Article: To count to 10 in Arabic, start with the first five numbers. Repeat the words until you have them memorized. You might use flashcards to help test your memory of the words. One is wahid (waah-heet) (). Two is itnan (ihth-naan) (). Three is talata (theh-lah-theh) (). Four is arba'a (ahr-uh-bah-ah) (). Five is hamsa (hahm-sah) (). Note that the h has a guttural pronunciation. Imagine exhaling a strong, deep breath from the back of your throat as you say it. Once you've got the first 5 numbers nailed down, you're ready to tackle the next 5. Practice them the same way you practiced the first 5, then put all 10 together to count to 10 in Arabic. Six is sitta (siht-tah) (). Seven is sab'a (sehb-uh-ah) (). Note that this sounds somewhat similar to the English word "seven." Eight is tamaniya (theh-mah-nee-yuh) (). Nine is tis'a (tihs-anh) (). Speak the last syllable from further back in your throat. Ten is ashra (ahsh-ahr-rah) (). The r is ever so slightly clipped or rolled. " The English word "zero" actually came from the Arabic word "sifr." The concept of zero originated in India and the Arab world and was brought to Europe during the Crusades. Just as in English, the word for "zero" is not typically used in reading numbers, unless you're reading a list of cardinal numbers, such as a phone number or a credit card number. Western numerals are frequently referred to as "Arabic" numerals. However, the numerals traditionally used in Arabic are more properly called Hindu-Arabic numerals, as they were imported from India. The Hindu-Arabic numbers are 10 symbols or digits, representing the numbers 0 and 1 through 9: . As in English, these 10 digits are combined to form every other number. So 10 would be a 1 and a 0, just as in English: (10). Arabic is written and read right to left. However, Arabic numerals are written and read from left to right, just as you read English and other European languages.

What is a summary?
Start with the words for numbers 1 through 5. Move on to the words for numbers 6 through 10. Say sifr (say-fur) () for "zero. Learn to recognize Arabic numerals.