عشرون
'ishrun
The Arabic word for twenty is عشرون ('ishrun).
عشرون is the cardinal number used to represent the quantity of twenty.
Meaning: cardinal number (num)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Gulf Arabic regions, the term Ishrin is commonly used to mean twenty.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form عشرون ('ishrun) is used when the number is in the nominative case, such as when it is the subject of a sentence. It changes to عشرين ('ishrin) when the number is in the accusative or genitive case, for example when it follows a preposition or acts as an object.
How do you pronounce it?
'ishrun
Did you know?
- The root of عشرون is shared with many other ancient Semitic languages, such as Hebrew and Aramaic, meaning the structure of the number has remained remarkably stable for thousands of years.
- The pronunciation of the letter 'ayn' at the beginning of the word is a deep guttural sound that requires more muscular effort in the throat than any part of the English word 'twenty'.
- When counting objects in Arabic, the number 'twenty' triggers specific rules for the gender and number of the noun that follows it, which can be quite counterintuitive compared to English.
Examples in context
- المبنى به عشرون طابق.The building has twenty floors.This example shows how to use عشرون when describing the number of floors in a building.Tatoeba #2727172 by sayaNdream, translation #452245 by enwilson
- كان هناك حوالي عشرون شخصاً.There were twenty or so people there.This example shows how to use عشرون when describing an approximate number of people.Tatoeba #372012 by saeb, translation #372013 by saeb
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Omar and Sarah are counting items for a project.
- عمر Omarكم كتاباً لدينا هنا يا سارة؟Kam kitaban ladayna huna ya Sarah?How many books do we have here, Sarah?
- سارة Saraلدينا عشرون كتاباً بالضبط.Ladayna ishrun kitaban bidhabt.We have exactly twenty books.
- عمر Omarهذا عدد جيد جداً.Hadha adad jayyid jiddan.That is a very good number.
- سارة Saraنعم، هذا يكفي للمجموعة.Naam, hadha yakfi lil-majmua.Yes, this is enough for the group.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries عشرون, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
