Numbers in Spanish: A Quick Guide

by Patricia Mendez on Wednesday, October 30, 2019

We use numbers to count and sort things. When we count, we use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3, 4…) but when we want to indicate the order of an element within a series, we use ordinal numbers (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th…)

In this post, we will learn how to form cardinal numbers and, especially, how to write them properly. Keep on reading in Spanish if you want to get the full immersion experience!

#	Written Form	Comments
0	cero	Spelled with a c, not with a z (as in other languages)
1	uno	Do not confuse the number (uno) with the indefinite article (un, una)
2	dos
3	tres
4	cuatro
5	cinco
6	seis
7	siete
8	ocho
9	nueve	Watch out! A common mistake is mixing up nueve, nuevo and nieve.
10	diez

#	Written Form	Comments	#	Written Form	Comments
11	once	These numbers follow the same pattern, ending in -ce	21	veintiuno	They are all are one-word numbers, following the pattern veinte+y+number
12	doce		22	veintidós
13	trece		23	veintitrés
14	catorce		24	veinticuatro
15	quince		25	veinticinco
16	dieciséis	These numbers follow the same pattern: diez+y+number in just one word	26	veintiséis
17	diecisiete		27	veintisiete
18	dieciocho		28	veintiocho
19	diecinueve		29	veintinueve

#	Written Form	#	Written Form	#	Written Form
20	veinte	50	cincuenta	80	ochenta
30	treinta	60	sesenta	90	noventa
40	cuarenta	70	setenta	100	cien

Numbers between 31 and 99 follow the same pattern: tens (30, 40, 50…) + y + units (1, 2, 3…)

31	treinta y uno	64	sesenta y cuatro	97	noventa y siete
42	cuarenta y dos	75	setenta y cinco
53	cincuenta y tres	86	ochenta y seis

From 101 and on, we use the same pattern: hundreds (100, 200, 300...) + number (14, 27, 39…)

#	Written Form	#	Written Form	#	Written Form
200	doscientos	600	seiscientos	150	ciento cincuenta
300	trescientos	700	setecientos	375	trescientos setenta y cinco
400	cuatrocientos	800	ochocientos	523	quinientos veintitrés
500	quinientos	900	novecientos	748	setecientos cuarenta y ocho

And so on and so forth…

#	Written Form	#	Written Form	#	Written Form
1000	mil	10000	diez mil	1000000	un millón
2000	dos mil	60000	sesenta mil	5000000	cinco millones
3000	tres mil	100000	cien mil	12500000	doce millones quinientos mil
5000	cinco mil	300000	trescientos mil	20350160	veinte millones trescientos cincuenta mil ciento sesenta
8000	ocho mil	500000	quinientos mil	20350160	veinte millones trescientos cincuenta mil ciento sesenta

Many thanks to Ramón, Head of Studies in our Spanish school in Malaga, for sharing this quick guide to Spanish numbers.

Numbers in Spanish: A Quick Guide

by Patricia Mendez on Wednesday, October 30, 2019

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