Arabic Numbers and Money: Prices, Dinars and Paying

Asking how much

There are two everyday ways to ask a price in Jordan and Palestine. The first is قدّيش؟ (2addeesh), "how much?". The second uses كم (kam), as in كم السعر؟ (kam is-si3ir), "what's the price?". In a restaurant you ask for the bill with الحساب (il-7isaab), and you will often hear the question كم الحساب؟, "how much is the bill?".

You do not need to be formal. A typical exchange at a greengrocer's starts with a greeting such as يعطيك العافية ("may God give you strength", a friendly way to address someone who is working), followed by the question. The seller usually answers with just the amount, so the most important skill is understanding the number that comes back. That is what the rest of this article is about.

• قدّيش كيلو الموز؟2addeesh keelo il-mooz?How much is a kilo of bananas?
• كم السعر؟kam is-si3ir?What's the price?
• الكيلو بدينارينil-keelo b-deenaareenIt's two dinars a kilo
• الكيلو بنص دينارil-keelo b-nuss deenaarIt's half a dinar a kilo
• الحساب تمن دنانير ونصil-7isaab taman danaaneer w-nussThe bill is eight and a half dinars

The numbers you need

Here are the basic numbers as they are said in spoken Jordanian and Palestinian Arabic. Notice that several of them sound different from the formal written forms: ثلاثة (three) is usually pronounced تلاتة in towns and cities, with a t instead of a th.

One and two: no number needed

For one of something, you normally just say the noun: دينار means "a dinar" or "one dinar". You can add واحد after it for emphasis (دينار واحد, "just one dinar"), but you do not need to.

This is also why the number one is rarely heard in a shop. If a coffee costs a dinar, the waiter will simply say بدينار, "for a dinar", and leave it there.

For two, Arabic uses a special dual ending, ـين (-een), instead of the number. One dinar is دينار; two dinars is دينارين. The same works for dollars: دولار, دولارين. Saying إتنين دينار sounds wrong to a native speaker, so it is worth getting used to the dual early.

Three to ten: short number plus plural

From three to ten, two things happen. The number loses its final ة sound and becomes shorter, and the noun goes into the plural. So خمسة becomes خمس, and دينار becomes دنانير: خمس دنانير, five dinars. Eight is a special case: تمانية shortens to تمن, so eight dinars is تمن دنانير. The workbook's review page tests exactly this, so look out for it.

With dollars the plural is دولارات, so you would say تلات دولارات or عشر دولارات.

Why does the number get shorter? Think of it as the number leaning on the noun that follows it, so that the two words run together smoothly. On its own you count واحد، إتنين، تلاتة، أربعة, but in a price you say تلات دنانير or أربع دنانير. The same short forms are used with other nouns too: تلات كيلو, "three kilos", or ست ساعات, "six hours". Once your ear is used to it, the long form before a noun starts to sound strange.

Eleven and above: singular noun

From eleven upwards, the noun goes back to the singular. This surprises a lot of learners, but it makes life simpler. For eleven to nineteen, the number also picks up an extra ـَر (-ar) sound when a noun follows: تسعطعش (nineteen) becomes تسعطعشر دينار, nineteen dinars. From twenty onwards there is no extra sound: عشرين دينار, twenty dinars; مية دينار, a hundred dinars.

Prices with بـ, halves and quarters

When you say what something costs, Levantine speakers use بـ (b-), meaning "for" or "at". الكيلو بدينار means "it's one dinar a kilo"; الكيلو بتلات دنانير, "three dinars a kilo". Halves and quarters are added with و (and): ونص (w-nuss, and a half) and وربع (w-rub3, and a quarter). So بدينارين ونص is "for two and a half dinars".

The Jordanian dinar is divided into 100 قرش (2irsh, piasters), and you will see small prices given in قروش. In the West Bank you will also hear prices in shekels, but the grammar works in the same way whatever the currency.

Put all of this together and you can handle most everyday transactions. At a market stall you might ask قدّيش كيلو البندورة؟ (how much is a kilo of tomatoes?) and hear بنص دينار. In a café you can ask كم الحساب؟ and hear خمس دنانير ونص. If the price is higher than you expected, غالي (expensive) and رخيص (cheap) are the two adjectives you will want next.

Tip: Learners often say خمسة دنانير with the long number. It will be understood, but the natural spoken form drops the ending: خمس دنانير.

Practise

Say each answer out loud before you check it. Think first: is the noun singular, dual or plural?