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Numbers & Counting

Gendered numbers

Numbers agree in gender

Counting numbers have masculine and feminine forms.

📊 Numbers 1–5
Number Masculine Feminine
1 אחד (echad) אחת (achat)
2 שניים (shnayim) שתיים (shtayim)
3 שלושה (shlosha) שלוש (shalosh)
4 ארבעה (arba'a) ארבע (arba)
5 חמישה (chamisha) חמש (chamesh)
💬 Examples
אחד / אחת
echad / achat
one (m / f)
📝 Number agrees with the noun's gender
שניים / שתיים
shnayim / shtayim
two (m / f)
📝 Gendered 'two'
The feminine forms are the shorter ones

Counterintuitively, the masculine forms carry the -a ending.

💬 Examples
שלוש בנות
shalosh banot
three girls
📝 Feminine number with a feminine noun
שלושה בנים
shlosha banim
three boys
📝 Masculine number (with -a!) with a masculine noun
Counting from 11 up

Teens and tens build on the base numbers.

💬 Examples
עשר / עשרה
eser / asara
ten (f / m)
📝 Ten, both genders
עשרים
esrim
twenty
📝 Tens don't change for gender