Last Updated on May 13, 2021 by Bilingual Kidspot
Arabic Numbers: Counting in Arabic for Kids
Ahlan! Welcome to the first lesson in our Learn Arabic for Kids series, Counting in Arabic! In this FREE Arabic lesson for kids you can learn all about the Arabic numbers and how to count. Use the printable materials around the house and follow the activities and games to help teach your kids Arabic.
Arabic Numbers for Kids
I am Laila, founder of ArabishWay a website repository of Arabic language resources and creator of the board book These Chicks/هالصيصان. I am so excited to be working with Bilingual Kidspot to bring you a series of focused lessons to help you on your Arabic journey, a.k.a. your Arabish way.
If you haven’t already, please check out the Teach Kids Arabic Starter Kit as we will build on those basics.
Below you will find books, songs, toys and activities geared towards toddler and preschool-aged kids but can be used for kids of all ages.
I think kids enjoy informal dialect at a young age, so a lot of the resources are in a colloquial dialect (specifically the Levantine or Shami dialect). If that is not your dialect, please use the idea/concept as a model to help you find or formulate the equivalent in your dialect.
If you are ready, then yalla! let’s go! To get you started, here are your Arabic numbers (formal) from wa-Had to ‘aa-sha-ra!
You can Print Here:
PRINT Numbers 1-10
PRINT Numbers 11-20
PRINT Numbers 21-30
Learn to count in Arabic for Kids
The best way to learn to count in Arabic is to incorporate numbers into your day.
Numbers are probably one of the easiest words to incorporate into your day. You don’t even need any other Arabic words, you can simply count things around you (fingers, cereal, peas, blocks etc.) or as you are doing things (clapping, stepping, jumping, etc.). But there are other great ways to engage with Arabic numbers.
Fill your house with Arabic Numbers
Here are my recommendations for Arabic number toys to have around the house
- Number Puzzle – Puzzles are great for fine motor skills and for learning! Noor Art has a few Arabic puzzles or you can also find some on Amazon. (when shopping for an Arabic puzzle I like to make sure the zero or dot for the number 10 is connected, otherwise it’s too easily lost). This one the 10 is a single puzzle piece.
- Number Blocks: I like the Uncle Goose series. They are durable and attractive! In addition to the numbers, they also have the letters in their beginning, middle and end form. Find them here.
- Numbered foam mats: These are also great to have around. Noor Art has three sizes. I like the large size as they work great for floor padding, as well as, playing. Find them here.
Arabic Songs for Kids
Singing is excellent for language acquisition. Here are my two favorite number songs that follow the concept of the song Five Little Speckled Frogs with a count down from five to one:
5 Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Syraj:
5 Cute Yellow Ducks by Kazadoo:
Both videos have Arabic subtitles so you can sing along. If you would like an English transliteration click here for 5 Cute and Yellow Ducks and here for 5 Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
Arabic Numbers Books for Kids
First thing you can do is take any counting book you have and when you say the numbers, add the Arabic numbers in there. But there are also some simple books you can easily translate into your dialect. The more the book repeats, the better. And every once in a while, pause and let your child fill in the blank. Check out this one that I fully translated into Arabic (Levantine dialect).
Bobo & Co: Numbers by Nicola Killen is a cute and simple flap book.
If you can read some Arabic I recommend these simple books by Scholastic:
Arabic Counting Games for Kids
Here are three games you can play to work on your numbers!
Go Fish:
For “Do you have [#]?” you can say “ ‘aan-dack (to a male)/’aan-deck (to a female) [#]?
If you have it you can say “yes” “ah” or more formally “na-’aam”
If you don’t you can say make a tsk or tut sound while lifting your head slightly (a very Arab mannerism) or you can say “laa” or “laa-ah” which just means “no” or make it more silly by saying “rooH min hone* (to a male) or” roo-Hee min hone” (to a female) which means “go away from here”
Doume Ya Warda:
This is a cute Ring-Around-The-Rosie type game. It helped my girls learn to count from 10 -100 by tens. So once they get the pattern from 21 to 30 they can apply that logic to the rest of the numbers.
Video, Transliterated lyrics, PRINT HERE: 10’s 10-100
Bingo:
Take your standard bingo set and play it using Arabic numbers. Use the printables in this post to cut and paste and make your own board game.
Counting in Arabic for Kids
Hopefully you have enjoyed Lesson 1: Counting in Arabic for kids. I have no doubt with a little time and effort you and your little one can be counting to 10 in Arabic if not further!
I hope this has helped and if you are interested in more be sure to check out the rest of the Learn Arabic for Kids series.
Ill-la lay-qaw – Until next time
Laila
Learn Arabic for Kids
We hope you enjoyed the first Arabic for Kids lesson from the Arabish Way about Arabic numbers and counting in Arabic. Make sure you check out the whole Learn Arabic for Kids series on the Bilingual Kidspot!
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