A meter, two meters, three meters: the number after the word
In counting everything is reversed: the number stands AFTER the noun — "mitr waahid", not "waahid mitr". And the numbers themselves change what follows them three times, as three different rules. For example: “طول الغرفة خمسة أمتار وارتفاعها ثلاثة أمتار” — The length of the room is five meters, and the height is three meters. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In counting everything is reversed: the number stands AFTER the noun — "mitr waahid", not "waahid mitr". And the numbers themselves change what follows them three times, as three different rules.
One and two behave honestly: one is just the word, and two is the dual, "-aan" at the end. "Mitr" — a meter; "mitraan" — two meters; "kawkab" — a planet; "kawkabaan" — two planets. You know this shape from "tiflaan" — two children.
From three to ten the number takes the noun in the plural, and in the opposite gender at that. "Salaasat amtaar" — three meters; "ʿasharat kiliimitraat" — ten kilometers. The number seems to argue with the word.
From eleven up the argument stops: the noun stands in the singular. "Miʾa mitr" — a hundred meters, "alf litr" — a thousand liters. After these numbers the measure does not change at all.
Table
| counting | arabic | reading | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a meter, one | متر واحد | mitr waahid | one meter |
| meters, two | متران | mitraan | two meters (the dual) |
| meters, three | ثلاثة أمتار | salaasat amtaar | three meters (the plural) |
| liters, two | لترين | litrayn | two liters (the dual) |
| liters, five | خمسة لترات | khamsat litraat | five liters (the plural) |
| meters, a hundred | مئة متر | miʾa mitr | a hundred meters (the singular) |
| liters, a thousand | ألف لتر | alf litr | a thousand liters (the singular) |
By example
- طول الغرفة خمسة أمتار وارتفاعها ثلاثة أمتارтууль аль-гурфа хамса амтаар ва-иртифааʿуха саляса амтаарThe length of the room is five meters, and the height is three meters
- عندي لترين حليب ومئة غرام من الجبنةʿиндий литрайн халиб ва-миʾа гираам мин аль-джибнаI have two liters of milk and a hundred grams of cheese
- عمق المسبح متران وامتداد الطريق خمسة كيلومتراتʿумк аль-мисбах митраан ва-имтидаад ат-тариик хамса килюмитраатThe depth of the pool is two meters, and the length of the road is five kilometers
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Numbers after nouns in Arabic?
In counting everything is reversed: the number stands AFTER the noun — "mitr waahid", not "waahid mitr". And the numbers themselves change what follows them three times, as three different rules.
The dual after two in Arabic?
One and two behave honestly: one is just the word, and two is the dual, "-aan" at the end. "Mitr" — a meter; "mitraan" — two meters; "kawkab" — a planet; "kawkabaan" — two planets. You know this shape from "tiflaan" — two children.
How to say five meters in Arabic?
From three to ten the number takes the noun in the plural, and in the opposite gender at that. "Salaasat amtaar" — three meters; "ʿasharat kiliimitraat" — ten kilometers. The number seems to argue with the word.
Arabic numbers with the singular above a hundred?
From eleven up the argument stops: the noun stands in the singular. "Miʾa mitr" — a hundred meters, "alf litr" — a thousand liters. After these numbers the measure does not change at all.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“طول الغرفة خمسة أمتار وارتفاعها ثلاثة أمتار” (тууль аль-гурфа хамса амтаар ва-иртифааʿуха саляса амтаар) — The length of the room is five meters, and the height is three meters. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.