Numbers one to ten
Arabic · Key Stage 1 · The School
Ten new words
واحد (wāḥid) one. اثنان (ithnān) two. ثلاثة (thalātha) three. أربعة (arbaʿa) four. خمسة (khamsa) five. Say each one out loud, slowly, several times. These five are the first half of counting to ten in Arabic. Practise them daily.
The second five
ستة (sitta) six. سبعة (sabʿa) seven. ثمانية (thamāniya) eight. تسعة (tisʿa) nine. عشرة (ʿashara) ten. Notice how many of these end in the sound "a". Once you can say one to five, the second five follow the same rhythm.
Arabic number symbols
Arabic also has its own number symbols: ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠. Unlike Arabic words, these symbols are written left to right, the same direction as English numbers. That is a genuine exception worth knowing.
Matching all ten words to their symbols
Line up all ten number words in order, next to their matching symbols. واحد next to ١. اثنان next to ٢. ثلاثة next to ٣. أربعة next to ٤. خمسة next to ٥. ستة next to ٦. سبعة next to ٧. ثمانية next to ٨. تسعة next to ٩. عشرة next to ١٠. Cover the words and try to say each number from the symbol alone. Then cover the symbols and try to write each one from the word alone.
Counting real things
Now count real objects around you, out loud, in Arabic. Count your fingers. Count the chairs in the room. Saying the numbers while pointing at real things is what makes them stick, far better than repeating a list alone. Try it right now.