Hebrew Numbers and Counting: A Complete Guide

Counting in the Holy Language

Hebrew has a rich and fascinating number system that goes far beyond simple counting. From the everyday act of buying groceries in Tel Aviv to the mystical practice of gematria, numbers in Hebrew carry meaning, history, and even spiritual significance.

Cardinal Numbers 1-10

Hebrew numbers have masculine and feminine forms, depending on the noun they’re counting. Here are both forms:

Number	Masculine	Feminine	Transliteration (m/f)
1	אֶחָד	אַחַת	echad / achat
2	שְׁנַיִם	שְׁתַּיִם	shnayim / shtayim
3	שְׁלֹשָׁה	שָׁלֹשׁ	shlosha / shalosh
4	אַרְבָּעָה	אַרְבַּע	arba’ah / arba
5	חֲמִשָּׁה	חָמֵשׁ	chamisha / chamesh
6	שִׁשָּׁה	שֵׁשׁ	shisha / shesh
7	שִׁבְעָה	שֶׁבַע	shiv’ah / sheva
8	שְׁמוֹנָה	שְׁמוֹנֶה	shmonah / shmoneh
9	תִּשְׁעָה	תֵּשַׁע	tish’ah / tesha
10	עֲשָׂרָה	עֶשֶׂר	asarah / eser

Important note: In modern spoken Hebrew, the gender rules are often simplified. Don’t worry too much about getting them perfect — Israelis will understand you either way.

Numbers 11-20

Number	Hebrew	Transliteration
11	אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה	achat esreh
12	שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה	shtem esreh
13	שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	shlosh esreh
14	אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה	arba esreh
15	חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	chamesh esreh
16	שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	shesh esreh
17	שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה	shva esreh
18	שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה	shmoneh esreh
19	תְּשַׁע עֶשְׂרֵה	tsha esreh
20	עֶשְׂרִים	esrim

Tens, Hundreds, Thousands

Number	Hebrew	Transliteration
20	עֶשְׂרִים	esrim
30	שְׁלֹשִׁים	shloshim
40	אַרְבָּעִים	arba’im
50	חֲמִשִּׁים	chamishim
60	שִׁשִּׁים	shishim
70	שִׁבְעִים	shiv’im
80	שְׁמוֹנִים	shmonim
90	תִּשְׁעִים	tish’im
100	מֵאָה	me’ah
200	מָאתַיִם	matayim
300	שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת	shlosh me’ot
1,000	אֶלֶף	elef

To form combined numbers: 25 = esrim v’chamesh (twenty and five). 142 = me’ah arba’im u’shtayim.

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal	Masculine	Feminine
First	רִאשׁוֹן rishon	רִאשׁוֹנָה rishonah
Second	שֵׁנִי sheni	שְׁנִיָּה shniyah
Third	שְׁלִישִׁי shlishi	שְׁלִישִׁית shlishit
Fourth	רְבִיעִי revi’i	רְבִיעִית revi’it
Fifth	חֲמִישִׁי chamishi	חֲמִישִׁית chamishit

Gematria: When Numbers Mean More

In the Hebrew letter-number system, each letter has a numerical value:

Letter	Value	Letter	Value	Letter	Value
א (Aleph)	1	י (Yod)	10	ק (Kuf)	100
ב (Bet)	2	כ (Kaf)	20	ר (Resh)	200
ג (Gimel)	3	ל (Lamed)	30	ש (Shin)	300
ד (Dalet)	4	מ (Mem)	40	ת (Tav)	400
ה (He)	5	נ (Nun)	50
ו (Vav)	6	ס (Samech)	60
ז (Zayin)	7	ע (Ayin)	70
ח (Chet)	8	פ (Pe)	80
ט (Tet)	9	צ (Tsade)	90

Famous Gematria Values

• חי (Chai / Life) = 8 + 10 = 18 — This is why gifts are given in multiples of 18
• אמת (Emet / Truth) = 1 + 40 + 400 = 441
• שלום (Shalom / Peace) = 300 + 30 + 6 + 40 = 376

Practical Uses

Saying Your Age

“I am 25 years old” = Ani ben esrim v’chamesh (male) / Ani bat esrim v’chamesh (female)

Prices in Israel

“How much does this cost?” = Kama zeh oleh? “50 shekels” = chamishim shekel

Hebrew Dates

Hebrew dates use the letter-number system. The year 5786 (2025-2026) is written: ה’תשפ”ו

Phone Numbers

Israelis say phone numbers digit by digit: 054-123-4567 = efes chamesh arba, echad shtayim shalosh, arba chamesh shesh sheva

Special Numbers in Judaism

• 1 — God is One (Shema)
• 7 — days of creation, Shabbat, shiva (mourning)
• 10 — Ten Commandments, minyan
• 12 — Twelve Tribes
• 13 — age of bar mitzvah, attributes of God’s mercy
• 18 — chai (life), gift amounts
• 40 — days of the Flood, years in the desert, days on Sinai
• 120 — Moses’s age at death, the traditional blessing for long life
• 613 — number of commandments in the Torah

Numbers in Hebrew are more than math — they are the language of creation, the code of tradition, and the building blocks of a four-thousand-year civilization.