אוצר מיליםA1

Numbers 11-100

Hebrew numbers 11-100: teen compounds, tens formed from root numbers, compound numbers with וְ

Learning Goal

Can use Hebrew numbers 11-100 including teens and compound numbers with correct gender agreement

Exam Skills:דיבורהבנת הנקראהבנת הנשמעכתיבה

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

יֵשׁ לִי אַרְבָּעִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים.

I am forty-five years old.

הַמְּחִיר הוּא שְׁמוֹנִים שֶׁקֶל.

The price is eighty shekels.

אֲנִי גָּר בִּרְחוֹב מִסְפַּר שְׁלֹשִׁים וָאֶחָד.

I live on street number thirty-one.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Teens (11-19): unit + עָשָׂר/עֶשְׂרֵה (ten). Gender applies to first element.

Tens: עֶשְׂרִים (20), שְׁלֹשִׁים (30), אַרְבָּעִים (40), חֲמִישִׁים (50), שִׁישִּׁים (60), שִׁבְעִים (70), שְׁמוֹנִים (80), תִּשְׁעִים (90), מֵאָה (100).

Compound numbers: tens + וְ + units: עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשׁ = 23. The unit agrees with noun gender.

Gender agreement in teens and compound numbers trips learners up. English: No gendered numbers — the whole system is new. Russian: Russian teens (одиннадцать) don't compound visibly — Hebrew's additive structure is different. Czech: Czech teens (jedenáct) similarly opaque — Hebrew structure more transparent but gender-reversal remains.

Common Error Patterns

Uses wrong gender form in teen number (e.g., שְׁלֹשׁ עָשָׂר instead of שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר with masculine noun)

The gender rule of 1-10 applies to the units part of teens too. שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר (13, masc), שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה (13, fem).

Omits the וְ conjunction in compound numbers (e.g., עֶשְׂרִים שָׁלֹשׁ instead of עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשׁ)

Always connect tens and units with וְ (and): עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשׁ = 23, אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה = 48.

יֵשׁ לִי אַרְבָּעִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים.

I am forty-five years old.

אַרְבָּעִים = forty, וְ = and, חָמֵשׁ = five (fem, for שָׁנִים which is feminine). Compound: tens + וְ + units.

הַמְּחִיר הוּא שְׁמוֹנִים שֶׁקֶל.

The price is eighty shekels.

שְׁמוֹנִים = eighty (from שְׁמוֹנָה, eight). Tens are formed by adding ים- to the root number. Note הוּא as emphatic copula here.

אֲנִי גָּר בִּרְחוֹב מִסְפַּר שְׁלֹשִׁים וָאֶחָד.

I live on street number thirty-one.

שְׁלֹשִׁים וָאֶחָד = 31. Note: וָ (not וְ) before אֶחָד because of the alef. מִסְפַּר = number.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course
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