Lesson 13: Numbers 11 to 20

You already know 1–10 from counting 1 to 10. The teens are easy: take the unit and add the word for “ten”. Let’s count up to twenty.

Counting in the classroom

Grammar: the teen pattern

For 11–19, take the unit number and add עֶשְׂרֵה (esre, “ten” — the feminine form used for counting):

#	Hebrew	Romanization
11	אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה	achat esre
12	שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה	shtem esre
13	שְׁלוֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	shlosh esre
14	אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה	arba esre
15	חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	chamesh esre
16	שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה	shesh esre
17	שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה	shva esre
18	שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה	shmone esre
19	תְּשַׁע עֶשְׂרֵה	tsha esre
20	עֶשְׂרִים	esrim

Twenty is its own word, עֶשְׂרִים (esrim) — no “ten” attached.

Tip: Hebrew numbers actually have masculine and feminine forms. These feminine forms are what you use for plain counting and for telling the time.

Vocabulary