Vocabulary Cards — Session 22: Numbers 6 to 10

Print this page. Cut along the dotted lines. Each card is index-card sized. Carry them in your pocket. Count steps on the stairs. Count grapes on the plate. Count cars at the red light.

Card 1

Say it: SIT-teh Means: Six (6) · ٦

🎨 Picture: Six olives lined up on a small plate. A child's finger touching each one.

Use it when: You count six steps up to the apartment. You see six grapes on your plate. You count six cousins at the table.

Card 2

Say it: SAB-a Means: Seven (7) · ٧

🎨 Picture: Seven colored pencils in a row on a desk. A small hand reaching for one.

Use it when: You count seven days of the week. You count seven cars passing the balcony. You count seven stickers on a notebook.

Card 3

Say it: tha-MAA-ni-yeh Means: Eight (8) · ٨

🎨 Picture: An octopus in the blue Mediterranean. Eight wiggly arms.

Use it when: You count eight fingers (without the thumbs!). You count eight pieces of manakeesh on a tray. You count eight stars out the window.

Card 4

Say it: TIS-a Means: Nine (9) · ٩

🎨 Picture: Nine balloons floating up from a child's hand at a birthday party.

Use it when: You count nine candles on a cake. You count nine buttons on a shirt. You count almost-to-ten — one more!

Card 5

Say it: 'ASH-ra Means: Ten (10) · ١٠

🎨 Picture: Two small hands held up — all ten fingers spread wide. A huge grin.

Use it when: You count to ten before tag. You count ten toes after the bath. You finish a count: "…تِسعة، عَشرة!"

A bonus card — for the whole family

Card 6 (bonus)

Say it: kam? Means: How many?

🎨 Picture: A parent holding up a bowl of cherries, eyebrows raised, asking the child to count.

Use it when: You want to ask "how many." كَم تُفّاحة؟ (kam tuffaha?) — how many apples? كَم سَنة؟ (kam sineh?) — how old are you? كَم وَلَد؟ — how many kids?

This little word turns every counting moment into a tiny Arabic conversation. Use it at the grocery store. Use it at the dinner table. Use it everywhere.

The numerals themselves

You'll notice Arabic numerals look a little different:

six · seven · eight · nine · ten

Fun fact for the kids: the numbers WE use in English (1, 2, 3...) came from Arabic a long, long time ago. They traveled across the Mediterranean and changed shape along the way. The numbers above are the ones still used in newspapers, schoolbooks, and storefronts across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.

A teta in a village in Lebanon and a kid in a school in Amman are both reading ٧ and saying sab'a. 💛

How to use these cards

1. Count everything. Stairs. Grapes. Toys on the floor. Cars at the light. Anything that comes in a small pile.
2. 30 seconds a day. Pick one number. Count six things. Count seven things. Done.
3. Use the bonus card. Ask kam? at snack time. Make your kid be the counter.
4. Mix with Session 21. Now your kid knows ALL ten numbers — واحِد to عَشرة. Count up. Count down. Count fingers, toes, freckles.
5. Sing it. Make up a silly tune. واحِد، تنين، تلاتة، أربعة، خَمسة، سِتّة، سَبعة، ثَمانية، تِسعة، عَشرة! Loud. In the car. With your hands.

A small note for the grown-ups

The number words shift a little depending on what you're counting (one apple vs. two apples vs. seven apples — the word changes a bit in real Arabic grammar). Don't worry about that yet. Right now we just want the kid to hear the number, say the number, recognize the numeral.

The grammar is a Level 4 conversation. Today is a counting conversation.

What's next

Next session we put these numbers to work — asking ages (كَم عُمرَك؟), counting family members, and reading prices at the little corner store (الدُكّان).

For now: count to ten before you turn off the light tonight. يَلّا!

Yalla Arabic · Vocabulary Cards · Session 22