- Week 3: 21 to 59, practising the ones-before-tens order
- Week 4: 60 up to 100
Take longer if you need to. Four and five year olds often need closer to eight weeks, while a child who already reads some Arabic may be done sooner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age should my child start learning Arabic numbers?
Songs and finger counting work with children from about age three, which is usually enough for 1 to 10. Reading the written digits and saying longer numbers tends to come between five and eight, depending on the child.
Should my child learn Eastern Arabic digits or just the words?
Both is best. Your child needs the words for counting out loud, and the digits (١٢٣) for reading Arabic books and finding page and verse numbers in the Mushaf.
Why do some Arabic numbers change form?
Arabic grammar changes a number according to the gender of the noun being counted and its position in the sentence. That is a later stage of learning. For now the basic counting forms above are all your child needs.
How long does it take a child to learn Arabic numbers 1 to 100?
Four to eight weeks is typical with five or ten minutes of practice a day. Children who use the numbers during everyday routines tend to be at the shorter end of that range.
Can I teach Arabic numbers if I don’t speak Arabic well?
You can. The rules here are simple enough to learn alongside your child, and many parents do exactly that. Children often work harder when they can see their parent learning too.
Conclusion
Counting to 100 in Arabic looks like a large task until your child understands how the numbers are put together. A firm grasp of 1 to 10, the ‘ashar rule, the “-un” tens and the ones-before-tens order covers all of it.
Keep the practice short and attach it to things you already do, whether that is tasbih after Salah or the stairs at bedtime. Over a few weeks the difference is clear.
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