Lesson 44: Numbers, quantification and measurement in depth

Part 1: Why a separate lesson on numbers at B2?

In L28 you already learned the "inverted" system: short forms (shalosh, arba, chamesh) — feminine; long ones with -ah (shlosha, arba'a, chamisha) — masculine. At A2 this seemed a curiosity — learned and moved on.

At B2 numbers come back with three new tasks:

1. Speed of agreement. In real speech the number has to "fly out" in the right gender without a beat. This isn't an intellectual task, it's motor.
2. Quantification without an exact number. "Several", "approximately", "around", "most", "a third", "a couple of dozen" — this is a separate vocabulary layer without which living speech is impossible.
3. Fractions and percentages. Hebrew fractions have a special pattern (mishkal), and it doesn't resemble either an English or a Russian construction. Percentages are a separate word (ahuz), with their own plural paradigm.

Plus — units of measurement. Most modern measures in Hebrew are loans (kilo, metr, sm), but they agree according to Hebrew logic, and that gives typical mistakes.

The one-second rule: at B2, every numerical expression ("3 apples", "about an hour", "70 percent") should assemble in less than a second. If you think longer, that's not B2.

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Part 2: Number-gender agreement — at speed (review of L28)

Brief reminder of the 1–10 paradigm:

#	m. (for m. nouns)	f. (for f. nouns)
1	echad (stands after the noun)	achat (after the noun)
2	shnei / shney (before the noun, construct)	shtei / shtey (before the noun, construct)
3	shlosha	shalosh
4	arba'a	arba
5	chamisha	chamesh
6	shisha	shesh
7	shiv'a	sheva
8	shmona	shmone
9	tish'a	tesha
10	asara	eser

New at B2: in L28 you learned "two" as shnayim / shtayim. That's right, but only when counting on its own ("one, two, three"). When before a noun — the forms are construct: shnei sfarim ("two books"), shtei moralt ("two female teachers"). Remember: shnayim → shnei before a noun.

Numbers from 11 to 19

#	m.	f.
11	achad asar	achat esre
12	shneim asar	shteim esre
13	shlosha asar	shlosh esre
14	arba'a asar	arba esre
15	chamisha asar	chamesh esre
16	shisha asar	shesh esre
17	shiv'a asar	shva esre
18	shmona asar	shmone esre
19	tish'a asar	tsha esre

Structure: "unit-ten". Masculines: m. unit + asar. Feminines: f. unit + esre. The tens 20–90 have no gender (they're the same): esrim, shloshim, arba'im, chamishim, shishim, shiv'im, shmonim, tish'im.

"One-second" training

Force yourself to blurt it aloud — without a pause:

3 cars (m., оto → otot. Stop: oto — m., but plural in -ot. We go by the gender of the noun, not by the suffix): shlosha otoboosim? No, oto — m., m. → shlosha. shlosha otot. Wait — mekhonit — car, f., plural mekhoniyot. shalosh mekhoniyot.

This is the typical trap: the -ot suffix looks feminine, but the real gender is m. (oto, oto-mat). Don't trust the suffix — learn gender from the dictionary.

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Part 3: Collective quantities — kvutza, mishpacha, eda

In Hebrew there's a separate layer of nouns denoting "a group of similar things". They behave like ordinary feminine nouns, but semantically they are "quantitative collectives".

Hebrew	Translit	English	Note
kvutza	kvutza	group	Universal: kvutzat talmidim — "group of students".
kvutsa	kvutsa	group (spelling variant)	Same word; in writing both transliterations occur.
eda	eda	community, ethnic group	edah ha-yehudim ha-russim — "community of Russian Jews".
mishpacha	mishpacha	family	Also metaphorically: "family of products", "family of words".
chevra	chevra	company, society	chevrat anashim — "company of people". Colloquially — just "the guys".
tzevet	tsevet	team, crew	tsevet ha-rofim — "team of doctors".
kahal	kahal	audience, public	kahal gadol — "a large audience".
siru	tzibur	general public	ha-tzibur ha-rakhav — "the wider public".
rov	rov	majority	rov ha-anashim — "most people". Agreement: the verb is often in the plural.
miut	miut	minority	miut ktsat — "a small minority".
harbe	harbe	many	Invariable: harbe sfarim, harbe morot.
me'at	me'at	few, little	me'at zman — "little time".
ktsat	ktsat	a bit	ktsat shoko — "a bit of chocolate".
kama	kama	several / how many?	kama sfarim — "several books" or "how many books?"
kol	kol	all / every	kol ha-yom — "all day"; kol yom — "every day" (no article!)

A subtle rule with rov / miut: ha-rov holkhim — "most are going" (plural, semantic agreement), but formally it's m. sg. At B2 both options are acceptable; in formal writing more often singular, in colloquial — plural.

