Ordinal Numbers and Date Expressions in Hebrew

In Brief

Hebrew ordinal numbers (“first,” “second,” and so on) normally follow the noun and agree with its grammatical gender: היום הראשון “the first day,” but הפעם הראשונה “the first time.” Calendar dates work differently: the day is treated as a number, as in ב־15 במרס “on March 15,” while Hebrew-calendar dates are often written with Hebrew letters, as in ט״ו בשבט.

Overview

Ordinal numbers tell you the position of something in a sequence: first, second, third, and so on. In Hebrew they behave much like adjectives—words that describe nouns. This means that an ordinal usually comes after its noun and changes form to match the noun’s grammatical gender. It also normally takes the definite article ה־ when the noun is definite: הקומה השלישית, literally “the floor the-third.”

At B1, ordinals appear in much more than numbered lists. You need them for floors, chapters, attempts, centuries, anniversaries, school years, and rankings. Date expressions add a related but distinct system. English writes “March 15th,” using an ordinal ending in writing, but Hebrew normally gives the day as a cardinal number—a counting number—rather than using חמישה עשר as an adjective meaning “fifteenth.”

Modern Hebrew uses both the Gregorian calendar and the Hebrew calendar. The Gregorian calendar is standard in everyday civil life. The Hebrew calendar is especially important for Jewish holidays, religious life, commemorations, and many official or cultural contexts. Learning both lets you recognize expressions ranging from ב־1 בינואר to י״ד באדר.

How It Works

Ordinals from first to tenth

The common ordinal forms from one through ten have masculine and feminine forms. Choose the form according to the noun—not according to the sex of the person speaking.

Position	Masculine	Feminine
1st	ראשון	ראשונה
2nd	שני	שנייה
3rd	שלישי	שלישית
4th	רביעי	רביעית
5th	חמישי	חמישית
6th	שישי	שישית
7th	שביעי	שביעית
8th	שמיני	שמינית
9th	תשיעי	תשיעית
10th	עשירי	עשירית

The basic pattern is:

definite noun + definite ordinal

• היום הראשון — the first day
• הקומה השנייה — the second floor
• הפרק השלישי — the third chapter
• הפעם הרביעית — the fourth time

Hebrew marks definiteness on both parts. If you mean “the third floor,” do not omit ה־ from שלישית. This differs from English, where “the” appears only once.

An indefinite phrase is also possible when the meaning calls for it:

• ניסיון ראשון — a first attempt
• מהדורה שנייה — a second edition

Here neither word has ה־. The ordinal still follows the noun and agrees with it.

Gender agreement

A noun’s grammatical gender determines the ordinal. יום “day” and פרק “chapter” are masculine, so they take ראשון, שני, שלישי, and the other masculine forms. פעם “time/occasion,” קומה “floor,” and מאה “century” are feminine, so they take ראשונה, שנייה, שלישית, and so on.

This is easy to miss when the English translation contains no gender distinction:

Hebrew noun	Gender	Example	Meaning
יום	masculine	היום השני	the second day
פרק	masculine	הפרק החמישי	the fifth chapter
קומה	feminine	הקומה השלישית	the third floor
פעם	feminine	הפעם הראשונה	the first time

A useful clue is that many feminine ordinals end in ־ית, but do not rely only on spelling. ראשונה and שנייה have different endings and must be learned as whole forms.

Ordinals above ten

For positions above ten, Hebrew generally builds the expression from cardinal-number forms. In careful writing, the whole number functions after the noun as a definite ordinal expression:

• היום האחד עשר — the eleventh day
• הקומה האחת עשרה — the eleventh floor
• הפרק העשרים ואחד — the twenty-first chapter
• המאה העשרים ואחת — the twenty-first century

Agreement remains important. Compare masculine אחד עשר with feminine אחת עשרה, and masculine עשרים ואחד with feminine עשרים ואחת. In a compound number such as twenty-first, the final unit shows the relevant gender contrast.

Digits are extremely common in practical labels: הקומה ה־12 “the 12th floor” or פרק 21 “chapter 21.” Such labels may be read aloud with an ordinal-style expression, but everyday usage varies by context. Written digits are often the clearest choice for large positions.

