Hundreds, thousands and a million in Arabic
Above 100 Arabic adds three nouns, مائة, ألف and مليون, and counts them the way it counts anything else. The form of the noun after the count is the part to learn.
Updated 8 October 2026
The hundreds
| Figure | Arabic | Also written |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | مائة | مئة |
| 200 | مائتان | مئتان |
| 300 | ثلاثمائة | ثلاثمئة |
| 400 | أربعمائة | أربعمئة |
| 500 | خمسمائة | خمسمئة |
| 600 | ستمائة | ستمئة |
| 700 | سبعمائة | سبعمئة |
| 800 | ثمانمائة | ثمانمئة |
| 900 | تسعمائة | تسعمئة |
Three things to notice. Two hundred is a dual, مائتان (miʾatān). From three hundred the unit and مائة are written as one word: the two-word spelling (ثلاث مائة) is also found in print, and the keys accept it. And eight hundred is ثمانمائة, without the ي that the feminine eight carries.
The thousands: the noun changes with the count
ألف is a masculine noun, and the count in front of it follows the same rules as for any counted noun. That gives four shapes.
| Figure | Arabic | Why this form |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | ألف | one thousand: the noun alone |
| 2,000 | ألفان | two thousand: the dual of the noun |
| 3,000 | ثلاثة آلاف | 3 to 10: plural آلاف |
| 10,000 | عشرة آلاف | 10: still the plural |
| 11,000 | أحد عشر ألفا | 11 to 99: singular with the accusative ending, written ا |
| 25,000 | خمسة وعشرون ألفا | the unit-first order inside the count |
| 100,000 | مائة ألف | 100: singular, in construct with the hundred |
| 200,000 | مائتا ألف | 200: the dual hundred loses its ن before ألف |
| 101,000 | مائة ألف وألف | a hundred thousand and a thousand |
| 103,000 | مائة وثلاثة آلاف | the count ends in 3 to 10, so the plural returns |
| 250,000 | مائتان وخمسون ألفا | the count ends in 11 to 99, so ألفا returns |
The ending of ألفا is the accusative of a singular noun after 11 to 99. Fully vowelled it is ألفًا, with a tanwin mark over the alif; this site prints words without vowel marks, so the alif stays and the mark does not. Keys accept either.
Reading a figure aloud
Type any number to see it in Arabic, split into the parts it is joined from. The parts are listed from the right, in the order they are said.
ثلاثة وعشرون ألفا وأربعمائة وستة وخمسون
- ثلاثة
- وعشرون ألفا
- وأربعمائة
- وستة
- وخمسون
Also written ثلاثة وعشرون ألفا وأربعمئة وستة وخمسون, without the silent alif.
A million
مليون (milyūn) is a loanword and is counted like ألف: two million مليونان, three million ثلاثة ملايين. Worksheets stop at one million. For how these numbers appear in prices, see prices and phone numbers; for years, see days, dates and time.
Questions
Is it مائة or مئة?
Both are correct and both are pronounced miʾa. مائة is the older spelling: the alif is written but not said, as Wright’s grammar notes. مئة spells the word as it sounds and is common in modern print, especially in the Levant. This site prints مائة, and the worksheet keys accept مئة in every number that contains it.
How do you say a thousand and two thousand in Arabic?
A thousand is ألف (alf). Two thousand is the dual ألفان (alfān); you do not add the word for two. The same holds for a hundred and two hundred: مائة and مائتان. From three thousand the noun becomes plural, ثلاثة آلاف (thalāthat ālāf).
What is a million in Arabic?
مليون (milyūn). Two million is the dual مليونان, and three to ten million use the plural ملايين: ثلاثة ملايين. A billion is مليار (milyār) in most Arab countries. The worksheets on this site stop at one million.
Why is 200,000 مائتا ألف and not مائتان ألف?
Because the hundred and the thousand form a construct (iḍāfa), two hundred of thousands, and a dual noun drops its final ن when it is the first part of a construct. The same happens to any dual: كتابا الطالب, the student’s two books.