The Arabic counting system uses both cardinal numbers and Eastern Arabic numerals, which differ from those used in the West. The numeral for 1 is ١, for 2 is ٢, for 3 is ٣, for 4 is ٤, for 5 is ٥, for 6 is ٦, for 7 is ٧, and for 15 is ١٥, formed by combining the symbols for 10 and 5. Arabic words for the basic numbers include waahid (واحد, one) for males and waahida (واحدة) for females, ithnan (اثنان, two) for masculine nouns and ithnataan for feminine, thalaatha (ثلاثة, three), arba'a (أربعة, four), khamsa (خمسة, five), sitta (ستة, six), thamaniya (ثمانية, eight), 'ashara (عشرة, ten), 'ishroon (عشرون, twenty), khamsoon (خمسون, fifty), and mi'a (مئة, hundred).
Numbers 11 through 19 are formed by combining the units with 'ashara, often with the units appearing first, and they reverse the order of tens and units compared to English. For example, twelve is ithna 'ashar (اثنَ12 عشر), with separate forms for masculine and feminine. For numbers 20 through 99, Modern Standard Arabic generally keeps the tens before the units. To express one thousand, the word is alf (ألف), written as ١٠٠٠.
Time expressions are also part of daily Arabic. 'Today' is al-yawm (اليوم), 'tomorrow' is ghadan (غدًا), and 'yesterday' is amsi (أمس). Asking 'What time is it?' is kam al-saa'a? (كم الساعة؟), and asking someone's age is kam 'umruk? (كم عمرك؟) for a male or kam 'umruki? for a female, literally 'how many is your age?'. Other useful temporal phrases include iya al-liqa' ghadan (إلى اللقاء غدًا), meaning 'see you tomorrow', and yawm milad sa'id, the equivalent of 'happy birthday'.