Days of the week: a related ordinal system

Most Hebrew weekday names are built from ordinal forms:

• יום ראשון — Sunday, literally “first day”
• יום שני — Monday, literally “second day”
• יום שלישי — Tuesday
• יום רביעי — Wednesday
• יום חמישי — Thursday
• יום שישי — Friday
• שבת — Saturday/Shabbat

In an ordinary weekday name, יום ראשון does not mean “the first day” of a particular sequence; it is the established name of Sunday. Add the article when referring to a specific day in context: ביום הראשון של הקורס “on the first day of the course.”

Gregorian dates

The common written order is:

day + ב־ + month

• 15 במרס — March 15
• 1 בינואר 2026 — January 1, 2026

To say “on” a date, attach ב־ to the day number as well:

• ב־15 במרס — on March 15
• ב־1 בינואר — on January 1

The typographic mark ־ is the Hebrew maqaf, a short joining mark. You will also see a regular hyphen in digital text: ב-15 במרס. Both spellings are readily understood.

When dates are read aloud, the day is normally expressed with a masculine cardinal number because an understood יום “day” is masculine. For example, 5 במאי is commonly read חמישה במאי. The first day of a month is אחד: אחד בינואר, not the ordinal ראשון בינואר in the standard date formula.

Month names usually follow the attached preposition ב־:

English month	Hebrew in a date
January	בינואר
February	בפברואר
March	במרס / במרץ
April	באפריל
May	במאי
June	ביוני
July	ביולי
August	באוגוסט
September	בספטמבר
October	באוקטובר
November	בנובמבר
December	בדצמבר

Both מרס and מרץ occur for March. Follow the spelling used by the publication or organization you are writing for.

Hebrew-calendar dates

A Hebrew-calendar date normally places the day before the month and attaches ב־ to the month:

• ט״ו בשבט — the 15th of Shevat
• י״ד באדר — the 14th of Adar
• א׳ בתשרי — the 1st of Tishrei

Hebrew letters can serve as numerals. The punctuation is part of the conventional notation: a single letter takes a geresh ׳, while multiple letters take gershayim ״ before the final letter. Thus י״ד is 14 and ט״ו is 15. The forms for 15 and 16 are conventionally ט״ו and ט״ז, rather than combinations that would spell part of the divine name.

Years may also be written with Hebrew numerals, often with the thousands understood from context. These forms require separate practice; you do not need to calculate every Hebrew year in order to use familiar holiday dates correctly.

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
זאת הפעם הראשונה שלי בירושלים.	This is my first time in Jerusalem.	Feminine agreement with פעם
המשרד נמצא בקומה השלישית.	The office is on the third floor.	Feminine agreement with קומה
קראתי את הפרק השני אתמול.	I read the second chapter yesterday.	Masculine agreement with פרק
הוא סיים במקום הראשון.	He finished in first place.	Masculine מקום
היא סיימה במקום הראשון.	She finished in first place.	The ordinal agrees with מקום, not with היא
זה היה הניסיון הרביעי שלנו.	It was our fourth attempt.	Masculine ניסיון
נפגשנו ביום חמישי.	We met on Thursday.	Weekday name
ביום הראשון של הטיול ירד גשם.	On the first day of the trip, it rained.	A ranked day, not merely Sunday
הפגישה תתקיים ב־15 במרס.	The meeting will take place on March 15.	Gregorian date
שנת הלימודים מתחילה ב־1 בספטמבר.	The school year begins on September 1.	First of the month uses 1/אחד
המאה העשרים ואחת שינתה את חיי היום־יום.	The twenty-first century changed everyday life.	Feminine agreement with מאה
אנחנו גרים בקומה השתים עשרה.	We live on the twelfth floor.	Feminine number expression above ten
ט״ו בשבט הוא חג הקשור לעצים ולארץ ישראל.	Tu Bishvat is a holiday associated with trees and the Land of Israel.	Hebrew-calendar date used as a name
יום כיפור חל בי׳ בתשרי.	Yom Kippur falls on the 10th of Tishrei.	Hebrew numeral with a month

Common Mistakes

Putting the ordinal before the noun

• Wrong: השלישית הקומה
• Right: הקומה השלישית
• Why: Hebrew descriptive words normally follow the noun. The ordinal comes after קומה.

