Hebrew Numbers, 1 to 1,000

Hebrew numbers agree in gender with the noun they count, and for 1 through 19 the two forms differ. The form used with masculine nouns is the longer-looking one (ending in “-ה”); the form used with feminine nouns is the shorter one (see “Classic Mistakes” below). Zero is the same in both genders.

The same gender split continues through the teens; each is the units digit plus “עֶשְׂרֵה” (feminine) or “עָשָׂר” (masculine), “-teen.”

From 20 up, the tens word itself doesn’t change for gender; only a units digit added after it would. 21 is עשרים ואחת (feminine) or עשרים ואחד (masculine).

Larger numbers chain these parts together. 5,787 is built the same way a year like it would be spoken: thousands, then hundreds, then the tens-and-units joined with “and” (וְ / וָ). 10,000 uses the construct of ten: עשרת אלפים, not עשרה אלף.

Years, chapters and pages are often written with letters instead of digits. 15 and 16 avoid the letter pair that would spell part of a name of God. As a numeral, 5,787 is תשפ״ז; with the thousands digit marked, ה׳תשפ״ז.

Ordinals (first, second, third) have their own words through tenth. Past ten, everyday Hebrew uses the cardinal number instead.

Directly before a noun, 2 uses a short construct (שני ילדים, שתי בנות) rather than the standalone שניים / שתיים. Masculine 3–10 take a ־ת ending when the noun is definite (שלושת הילדים). Feminine 3–10 keep the shorter absolute form.

A Gregorian date uses the cardinal number as a numeral with a hyphenated “ה-” (“the”), not a spelled-out ordinal: “the 15th of May” is ה־15 במאי ha-15 be-mai.

Hebrew-calendar dates are traditionally written with letters as numerals instead of digits. The 15th of Iyar is ט״ו בְּאִיָּר tu be-iyar, built from ט״ו (15, avoiding the letters that would spell part of a name of God; see “Classic Mistakes”).

Israeli Hebrew tells time with feminine numbers, because “שעה” (hour) is feminine. Half past is “וחצי” (and a half), quarter past or to is “ורבע” / “רבע ל-”, and other minutes are said as “and [number]” or “[number] to”.

Shekel (שקל) is a masculine noun, so amounts use the masculine number. Agora (אגורה), the sub-unit, is feminine.

Phone numbers are read digit by digit, using the feminine form of each digit: the default Hebrew uses for a number said on its own. 050-1234567 is read:

Age uses “בן” (ben, son of) for a male and “בת” (bat, daughter of) for a female, plus the number of years. The number stays feminine even after “בן”; it agrees with the unstated “שנים” (years, feminine), not with the person, including compound ages such as 21 and 35.

• Gender agreement for 3–10 runs opposite to the intuitive guess: the masculine form is the one that looks feminine (ends in “-ה”), and the feminine form is the shorter one without it.
• Time, dates and simple ages default to feminine numbers regardless of who or what is being counted, because they silently agree with a feminine noun (“hour”, “years”) rather than the subject.
• 15 and 16 are written טו (9+6) and טז (9+7), not the expected יה and יו, because יה would spell part of a name of God.
• Tens (20, 30, 40) don’t change for gender at all; only a units digit added onto them does.
• 10,000 is עשרת אלפים (construct of ten), not עשרה אלף.