The kol with article vs. without distinction:

• kol ha-yom — "the whole day" (article = "the whole, all of")
• kol yom — "every day" (no article = "every") A small but critical difference. Mix it up and the meaning flips.

Constructions with collectives

Most of these words work through smikhut (L20, L37):

• kvutzat talmidim — "group of students" (kvutza → kvutzat in construct)
• mishpachat ha-melech — "the king's family"
• tsevet ha-mishtara — "the police team"
• rov ha-anashim — "most people"

Construct works by the usual rules: the first noun loses its article (the article goes on the second or is absent altogether), the form often changes (kvutza → kvutzat).

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Part 4: Approximate quantities — kemo, b'erekh, le-erekh

When the exact number isn't needed or isn't known, Hebrew offers several tools:

Hebrew	Translit	English	Register
kemo	kemo	like, as, approximately	Colloquial: "kemo chamesh dakot" — "like 5 minutes", i.e. "about".
b'erekh	b'erekh	approximately, about	Universal, neutral: "b'erekh me'a anashim" — "about 100 people".
le-erekh	le-erekh	approximately	More formal, in writing: "le-erekh shlosha shavu'ot" — "about three weeks".
be-svivot	be-svivot	around, about	"be-svivot ha-sha'ah esrim ve-shtayim" — "around 22:00".
kim'at	kim'at	almost	"kim'at me'a" — "almost 100".
yoter mi-	yoter mi-	more than	"yoter mi-elef" — "more than a thousand".
pachot mi-	pachot mi-	less than	"pachot mi-asara" — "less than ten".
bein... le-...	bein... le-...	between... and...	"bein chamesh le-eser dakot" — "between 5 and 10 minutes".
ad	ad	up to	"ad chamishim shekel" — "up to 50 shekels".
lefachot	lefachot	at least	"lefachot chamisha" — "at least five".
lechol ha-yoter	lechol ha-yoter	at most	"lechol ha-yoter sha'a" — "at most an hour".

Trap for an English speaker: in English "about/around/roughly" — several near-synonyms; in Hebrew three or four close ones. Don't agonize over the "right" choice — at B2 it's enough to master b'erekh (neutral universal), and recognize the rest in speech and text.

Word order: the approximation marker comes before the number: "b'erekh chamisha kilo", not "chamisha b'erekh kilo".

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Part 5: Fractions — a special construction

Fractions in Hebrew are formed by a fixed model. They are separate words, not "one-divided-by-three". The denominator is masculine (a word that became a noun, like "a third", "a quarter").

Fraction	Hebrew	Translit	Note
1/2	chetzi / חצי	chetzi	Also "half": "chetzi sha'a" — "half an hour".
1/3	shlish / שליש	shlish	Plural shlishim ("three thirds" = shlosha shlishim).
1/4	reva / רבע	reva	Also "quarter of an hour".
1/5	chamishit / חמישית	chamishit	Here the pattern changes — suffix -it.
1/6	shishit / שישית	shishit
1/7	shvi'it / שביעית	shvi'it
1/8	shminit / שמינית	shminit
1/9	tshi'it / תשיעית	tshi'it
1/10	asirit / עשירית	asirit

Two models:

• 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 — old, with unique forms (chetzi, shlish, reva).
• 1/5 and onward — formed by the -it model from the root of the corresponding number (chamisha → chamishit, shisha → shishit).

Compound fractions

• 2/3 — shnei shlishim ("two thirds"; shnei — construct form of "two", shlishim — plural of shlish)
• 3/4 — shlosha rva'im
• 4/5 — arba'a chamishi'im
• 1 1/2 — echad va-chetzi ("one and a half"); often just chetzi in living speech: "sha'ah va-chetzi" — "an hour and a half".

Useful expressions:

• chetzi sha'a — half an hour
• reva sha'a — a quarter of an hour
• shlosha rva'ei sha'a — three quarters of an hour = 45 minutes
• sha'ah va-chetzi — an hour and a half

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Part 6: Percentages — ahuz

The word for percent in Hebrew is ahuz (אחוז), masculine. The plural is ahuzim.

Hebrew	Translit	English
ahuz	ahuz	percent (1 unit)
ahuzim	ahuzim	percent (plural)
achuz echad	achuz echad	one percent
shnei ahuzim	shnei ahuzim	two percent
chamisha ahuzim	chamisha ahuzim	five percent
chamishim ahuz	chamishim ahuz	fifty percent
me'a ahuz	me'a ahuz	one hundred percent

Oddity: in Hebrew, after a large number (from 11 up in formal speech, often from 2), the word ahuz often stays singular: chamishim ahuz, me'a ahuz. This is a relic of biblical grammar: after a number, a measure-noun could stay in the singular. In colloquial speech you'll also hear chamishim ahuzim — both options are acceptable.

