Cardinal numbers count how many. Ordinal numbers say which position. In Arabic, ordinal numbers are adjectives — they agree with the noun in gender.
| # | Masculine | Feminine | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | أَوَّلٌ | أُولَى | السُّورَةُ الْأُولَى — The First Surah |
| 2 | ثَانٍ | ثَانِيَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ الثَّانِي — The Second Lesson |
| 3 | ثَالِثٌ | ثَالِثَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ الثَّالِثُ — The Third Lesson |
| 4 | رَابِعٌ | رَابِعَةٌ | الصَّلَاةُ الرَّابِعَةُ — The Fourth Prayer |
| 5 | خَامِسٌ | خَامِسَةٌ | الصَّلَاةُ الْخَامِسَةُ — The Fifth Prayer |
| 6 | سَادِسٌ | سَادِسَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ السَّادِسُ |
| 7 | سَابِعٌ | سَابِعَةٌ | السَّمَاءُ السَّابِعَةُ — The Seventh Sky |
| 8 | ثَامِنٌ | ثَامِنَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ الثَّامِنُ |
| 9 | تَاسِعٌ | تَاسِعَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ التَّاسِعُ |
| 10 | عَاشِرٌ | عَاشِرَةٌ | الدَّرْسُ الْعَاشِرُ — The Tenth Lesson |
Ordinals come after the noun and take AL if the noun has AL:
أَوَّلٌ (m) and أُولَى (f) don't follow the active-participle pattern of 2–10.