Numbers in Hebrew: The Basics

Learning numbers in Hebrew can be a bit challenging for English speakers. In English there are only two number forms: cardinal and ordinal. They are all gender neutral, and the ordinal numbers are based on their cardinal form with the addition of a “th”  suffix.

With Hebrew numbers, however, cardinal and ordinal numbers must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) with the noun they are describing. Where there is no noun, such as in the case of a telephone number, the feminine form is used. That means when you are counting with Hebrew numbers, you would say, “achat, shta-yim, sha-losh,etc.”

When speaking, cardinal numbers in Hebrew precede the noun (ex. shlosha s’farim-three books), with the exception of the number one which comes after it (ex. sefer ehad- one book). The number two is special – shnayim (m.) and shtayim (f.) become shney (m.) and shtey (f.).

Numbers in Hebrew Cardinal and Ordinal

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