How to say "three" in Arabic
CognateMeaningthree
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ثَلَاثَة
thalāthaת'לאת'ה
ثلاثة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
שלושה
shloshaشْلُوشَا
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ث-ل-ثHebrew root
ש-ל-שThe classic textbook pair: שלוש ↔ thalāth. Wherever Hebrew has ש, check for Arabic ث — the same swap runs through two, three, and eight.
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
تَلَاتِة
talāteתלאתהث becomes t in the dialect: talāte.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
تَلَاتَة
talātaתלאתהCairo: talāta, with the -a ending.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
تْلَاتَة
tlātaתלאתהDarija: tlāta.
In a phrase
ثَلَاثَة كُتُب
thalāthat kutubת'לאת'ת כתבthree books