In a previous article, we discussed asking for and understanding questions related to giving directions in Arabic. Unlike cardinal numbers which are for counting, ordinal numbers in Arabic are for ordering things in a first-second-third kind of format. They’re pretty useful when giving directions. This is especially in a busy city like Amman, Jordan, where they have numbered circles and you want to tell the taxi driver in Arabic where you want to go. For example, you would tell the driver to “خذ الثانية مباشرة بعد الدوار الثامن. إنه المبنى الثالث على اليسار”. “khuTH athaaniyah mubaasharatan baʻd adduwaar athaamin. ʼinahu almabnaa athaalith ʼalaa alyasaar”. (“Take the second right after the Eighth Circle. It’s the third building on the left”).
Ordinal numbers in Arabic are gender-defined. Therefore, you need to be familiar with both the masculine and feminine ordinal forms.
| English | Ordinal (Masculine) | Transliteration | Ordinal (Feminine) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First in Arabic | أول | ʼawwal | أولى | ʼoolaa |
| Second in Arabic | ثاني | thaanee | ثانية | thaaniyah |
| Third in Arabic | ثالث | thaalith | ثالثة | thaalithah |
| Fourth in Arabic | رابع | raabiʻ | رابعة | raabiʻah |
| Fifth in Arabic | خامس | khaamis | خامسة | khaamisah |
| Sixth in Arabic | سادس | saadis | سادسة | saadisah |
| Seventh in Arabic | سابع | saabiʻ | سابعة | saabiʻah |
| Eighth in Arabic | ثامن | thaamin | ثامنة | thaaminah |
| Ninth in Arabic | تاسع | taasiʻ | تاسعة | taasiʻah |
| Tenth in Arabic | عاشر | ʻaashir | عاشرة | ʻaashirah |
| Eleventh in Arabic | حادي عشر | Haadee ʻashar | حادية عشر | Haadiyah ʻashr |
| Twelfth in Arabic | ثاني عشر | thaanee ʻashar | ثانية عشر | thaaniyah ʻashr |
| Thirteenth in Arabic | ثالث عشر | thaalith ʻashar | ثالثة عشر | thaalithah ʻashr |
| Fourteenth in Arabic | رابع عشر | raabiʻ ʻashar | رابعة عشر | raabiʻah ʻashr |
| Fifteenth in Arabic | خامس عشر | khaamis ʻashar | خامسة عشر | khaamisah ʻashr |
Note the differences in the use of the masculine and feminine in Arabic. For example, if you want to tell a friend that your house is “the fifth house,” you say البيت الخامس albayt alkhaamis. In this example, we use the masculine ordinal form khaamis because bayt is a masculine noun subject.
However, in Arabic grammar, because “bus” is feminine, in the sentence عليك أن تأخذ الحافلة الخامسة ʻalayka ʼan taʼkhuTH alHaafilah alkhaamisah (You have to take the fifth bus.), we use the feminine alkhamisa.
Of course, ordinal numbers aren’t used only in giving directions, but they are also used in other things like birth order, the number of times you’ve said something, and other things which are talked about in order.
أنا الطفل البكر في عائلتي – ʼana aTifl albikr fee ʻaaʼilatee – I’m the firstborn child in my family
هذه هي المرة الثانية التي تتحدث فيها معي بهذه الطريقة – haTHihi hiya almarah athaaniyah altee tataHadathu feehaa maʻee bihaTHihi aTareeqati – This is the second time you’ve talked to me in this manner.
من أجل جعل زبدة الفول السوداني وساندويش الهلام ، عليك التأكد من أن لديك زبدة الفول السوداني أولاً – min ʼajl jaʻil zubdat alfool assoodaanee wa saandwish alhulaam, ʻalayka attaʼkud min ʼan ladayka zubdat alfool assoodaanee ʼawlan – In order to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you have to make sure you have peanut butter first
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