Numbers are one of the first things every Spanish learner needs — and one of the areas that takes the most practice to make automatic. From ordering two coffees to reading a price tag, asking someone's age or catching a train time, numbers appear constantly in real life. This guide takes you from zero to one million, with practical applications throughout.
Numbers 0–15: Learn These Cold
The first 16 numbers are all unique words — no pattern to lean on. These must be memorised individually:
| Number | Spanish | Pronunciation guide (for Australians) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | cero | THEH-ro (Spain) / SEH-ro (Latin America) |
| 1 | uno / una | OO-no / OO-na — masculine/feminine |
| 2 | dos | doss |
| 3 | tres | trays |
| 4 | cuatro | KWAH-tro |
| 5 | cinco | THEEN-ko (Spain) / SEEN-ko (Latin Am.) |
| 6 | seis | sayss |
| 7 | siete | SYEH-teh |
| 8 | ocho | OH-cho |
| 9 | nueve | NWEH-veh |
| 10 | diez | dyeth (Spain) / dyess (Latin Am.) |
| 11 | once | ON-theh / ON-seh |
| 12 | doce | DOH-theh / DOH-seh |
| 13 | trece | TREH-theh / TREH-seh |
| 14 | catorce | kah-TOR-theh / kah-TOR-seh |
| 15 | quince | KEEN-theh / KEEN-seh |
Numbers 16–29: The Compound Teens
16–19 are written as single compound words (dieci + number), while 20–29 use veinti + number:
| Number | Spanish | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | dieciséis | diez + y + seis (written as one word) |
| 17 | diecisiete | diez + y + siete |
| 18 | dieciocho | diez + y + ocho |
| 19 | diecinueve | diez + y + nueve |
| 20 | veinte | standalone — must memorise |
| 21 | veintiuno | veinti + uno (note: veintiún before masc. noun) |
| 22 | veintidós | veinti + dos |
| 23 | veintitrés | veinti + tres |
| 24 | veinticuatro | veinti + cuatro |
| 25 | veinticinco | veinti + cinco |
| 26 | veintiséis | veinti + seis |
| 27 | veintisiete | veinti + siete |
| 28 | veintiocho | veinti + ocho |
| 29 | veintinueve | veinti + nueve |
Tens: 30–90
From 30 onwards, tens are separate words and combinations use y (and):
| Tens | Spanish | Example combination |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | treinta | treinta y uno (31), treinta y dos (32) |
| 40 | cuarenta | cuarenta y cinco (45) |
| 50 | cincuenta | cincuenta y seis (56) |
| 60 | sesenta | sesenta y tres (63) |
| 70 | setenta | setenta y ocho (78) |
| 80 | ochenta | ochenta y nueve (89) |
| 90 | noventa | noventa y siete (97) |
Memory tip: Notice that 50 (cincuenta) and 5 (cinco) share a root, as do 60/6, 70/7 and 90/9. Only 40 (cuarenta) and 80 (ochenta) break this pattern slightly.
Hundreds: 100–900
| Number | Spanish | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | cien | Exactly 100 on its own — but ciento before other numbers |
| 101 | ciento uno | ciento (not cien) before other numbers |
| 200 | doscientos/as | Changes to doscientas with feminine nouns |
| 300 | trescientos/as | |
| 400 | cuatrocientos/as | |
| 500 | quinientos/as | Irregular — not cincocientos! |
| 600 | seiscientos/as | |
| 700 | setecientos/as | Irregular — not sietecientos! |
| 800 | ochocientos/as | |
| 900 | novecientos/as | Irregular — not nuevecientos! |
Key irregulars to memorise: 500 = quinientos (not cincocientos), 700 = setecientos (not sietecientos), 900 = novecientos (not nuevecientos).
