Numbers and counting in Hebrew
57 words in Hebrew on the topic “numbers and counting”: אחד — one, שניים — two, שלושה — three, ארבעה — four.
57 words on the topic
- אחדэхадoneAbout a feminine object — achat (אחת). Numbers up to ten need gender in Hebrew
- שנייםшнаимtwoThe feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim
- שלושהшлошаthreeThe masculine form. The feminine is shalosh — and it is the one used for counting aloud: achat, shtaim, shalosh
- ארבעהарбааfourThe masculine form, the feminine is arba. The throaty ע inside is not read
- חמישהхамишаfiveThe masculine form, the feminine is chamesh. The shekel is masculine, so prices are counted with the masculine forms
- שישהшишаsixThe masculine form, the feminine is shesh. Do not confuse it by ear with shlosha — the difference is one syllable
- שבעהшивааsevenThe masculine form, the feminine is sheva. Telling time takes the short one: besheva — at seven
- שמונהшмонаeightThe only number of the first ten whose masculine and feminine forms are written the same way
- תשעהтишааnineThe masculine form, the feminine is tesa. For time — batesha: at nine
- עשרהасараtenThe masculine form, the feminine is esre. The base of all the tens: esrim, shloshim, arbaim
- אחד עשרэхад асарelevenLiterally "one and ten": the masculine form, like echad. For counting aloud the feminine achat esre is used — the row comes in pairs
- שנים עשרшнаим асарtwelveLiterally "two and ten". A year has exactly that many months — and you will meet all their names in the calendar unit
- שלושה עשרшлоша асарthirteenFrom shlosha, three. The whole row up to nineteen is built the same way: number + asar, and the number itself does not change
- ארבעה עשרарбаа асарfourteenFrom arbaa, four, complete — nothing drops out. The longest word in the row
- חמישה עשרхамиша асарfifteenA quarter of an hour is chetzi shaa, but the time will still be named with the number. Dakot after it means minutes — a word you know
- שישה עשרшиша асарsixteenFrom shisha, six, with the t in place: Hebrew loses nothing in this row
- שבעה עשרшиваа асарseventeenFrom shivaa, seven. The throaty ע inside is not read: shivaa, not shiva-a
- שמונה עשרшмона асарeighteenFrom shmona, eight. At eighteen Israelis get the vote and a driving licence — an age everyone talks about
- תשעה עשרтишаа асарnineteenThe last one in -asar. Tens in -im come next, built more simply: a root plus one ending
- עשריםэсримtwentyEsrim is the base of all the tens: shloshim, arbaim, chamishim. Twenty-one is esrim ve-echad, and so on up
- שלושיםшлошимthirtyFrom shlosha, three: the base plus -im. Thirty degrees in Tel Aviv is not yet heat, it is November
- ארבעיםарбаимfortyFrom arbaa, four. Hebrew knows no irregular word here — the row is perfectly regular
- חמישיםхамишимfiftyFrom chamisha, five. Fifty is round money at the shuk: haggling starts right here
- שישיםшишимsixtyFrom shisha, six. Sixty is the age when Israelis start counting pension discounts
- שבעיםшиваимseventyFrom shivaa, seven. Seventy shekels is a typical restaurant dinner price, drinks not included
- שמוניםшмонимeightyFrom shmona, eight. The tens never change: learn the pattern and you have every one up to ninety
- תשעיםтишаимninetyFrom tishaa, nine — the last ten before mea. After it counting starts anew
- מאהмеаhundredMea is a hundred; two hundred is maatayim — the dual, a pair of hundreds living its own form, like the word for eyes
- אלףэлэфthousandElef is a thousand; in the alphabet it is also the name of the first letter, alef. Cars and apartments are priced in elfim
- מיליוןмильонmillionSpelled with an extra i: milyon. It is already a full noun: shnei milion — two million
- אפסэфесzeroEfes is zero and nothing at once: efes, toda — nothing, thank you. A football score of nil reads efes
- ראשוןришонfirstThe week opens with yom rishon, Sunday. Feminine — rishona
- שניшениsecondThe same word as two before a noun: shnei yeladim. Yom sheni is Monday, literally the second day
- שלישיшлишиthirdFrom shlosha, three. Yom shlishi is Tuesday: the ordinals and the weekdays are one family
- אחרוןахаронlastFrom acharei, after: acharon is the very last. Haotobus haacharon — the last bus, a phrase for every evening
- כמהкамаhow much; how manyYou know kama ze ole?; one letter separates it from lama, why — do not guess, ask again
- זוגзугa coupleA pair of boots and a married couple — one word. From it zvugi, paired, double-bed
- יחידהйехидаa pieceA unit: a piece of goods, a cell, a department. From yachid, single — one of its kind, not one in count
