Numbering things in Hebrew

[christopher.heard_7769]

Shalom! I am a biblical scholar and teacher of Biblical Hebrew who is trying to learn Modern Hebrew as well. I have a question about how to say things like “page #3” or “unit #5,” referring to a textbook, or “question #5,” referring to a quiz.

I know how to say things like “three pages” (שלושה עמודים which could also be עמודים שלושה in Biblical Hebrew) and "the third page" (העמוד השלשי), but how do you say “page three”? Would it be עמוד שלושה—and you know that doesn’t mean “three pages” because עמוד is singular?

This situation doesn’t come up in the Tanak as far as I am aware …

תודה רבה in advance!

[community.hebrew]

Hi,

Thanks for commenting! Hope you find our lessons informative and useful (:

Three pages is שלושה עמודים in Hebrew, while page 3 will be עמוד שלוש.
The numbers in modern Hebrew are often counted when one is masculine (אחד) while 2-9 are in feminine state (שלוש).

Yours,
Roi