Hebrew Numbers 1 to 100 Without the Headache

Numbers in Hebrew are one of the few things that genuinely deserve their reputation as "tricky". They have gendered forms, weird combination rules for compound numbers, and a small pile of exceptions. The good news is you don't need to master all of it at once. Here's the practical version: the numbers you'll actually use, with the minimum grammar needed to get them right.

The big catch: masculine vs. feminine numbers

Hebrew numbers come in two forms: masculine and feminine. Which one you use depends on the gender of what you're counting.

For example, to count books (sefer, masculine), you use the masculine forms. To count tables (shulchan, masculine) you also use masculine. But to count tomatoes (agvaniyah, feminine), you use the feminine forms.

Here's the trick that everyone gets wrong at first: the feminine forms are actually the shorter, simpler ones. The masculine forms have an extra "-ah" ending that makes them look feminine. It's confusing on purpose.

1 to 10 (feminine)

Use these when counting feminine nouns or when just counting out loud (like reciting numbers).

• Achat, 1.
• Shtayim, 2.
• Shalosh, 3.
• Arba, 4.
• Chamesh, 5.
• Shesh, 6.
• Sheva, 7.
• Shmone, 8.
• Tesha, 9.
• Eser, 10.

1 to 10 (masculine)

Use these when counting masculine nouns.

• Echad, 1.
• Shnayim, 2.
• Shlosha, 3.
• Arba'a, 4.
• Chamisha, 5.
• Shisha, 6.
• Shiv'a, 7.
• Shmona, 8.
• Tish'a, 9.
• Asara, 10.

You don't need to agonize over which form to use in casual speech. Israelis often use the feminine forms when just saying numbers out loud, even when referring to masculine things. It's a common informality.

11 to 20

These combine "ten" with the digit. In the feminine form:

• Achat-esre, 11. (Literally "one-teen".)
• Shtem-esre, 12.
• Shlosh-esre, 13.
• Arba-esre, 14.
• Chamesh-esre, 15.
• Shesh-esre, 16.
• Shva-esre, 17.
• Shmone-esre, 18.
• Tsha-esre, 19.
• Esrim, 20.

Notice the pattern: the digit plus -esre. Masculine forms add -asar instead, like achad-asar, 11.

The tens

• Esrim, 20.
• Shloshim, 30.
• Arba'im, 40.
• Chamishim, 50.
• Shishim, 60.
• Shiv'im, 70.
• Shmonim, 80.
• Tish'im, 90.
• Me'ah, 100.

These don't have masculine or feminine forms. They're the same for everything.

Compound numbers (21, 34, 56, etc.)

To say compound numbers, you combine a ten with a digit using ve- (and):

• Esrim ve-echad, 21 (masc).
• Esrim ve-shlosha, 23 (masc).
• Shloshim ve-arba, 34 (fem).
• Chamishim ve-shesh, 56 (fem).

The bigger number comes first, then "ve-", then the digit. This is one part where Hebrew is easier than some other languages (no reverse order, like German).

Money and counting in daily life

When counting shekel, people usually use the feminine forms:

• Chamishim shekel, 50 shekel.
• Me'ah shekel, 100 shekel.

This is technically wrong (shekel is masculine), but it's what you'll hear in the market, so use it and nobody will correct you.

The simplification that makes life easier

Here's what most Israelis actually do in fast speech: they use the feminine forms for everything unless the number is 1 or 2. For 1 you say echad with masculine nouns and achat with feminine ones. For 2 you say shnei or shtei. Everything else, they just use feminine and nobody blinks.

If you're a beginner, start with the feminine forms, learn how to say "one" and "two" with both genders, and you're 95% functional.

For more number practice with audio, our topics pages include numbers in context, and our phrases section has shopping and counting sentences.

Numbers are annoying on day one and automatic by month two. Get through the initial confusion and they stop being a thing you think about.