Episode 36 · One, two, three

Over the last few days, Sam has watched the Arabic language open up. He saw three simple bones, ك ت ب, turn into a whole family of words in Farid's bookshop. He learned to ask the essential questions: who, what, where, and how much.

Armed with those questions, he's finally ready for the one place that runs entirely on numbers: the old market, and specifically, Hajj Mahmoud's stall.

Remember on Day One, when Sam didn't know the currency, and Hajj Mahmoud just took the coins from his palm and started a running tab on a little slate? Today, Sam has come to settle up.

كَمْ؟

He remembers his word for 'how much'! But Hajj Mahmoud shakes his head. He doesn't just want Sam's money today. He points to a paper cone on his old brass scale. Sam is going to have to count it himself.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. — one, two, three. · WAA-ḥid, ith-NAAN, tha-LAA-tha

Here we go, our first numbers! واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. One, two, three. Listen to the very first one: واحِد. You need that crisp, breathy ح in the middle, like you're fogging up a mirror.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. — one, two, three. · WAA-ḥid, ith-NAAN, tha-LAA-tha

And for two and three, اثْنان and ثَلاثة, make sure your tongue comes out between your teeth for that ث sound, just like the 'th' in 'think'. A very common mistake is to say 'it-nan' with a hard T. Don't do that. Say it with me: واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. — one, two, three. · WAA-ḥid, ith-NAAN, tha-LAA-tha

Let's try it a little slower. واحِد... اثْنان... ثَلاثة.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. — one, two, three. · WAA-ḥid, ith-NAAN, tha-LAA-tha

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة.

واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. — one, two, three. · WAA-ḥid, ith-NAAN, tha-LAA-tha

أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة.

أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. — four, five, six. · AR-ba-ʿa, KHAM-sa, SIT-ta

Four, five, six. أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. Notice the deep throat squeeze on the ع in أَرْبَعة, and the rough, raspy خ in خَمْسة, like clearing your throat. Say them with me: أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة.

أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. — four, five, six. · AR-ba-ʿa, KHAM-sa, SIT-ta

And for six, سِتّة, really hold that double T in the middle. Don't rush it. Once more, nice and clear: أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة.

أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. — four, five, six. · AR-ba-ʿa, KHAM-sa, SIT-ta

أَرْبَعة... خَمْسة... سِتّة.

أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. — four, five, six. · AR-ba-ʿa, KHAM-sa, SIT-ta

Hajj Mahmoud crosses his arms. He isn't going to drop the next date until Sam initiates. The old man is basically turning his stall into a classroom.

Before we hit ten, let's lock in the first six. We have one, two, three: واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. And we have four, five, six: أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. Great.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. — seven, eight, nine, ten. · SAB-ʿa, tha-MAA-ni-ya, TIS-ʿa, ʿA-sha-ra

Seven, eight, nine, ten. سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. Let's break those down. You hear that deep throat squeeze again on seven, سَبْعة, and nine, تِسْعة. And the soft 'th' comes back for eight: ثَمانية.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. — seven, eight, nine, ten. · SAB-ʿa, tha-MAA-ni-ya, TIS-ʿa, ʿA-sha-ra

Ten is عَشَرة. Be careful not to say 'asara'—it's a clear 'sh' sound in the middle. Say the whole set with me: سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. — seven, eight, nine, ten. · SAB-ʿa, tha-MAA-ni-ya, TIS-ʿa, ʿA-sha-ra

A little slower, nice and steady. سَبْعة... ثَمانية... تِسْعة... عَشَرة. Perfect.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. — seven, eight, nine, ten. · SAB-ʿa, tha-MAA-ni-ya, TIS-ʿa, ʿA-sha-ra

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة.

سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة. — seven, eight, nine, ten. · SAB-ʿa, tha-MAA-ni-ya, TIS-ʿa, ʿA-sha-ra

He did it. Ten dates. Sam reaches into his pocket and pays off the slate. But as Hajj hands over the cone, Sam notices something on the counter. A little stack of ledgers. He points to them, remembering his root from Farid's shop.

كِتاب.

كِتابٌ واحِد.

كِتابٌ واحِد. — one book. · ki-TAA-bun WAA-ḥid

Ah, look at this! كِتابٌ واحِد. One book. In English, we say the number first: 'one book'. But in Arabic, the number comes *after* the noun. The book is the most important thing, so we name it first, and then we describe it as being one. كِتابٌ واحِد.

كِتابٌ واحِد. — one book. · ki-TAA-bun WAA-ḥid

Say it with me, remembering to put the noun first. كِتابٌ واحِد. Try it once more: كِتابٌ واحِد.

كِتابٌ واحِد. — one book. · ki-TAA-bun WAA-ḥid

كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟

كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ — How many books here? · kam ki-TAA-ban HU-naa

The quiz isn't over! Hajj Mahmoud asks كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ How many books here? You remember كَمْ from yesterday's lesson. It means 'how many' or 'how much'.

كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ — How many books here? · kam ki-TAA-ban HU-naa

When you use كَمْ to ask 'how many', the noun that follows it takes a special ending sound—it becomes كِتابًا. You don't need to worry about the grammar rules right now, just know they go together perfectly like a set. كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ Say it with me.

كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ — How many books here? · kam ki-TAA-ban HU-naa

Let's try it again, a little slower. كَمْ... كِتابًا... هُنا؟

كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ — How many books here? · kam ki-TAA-ban HU-naa

ثَلاثة.

Hajj Mahmoud breaks into a massive, craggy smile. He reaches into the pile of dates, picks up one perfectly plump extra one, and drops it into Sam's cone. A little bonus for a perfect score.

Sam has survived the souk's toughest teacher. Let's recap what he learned. We have one, two, three: واحِد، اثْنان، ثَلاثة. Four, five, six: أَرْبَعة، خَمْسة، سِتّة. Seven, eight, nine, ten: سَبْعة، ثَمانية، تِسْعة، عَشَرة.

We also learned to put the noun before the number: كِتابٌ واحِد. One book. And we learned to ask how many: كَمْ كِتابًا هُنا؟ How many books here? Wonderful work today.

As Sam turns to leave, eating his first date, Hajj Mahmoud calls out and casually taps a massive, hundred-kilo burlap sack of almonds sitting by the path. He holds up one finger, pointing to it, then points to Sam. I think the counting lesson is far from over.

Join us on Tuesday to see how many almonds Sam has to count! Remember, we're here every Tuesday and Friday to keep growing your Arabic, root by root. See you then!