Gender agreement: Hundreds agree with the noun they quantify:
doscientos euros (masculine) but doscientas personas (feminine)
Thousands and Beyond
| Number | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | mil | mil euros |
| 2,000 | dos mil | dos mil personas |
| 10,000 | diez mil | diez mil kilómetros |
| 100,000 | cien mil | cien mil habitantes |
| 1,000,000 | un millón | un millón de euros |
| 2,000,000 | dos millones | dos millones de personas |
| 1,000,000,000 | mil millones | (not "un billón" — billón = trillion!) |
Critical note: In Spanish, un billón means one trillion (1,000,000,000,000), not one billion. The Spanish equivalent of the English "billion" is mil millones.
Thousands never take de: dos mil casas (two thousand houses)
Millones always take de before a noun: tres millones de personas (three million people)
Practical Applications
Telling the Time
- ¿Qué hora es? — What time is it?
- Es la una. — It is one o'clock. (1:00 — singular: es la una)
- Son las dos. — It is two o'clock. (2:00+ — plural: son las...)
- Son las tres y cuarto. — It is quarter past three. (3:15)
- Son las cuatro y media. — It is half past four. (4:30)
- Son las cinco menos cuarto. — It is quarter to five. (4:45)
- Son las ocho de la mañana. — It is eight in the morning.
- Son las diez de la noche. — It is ten at night.
- Es mediodía. — It is midday.
- Es medianoche. — It is midnight.
Prices and Shopping
- ¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost?
- Cuesta tres euros con cincuenta. — It costs three euros fifty. (€3.50)
- Son doce euros con noventa y nueve céntimos. — It is twelve euros and ninety-nine cents. (€12.99)
- Cincuenta euros, por favor. — Fifty euros, please.
- ¿Tiene cambio de cien euros? — Do you have change for a hundred euros?
Ages
- ¿Cuántos años tienes? — How old are you?
- Tengo veintiocho años. — I am 28 years old.
- Mi madre tiene cincuenta y tres años. — My mother is 53 years old.
- El hotel tiene doscientos años de historia. — The hotel has 200 years of history.
Phone Numbers
In Spain, phone numbers are typically read in pairs: 634 21 87 09 → seis-treinta y cuatro, veintiuno, ochenta y siete, cero nueve.
- ¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? — What is your phone number?
- Mi número es el seis, tres cuatro, veintiuno... — My number is 6, 34, 21...
Dates
Spanish dates use cardinal numbers (not ordinals like English "the first, the second"):
- Hoy es el quince de julio. — Today is the fifteenth of July.
- Nací el tres de marzo de mil novecientos noventa. — I was born on the third of March 1990.
- La reunión es el veintidós de agosto. — The meeting is on the twenty-second of August.
Exception: The first of the month uses primero (ordinal): el primero de enero — the first of January.
Ordinal Numbers (1st–10th)
| Ordinal | Masculine | Feminine | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | primero (primer) | primera | 1.°/1.ª |
| 2nd | segundo | segunda | 2.°/2.ª |
| 3rd | tercero (tercer) | tercera | 3.°/3.ª |
| 4th | cuarto | cuarta | 4.°/4.ª |
| 5th | quinto | quinta | 5.°/5.ª |
| 6th | sexto | sexta | 6.°/6.ª |
| 7th | séptimo | séptima | 7.°/7.ª |
| 8th | octavo | octava | 8.°/8.ª |
| 9th | noveno | novena | 9.°/9.ª |
| 10th | décimo | décima | 10.°/10.ª |
Note: primero and tercero shorten to primer and tercer before masculine singular nouns: el primer piso (the first floor), el tercer capítulo (the third chapter).
Maths Vocabulary
- más — plus (+): Dos más dos son cuatro.
- menos — minus (−): Diez menos tres son siete.
- por / multiplicado por — times (×): Tres por cuatro son doce.
- dividido entre / por — divided by (÷): Veinte dividido entre cuatro son cinco.
- igual a / son — equals (=)
- el porcentaje — percentage: El veinte por ciento.