Using the wrong gender

• Wrong: הפעם הראשון
• Right: הפעם הראשונה
• Why: פעם is grammatically feminine, so “first” must be ראשונה.

Marking only the noun as definite

• Wrong: הפרק שלישי
• Right: הפרק השלישי
• Why: In a definite noun-plus-adjective phrase, both the noun and the ordinal take ה־.

Copying English “15th” into the Hebrew date pattern

• Wrong: החמישה עשר במרס as the ordinary way to write “March 15th”
• Right: 15 במרס or, when read aloud, חמישה עשר במרס
• Why: The calendar day is treated as a numbered day, not normally as a definite adjective modifying an overt noun.

Saying “first” for the first of a month

• Wrong: ראשון בינואר for “January 1”
• Right: אחד בינואר or 1 בינואר
• Why: Standard date expressions use the cardinal number אחד. יום ראשון ordinarily means Sunday.

Agreeing with a person instead of the noun

• Wrong: היא הגיעה למקום הראשונה.
• Right: היא הגיעה למקום הראשון.
• Why: The ordinal describes מקום, a masculine noun. The fact that the person is female does not change it.

Usage Notes

Digits dominate schedules, forms, tickets, news reports, and business correspondence. Written ב־15 במרס is therefore more natural than spelling out every number. In continuous prose, house style determines whether the maqaf ־, a regular hyphen, or no visible joining mark is used with prefixed ב־.

Everyday Israeli speech often uses Gregorian month names and numerical dates. Hebrew-calendar dates are especially frequent around holidays and memorial days: י׳ בתשרי, ט״ו בשבט, and ה׳ באייר are recognizable cultural references. It would be misleading, however, to treat the Hebrew calendar as the calendar for every formal document; many official and commercial contexts use Gregorian dates, sometimes alongside a Hebrew date.

For numbered items, speakers do not always choose a fully inflected ordinal. Bus lines, room numbers, document clauses, and model numbers are commonly treated as labels: חדר 12 “room 12,” קו 5 “bus line 5.” Use a true ordinal when position in a sequence matters: החדר החמישי במסדרון “the fifth room in the corridor.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The distinction between an ordinal and a label becomes increasingly important in formal reading. פרק עשרים ואחד may function like “chapter 21,” while הפרק העשרים ואחד explicitly presents it as “the twenty-first chapter.” Real usage varies, especially around digits, but the full definite form is the safest model when the number genuinely describes sequential position.

Ordinals can also become nouns when the missing noun is obvious. הראשון הגיע מוקדם can mean “the first one arrived early”; השנייה בתור means “the second woman/person in line,” depending on context. The masculine plural can refer to the first members of a group, as in הראשונים שהגיעו “the first ones who arrived.” These forms still show gender and number agreement.

Fractions sometimes resemble ordinals but belong to a neighboring system. שליש means “one third,” whereas שלישי means “third” in a sequence. Likewise, רבע is “a quarter,” while רביעי/רביעית means “fourth.” Keeping quantity and position separate prevents errors in prices, recipes, and measurements.

Hebrew dates may include a weekday for clarity: יום שני, 15 במרס “Monday, March 15.” In highly formal invitations or religious notices, a Hebrew date may be written in full and paired with the Gregorian equivalent. Month names and leap-year details in the Hebrew calendar can become specialized—for example, אדר א׳ and אדר ב׳ in a leap year—so verify the calendar rather than guessing a date conversion.

Practice Tips

1. Make two ten-item lists using one masculine noun and one feminine noun: היום הראשון, היום השני... and הפעם הראשונה, הפעם השנייה.... Saying the pairs aloud makes agreement automatic.
2. Read five dates from your calendar each day. First say the date in Hebrew, then put it in a sentence with ב־: הפגישה ב־12 ביולי.
3. When you see a number in Hebrew, ask whether it expresses quantity, sequential position, or merely a label. That one question helps you choose between a cardinal number, an ordinal, and a bare digit.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers — review masculine and feminine cardinal numbers before working with dates and higher ordinals.