Jill Suzanne Jacobs - Hebrew For Dummies

The number 2 in Hebrew is an exception. When you’re specifying two of something, say “two boys” (יְלָדִים; yuh-lah- deem ) or “two girls” (יְלָדוֹת; yuh-lah- doh t), and drop the last syllable ( im ) of the number 2. So, you get יְלָדִים ( two boys ) and שְׁתֵּי יְלָדוֹת ( two girls ). Drop the im regardless of the noun you’re counting.

To form the numbers 11–19, place the second number in front of the 10. In the masculine form, for example, 11 is אַחַד עָשָׂר . In the feminine form, 11 is אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה (ah- chaht es- reh ). Table 1-2shows the numbers 11–19.

Use the appropriate gender for the 10 and the additional number that makes up the compound number.

The multiples of ten (10, 20, 30, and so on) are easy because these numbers are gender-neutral. Table 1-3shows the multiples of 10.

TABLE 1-2Counting from 11 to 19

TABLE 1-3Counting Multiples of 10

If you want to say something like “21” or “47,” however, you have to pay attention to gender again. (See Table 1-4.) The pattern for making these numbers is to state the number in the tens, such as עֶשְׂרִים(ehs- reem; 20 ) and then add the word for and ( וְ’; veh ), followed by the single number, such as אֶחָד(eh -chad; one ). So, 21 would be עֶשְׂרִים וְאֶחָד(ehs- reem veh-eh- chad ).

TABLE 1-4Counting from 21 to 29

If you can count to 30, you can count to a million! For all the numbers, you follow the same pattern as in Table 1-4. First, state the number that’s the multiple of 10 (20, 30, 40, and so on); then add וְ ( veh; and ) plus the single digit: שְׁלוֹשִׁים וְאֶחָד(shloh- sheem veh-eh - ḥahd; 31 ), אַרְבָּעִים וְאֶחָד(ahr-bah -eem veh-eh- chahd; 41 ), and so on.

To count by hundreds, first say the feminine number of the quantity of hundreds, such as four (אַרְבַּע), and then add the word for hundreds (מֵאוֹת). This pattern continues until a thousand: