Arabic numbers, ١٢٣ made easy.

The numbers used across the Arab world are written ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩, for 0 to 9. They are called Eastern Arabic or Arabic-Indic numerals. The 0 to 9 used in English are called Arabic numerals too, because Europe learned them from Arabic books. Both sets work the same way: ten digits, with the place of each digit giving its value. So converting is simply swapping each digit for its partner, which is what the tool above does.

Numbers are read left to right

Arabic text runs right to left, but numbers inside it are written with the largest place on the left, just like English. ٢٠٢٦ is 2026, and ١٤٤٨ is 1448. Only the order of the words changes when the number is said aloud.

Saying multi-digit numbers

From 21 to 99, Arabic says the units before the tens, joined by "wa" (and): 25 is خمسة وعشرون, khamsa wa-ʿishrūn, "five and twenty". Bigger numbers go from the largest part down, each joined with "wa":

• 1448 is ألف وأربعمئة وثمانية وأربعون, alf wa-arbaʿumiʾa wa-thamāniya wa-arbaʿūn.
• 2026 is ألفان وستة وعشرون, alfān wa-sitta wa-ʿishrūn.

These are the counting forms. In a full sentence the endings change with the case, and the numbers 3 to 10 take the opposite gender to the thing counted (thalāthatu rijāl, three men, but thalāthu nisāʾ, three women). For reading prices, dates and phone numbers, the counting forms are all you need.

Dates

For example, 30 October 2026 is 19 Jumada al-Ula 1448 in the Hijri calendar (Umm al-Qura). In Arabic digits that is ١٩ جمادى الأولى ١٤٤٨ هـ, where هـ marks a Hijri year, and the Gregorian date is often written ٣٠/١٠/٢٠٢٦, with the day first. The Gulf and Egypt usually write Gregorian months as the English names in Arabic letters, such as أكتوبر for October. See today's Hijri date to convert any day.

Persian and Urdu digits

Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan use a slightly different set: ۰ ۱ ۲ ۳ ۴ ۵ ۶ ۷ ۸ ۹. The shapes of 4, 5 and 6 differ (۴ ۵ ۶ against ٤ ٥ ٦), and Urdu fonts often draw 7 differently too. On a computer they are separate characters, so a search for one set will not find the other. The converter shows both.

Numbers in the Quran

The ayah numbers in a printed mushaf use Eastern Arabic digits inside the end-of-ayah marker, so ﴿٢٥٥﴾ marks ayah 255, Ayat al-Kursi. Learning the ten digits is a small step that makes it much easier to find your place in a mushaf. The Arabic alphabet is the next step.