Lesson 1 | Vocab: Numbers

[1] Cardinal Numbers (1, 2, 3…)

Now that you’ve learned nouns in Hebrew I, it is time to cover adjectives. We will do so in the next lesson, but we will look at numbers first, which are a type of adjective. You will memorize the most important Hebrew numbers in this lesson.
There are two types of numbers: cardinal numbers are simple numbers, like “one” and “two.” Ordinal numbers show the order of things: “first” and “second.” We will cover cardinal numbers in this step, and ordinal numbers in the next.

There is a lot of information included on these steps. Your goal is simply to follow the concepts, not to memorize every detail—that will come in time.
Numbers 1-10

cardinal numbers 1-10
masculine & feminine

        אֶחָד
        אֶחָת
        1
      
        שְׁנַיִם
        שְׁתַּיִם
        2
      
        שְׁלֹשָׁה
        שָׁלוֹשׁ
        3
      
        אַרְבָּעָה
        אַרְבַּע
        4
      
        חֲמִשָּׁה
        חָמֵשׁ
        5
      
        שִׁשָּׁה
        שֵׁשׁ
        6
      
        שִׁבְעָה
        שֶׁבַע
        7
      
        שְׁמֹנָה
        שְׁמֹנֶה
        8
      
        תִּשְׁעָה
        תְּשַׁע
        9
      
        עֲשָׂרָה
        עֶשֶׂר
        10
      
You may notice that the gender of the cardinal numbers seems backwards from three onward. No, this is not a mistake in the paradigm. Indeed most cardinal numbers in the masculine form look feminine and vice versa. (Don’t bother asking why—that’s just the way it is!)

In addition, while adjectives, unlike English, normally come after the nouns they describe (עַם־רָב vs. “a numerous people”), numbers come before the nouns they modify. That is, all except for the number one—אֶחָד—which behaves like a normal Hebrew adjective. Hence, one man is written אִישׁ־אֶחָד whereas two men reads שְׁנֵי־אֲנָשִׁים. You may also note from this example that the ם is dropped from the word שְׁנַיִם the same as it would in construct form. This is something special about the number two.
Numbers 11-19
For numbers between ten and twenty, a number between 1-10 is combined with עָשָׂר (masculine) or עֶשְׂרֵה (feminine). So, for example, twelve is written שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר in its masculine form and שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה in its feminine form.
Numbers 20+
Things get a bit easier starting from twenty as numbers then use a common gender.

cardinal numbers 20+
common gender

        עֶשְׂרִים
        20
      
        שְׁלֹשִׁים
        30
      
        אַרְבָּעִים
        40
      
        חֲמִשִּׁים
        50
      
        שִׁשִּׁים
        60
      
        שִׁבְעִים
        70
      
        שְׁמֹנִים
        80
      
        תִּשְׁעִים
        90
      
        מֵאָה
        100
      
        אֶלֶף
        1000
      
For instances where more specificity is used, the additional number is simply added on with the ו conjunction. Thus, twenty-four in the masculine is עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה and in the feminine is עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע. For numbers larger than one hundred, מֵאָה and אֶלֶף may become either plural or dual in number, and their modifier may take construct form. 

cardinal numbers
large example

        common
        מָאתַיִם
        200
      
        feminine
        שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת
        300
      
        common
        אַלְפַּיִם
        2000
      
        masculine
        שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים
        3000
      
        masculine
        אַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אָלֶף
        24,000
      
You memorized the most common numbers in the New Vocabulary step. Use this step as a reference when you run into more complex situations.

אֶחָד	אֶחָת	1
שְׁנַיִם	שְׁתַּיִם	2
שְׁלֹשָׁה	שָׁלוֹשׁ	3
אַרְבָּעָה	אַרְבַּע	4
חֲמִשָּׁה	חָמֵשׁ	5
שִׁשָּׁה	שֵׁשׁ	6
שִׁבְעָה	שֶׁבַע	7
שְׁמֹנָה	שְׁמֹנֶה	8
תִּשְׁעָה	תְּשַׁע	9
עֲשָׂרָה	עֶשֶׂר	10

	עֶשְׂרִים	20
	שְׁלֹשִׁים	30
	אַרְבָּעִים	40
	חֲמִשִּׁים	50
	שִׁשִּׁים	60
	שִׁבְעִים	70
	שְׁמֹנִים	80
	תִּשְׁעִים	90
	מֵאָה	100
	אֶלֶף	1000

common	מָאתַיִם	200
feminine	שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת	300
common	אַלְפַּיִם	2000
masculine	שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים	3000
masculine	אַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אָלֶף	24,000