- אחוזахузpercentLiterally "out of a hundred". Chamishim achuz, fifty percent, is the shop word for half off
- כלкольeach; everyBefore a noun kol means every: kol yom — every day. On its own kol means everything: hakol beseder
- מאתייםмаатайимtwo hundredOne word, not "two hundreds": the dual number, like einayim — eyes. From three hundred on the pattern changes: number plus meot, hundreds
- שלוש מאותшлош меотthree hundredMea in the plural is meot: first the number, then the hundreds. It is the feminine form of the numeral that stands before meot — shlosh
- ארבע מאותарба меотfour hundredFrom here the row is mechanical: arba, chamesh, shesh plus meot. It is exactly in the hundreds that the feminine numeral is heard
- חמש מאותхамеш меотfive hundredIn the hundreds it is chamesh, but in fifteen it is chamisha asar: the numeral agrees with meot, not with what you are counting
- שש מאותшеш меотsix hundredShesh and meot merge into one beat — Hebrew does not pause inside a number. On the receipt it is one line
- שבע מאותшева меотseven hundredCheshbon chashmal is the electricity bill, and seven hundred shekels is no record for it. People say hundreds even when they write digits
- שמונה מאותшмоне меотeight hundredThe price attaches with be-: bishmone meot shekalim — for eight hundred shekels. The same turn as in ba-ogust, in August
- תשע מאותтша меотnine hundredYears before the two-thousand mark are said in hundreds: tsha meot tishim — nine hundred twenty. The last floor before elef, a thousand
- רביעיревииfourthA special form, not arba-i: ordinals up to tenth behave like adjectives and take gender. You know yom revii — Wednesday, literally the fourth day
- חמישיхамишиfifthYom chamishi is Thursday: the days from Sunday to Friday are called by their ordinals. Feminine — chamishit: komah chamishit, the fifth floor
- שישיшишиsixthYom shishi is Friday: in Israel it is a short day, and by evening the city quiets down before Shabbat. Feminine — shishit
- שביעיшвииseventhThe seventh day of the week is Shabbat, the day of rest: transport and most shops do not work. Feminine — shviit
- שמיניшминиeighthEighth is shmini, feminine shminit. After the tenth there are no special ordinals: Hebrew switches to plain numbers
- תשיעיтшийиninthThe throaty א inside gives a doubled i: tshii. Three consonants on paper, two extra syllables by ear
- עשיריасириtenthThe last ordinal with a form of its own: asiri, feminine asirit. Beyond it the tens are said with plain numbers
- מאהмеаhundredthThe same word as hundred: numbers past ten have no special ordinals. With the article — hamea: Israeli schools celebrate yom hamea, the hundredth day of the school year
- מספרмиспарa numberMispar telefon is the phone number; mispar itself is both a number and a digit. Root s-p-r — the same as sefer, a book, and lesaper, to tell
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
אחד (эхад) — one. About a feminine object — achat (אחת). Numbers up to ten need gender in Hebrew.
שניים (шнаим) — two. The feminine form is shtaim. Before a noun the short shnei appears: shnei yeladim.
שלושה (шлоша) — three. The masculine form. The feminine is shalosh — and it is the one used for counting aloud: achat, shtaim, shalosh.
ארבעה (арбаа) — four. The masculine form, the feminine is arba. The throaty ע inside is not read.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “one” in Hebrew?
About a feminine object — achat (אחת). Numbers up to ten need gender in Hebrew
- How do you say “eight” in Hebrew?
The only number of the first ten whose masculine and feminine forms are written the same way
- How do you say “fifteen” in Hebrew?
A quarter of an hour is chetzi shaa, but the time will still be named with the number. Dakot after it means minutes — a word you know
- How do you say “forty” in Hebrew?
From arbaa, four. Hebrew knows no irregular word here — the row is perfectly regular
- How do you say “thousand” in Hebrew?
Elef is a thousand; in the alphabet it is also the name of the first letter, alef. Cars and apartments are priced in elfim
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “one” in Hebrew?
«אחד», read “эхад”. About a feminine object — achat (אחת). Numbers up to ten need gender in Hebrew. It is one of 57 words in the set “numbers and counting” — the rest are in the table above.
How many numbers do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 57 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.