Gender: ahuz is m., so the number agrees in m.: shnei ahuzim, chamisha ahuzim. Not the "bare" forms chamesh, but the long ones.

Fractions-as-percentages in living speech

• 50% = chetzi (half), but also chamishim ahuz
• 25% = reva, but also esrim va-chamisha ahuz
• 75% = shlosha rva'im, but also shiv'im va-chamisha ahuz
• 33% = bе-erekh shlish, or shloshim va-shlosha ahuz

Register: in journalism, statistics, news — percentages (ahuzim). In conversation often replaced by a fraction: "meod harbe" = "about one and a half", and so on.

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Part 7: Units of measurement

Most modern measures are loans. They are all masculine (with rare exceptions).

Hebrew	Translit	English	Gender
kilo	kilo	kilogram	m.
gram	gram	gram	m.
kilogram	kilogram	kilogram (full)	m.
metr	metr	meter	m.
kilometr	kilometr	kilometer	m.
santimetr / sm	santimetr / sm	centimeter	m.
mil	mil	mile	m.
liter	liter	liter	m.
degel (not a measure here)	—	—	—
ma'alot	ma'alot	degrees	f., pl. (from ma'ala)
sha'a	sha'a	hour	f.
daka	daka	minute	f.
shniya	shniya	second	f.
yom	yom	day	m.
shavua	shavua	week	m.
chodesh	chodesh	month	m.
shana	shana	year	f.

Rule: m. measure → number in m. (chamisha kilo, asara metr); f. measure → number in f. (chamesh sha'ot, asar dakot).

"Measures stay in the singular"

An old biblical norm: after a number, a measure-noun can stay in the singular. In modern Hebrew this is preserved for kilos and shekels:

• chamisha kilo (not chamisha kilogramim) — "five kilos"
• me'a shekel (not me'a shkalim, though in formal speech — yes) — "one hundred shekels"
• eser dakot — "ten minutes" (here it's always plural)

Practical rule: for kilo and shekel in speech — singular after a number. For all other measures — usual agreement in the plural (chamisha metrim, eser dakot).

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Part 8: Statistics, frequencies, repetition

Vocabulary without which you can't read the news or discuss data:

Hebrew	Translit	English
statistika	statistika	statistics
netunim	netunim	data (pl., m.)
memutsa	memutsa	average, mean
chatzayon	chetsayon	median
tdirut	tdirut	frequency
mispar	mispar	number
achuz	ahuz	percent
yachas	yachas	ratio
gidul	gidul	growth, increase
yerida	yerida	drop, decrease
aliya	aliya	rise, increase
shinui	shinui	change
paam achat	pa'am achat	once
pa'amayim	pa'amayim	twice (a special form!)
shalosh pe'amim	shalosh pe'amim	three times
kol pa'am	kol pa'am	every time
lif'amim	lif'amim	sometimes
be-derekh klal	be-derekh klal	usually
tamid	tamid	always
af pa'am	af pa'am	never
be-rov ha-mikrim	be-rov ha-mikrim	in most cases

Special form pa'amayim: this is the dual number, preserved from ancient Hebrew. Pa'am ("time/instance") → pa'amayim ("twice"). Similarly: shavua → shvu'ayim ("two weeks"), chodesh → chodshayim, shana → shnatayim. Only for "two" — for three and more, the usual plural with a number: shalosh pe'amim, shlosha shavu'ot.

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Part 9: Full numerical expressions — assembling everything

Price and quantity

• chamesh kilo tapuchim be-esrim shekel — "five kilos of apples for 20 shekels"
• chetzi kilo basar be-shloshim shekel — "half a kilo of meat for 30 shekels"
• shtei butbukot mayim be-asara shekel — "two bottles of water for 10 shekels"

Time and duration

• b'erekh sha'ah va-chetzi — "about an hour and a half"
• kemo eser dakot — "like 10 minutes" (= approximately)
• bein chamisha le-asara yamim — "between 5 and 10 days"
• lefachot pa'amayim be-shavua — "at least twice a week"

Statistics

• shiv'im ahuz me-ha-tzibur — "70% of the public"
• rov ha-anashim chosh'vim she... — "most people think that..."
• shlish me-ha-talmidim — "a third of the students"
• gidul shel chamisha ahuzim — "a growth of 5%"
• be-rov ha-mikrim, ha-pitaron pashut — "in most cases the solution is simple"

Age

• ben esrim (m.) / bat esrim (f.) — "twenty years old" (literally "son/daughter of 20")
• ben shloshim ve-chamesh — "35 years old"
• bnei shloshim (pl.) — "thirty-somethings"

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