اثنا عشر
ithnā ʿashar
Twelve in Arabic is اثنا عشر (ithnā ʿashar).
The word is used as a cardinal number to represent the quantity 12.
Meaning: cardinal number 12 (num)
What does it mean word for word?
The number is composed of اثنا (two) and عشر (ten).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, you can say اطناشر or اطناش.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the number changes based on the gender of the noun and its grammatical case. Use اثنا عشر for masculine nouns and اثني عشر for masculine nouns in the accusative or genitive cases. For feminine nouns, use اثنتا عشرة and اثنتي عشرة in the accusative or genitive cases.
How do you pronounce it?
ithnā ʿashar
Did you know?
- The word عشر shares a linguistic root with words related to cordage or fibrous plants, possibly due to the 'association' or linking of fibers.
- Because the number twelve changes based on grammatical case, you will see it written as اثنا عشر in a subject position but اثني عشر if it is the object of a sentence.
- In certain Arabic dialects, the word for twelve can be shortened even further to اطناش, dropping the final consonant sound found in the standard version.
Examples in context
- هناك اثنا عشر شهرًا في السنة.There are twelve months in a year.This sentence is useful for showing the number twelve used with months in a year.Tatoeba #372061 by saeb, translation #372062 by saeb
- في هذا الحدث، حضر اثنا عشر شخصاً.At this event, twelve people attended.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yousef and Nour are talking about the time.
- يوسف Youssefكم الساعة الآن يا نور؟Kam as-sa'ah al-an ya Nour?What time is it now, Nour?
- نور Nourإنها الساعة اثنا عشر تماماً.Innaha as-sa'ah ithna 'ashara tamaman.It is exactly twelve o'clock.
- يوسف Youssefهل حان وقت الغداء؟Hal hana waqt al-ghada'?Is it time for lunch?
- نور Nourنعم، هيا بنا.Na'am, haya bina.Yes, let's go.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries عشر, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
