Understanding numbers is a fundamental aspect of learning any new language, and Spanish is no exception. The Spanish number system follows a logical and systematic pattern, making it relatively easy to grasp, especially with the right guidance. Whether you’re planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country or simply expanding your linguistic skills, mastering numbers in Spanish is a crucial step.
This definitive guide to Spanish numbers will walk you through everything you need to know, from the basics of counting from 0 to 100 to some of the nuances and rules for larger numbers. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid foundation in Spanish numerals and be well on your way to confidently using them in everyday conversation.
The Building Blocks: Numbers 0 to 10 in Spanish
Let’s start with the basics. Here are the numbers from 0 to 10 in Spanish, along with their pronunciations:
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | cero | seh-roh |
| 1 | one | uno | oo-noh |
| 2 | two | dos | dohs |
| 3 | three | tres | trehs |
| 4 | four | cuatro | k-ah-troh |
| 5 | five | cinco | seen-koh |
| 6 | six | seis | say-s |
| 7 | seven | siete | see-eh-teh |
| 8 | eight | ocho | oh-choh |
| 9 | nine | nueve | noo-eh-beh |
| 10 | ten | diez | dee-ehs |
Teens and Tweens: Numbers 11 to 20 in Spanish
Moving on, here are the numbers from 11 to 20:
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | eleven | once | on-seh |
| 12 | twelve | doce | doh-seh |
| 13 | thirteen | trece | treh-seh |
| 14 | fourteen | catorce | k-ah-tor-seh |
| 15 | fifteen | quince | keen-seh |
| 16 | sixteen | dieciséis | dee-eh-see-say-s |
| 17 | seventeen | diecisiete | dee-eh-see-see-eh-teh |
| 18 | eighteen | dieciocho | dee-eh-see-oh-choh |
| 19 | nineteen | diecinueve | dee-eh-see-nooh-eh-beh |
| 20 | twenty | veinte | bee-en-teh |
Notice that numbers 11 through 15 (once, doce, trece, catorce, quince) are unique words. However, from 16 to 19, the numbers are formed by combining “diez” (ten) with the corresponding unit (seis, siete, ocho, nueve).
The Twenties: Numbers 21 to 30 in Spanish
Here are the numbers from 21 to 30:
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | twenty-one | veintiuno | bee-en-teh-oo-noh |
| 22 | twenty-two | veintidós | bee-en-teh-dohs |
| 23 | twenty-three | veintitrés | bee-en-teh-trehs |
| 24 | twenty-four | veinticuatro | bee-en-teh-k-ah-troh |
| 25 | twenty-five | veinticinco | bee-en-teh-seen-koh |
| 26 | twenty-six | veintiséis | bee-en-teh-say-s |
| 27 | twenty-seven | veintisiete | bee-en-teh-see-eh-teh |
| 28 | twenty-eight | veintiocho | bee-en-teh-oh-choh |
| 29 | twenty-nine | veintinueve | bee-en-teh-noo-eh-beh |
| 30 | thirty | treinta | tray-n-tah |
A key point to remember is that numbers from 21 to 29 are typically written as single words in Spanish. These numbers combine “veinte” (twenty) with the corresponding unit (uno, dos, tres, etc.).
Building Beyond: Numbers 31 to 100 in Spanish
From 30 onwards, the structure changes slightly.
Numbers 31 to 40
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | thirty-one | treinta y uno | tray-n-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 32 | thirty-two | treinta y dos | tray-n-tah-ee-dohs |
| 33 | thirty-three | treinta y tres | tray-n-tah-ee-trehs |
| 34 | thirty-four | treinta y cuatro | tray-n-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 35 | thirty-five | treinta y cinco | tray-n-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 36 | thirty-six | treinta y seis | tray-n-tah-ee-say-s |
| 37 | thirty-seven | treinta y siete | tray-n-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 38 | thirty-eight | treinta y ocho | tray-n-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 39 | thirty-nine | treinta y nueve | tray-n-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 40 | forty | cuarenta | k-ah-ren-tah |
Numbers 41 to 50
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | forty-one | cuarenta y uno | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 42 | forty-two | cuarenta y dos | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-dohs |
| 43 | forty-three | cuarenta y tres | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-trehs |
| 44 | forty-four | cuarenta y cuatro | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 45 | forty-five | cuarenta y cinco | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 46 | forty-six | cuarenta y seis | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-say-s |
| 47 | forty-seven | cuarenta y siete | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 48 | forty-eight | cuarenta y ocho | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 49 | forty-nine | cuarenta y nueve | k-ah-ren-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 50 | fifty | cincuenta | seen-koo-ehn-tah |
Numbers 51 to 60
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | fifty-one | cincuenta y uno | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 52 | fifty-two | cincuenta y dos | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-dohs |
| 53 | fifty-three | cincuenta y tres | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-trehs |
| 54 | fifty-four | cincuenta y cuatro | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 55 | fifty-five | cincuenta y cinco | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 56 | fifty-six | cincuenta y seis | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-say-s |
| 57 | fifty-seven | cincuenta y siete | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 58 | fifty-eight | cincuenta y ocho | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 59 | fifty-nine | cincuenta y nueve | seen-koo-ehn-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 60 | sixty | sesenta | say-sehn-tah |
Numbers 61 to 70
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | sixty-one | sesenta y uno | say-sehn-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 62 | sixty-two | sesenta y dos | say-sehn-tah-ee-dohs |
| 63 | sixty-three | sesenta y tres | say-sehn-tah-ee-trehs |
| 64 | sixty-four | sesenta y cuatro | say-sehn-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 65 | sixty-five | sesenta y cinco | say-sehn-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 66 | sixty-six | sesenta y seis | say-sehn-tah-ee-say-s |
| 67 | sixty-seven | sesenta y siete | say-sehn-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 68 | sixty-eight | sesenta y ocho | say-sehn-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 69 | sixty-nine | sesenta y nueve | say-sehn-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 70 | seventy | setenta | say-ten-tah |
Numbers 71 to 80
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | seventy-one | setenta y uno | say-ten-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 72 | seventy-two | setenta y dos | say-ten-tah-ee-dohs |
| 73 | seventy-three | setenta y tres | say-ten-tah-ee-trehs |
| 74 | seventy-four | setenta y cuatro | say-ten-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 75 | seventy-five | setenta y cinco | say-ten-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 76 | seventy-six | setenta y seis | say-ten-tah-ee-say-s |
| 77 | seventy-seven | setenta y siete | say-ten-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 78 | seventy-eight | setenta y ocho | say-ten-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 79 | seventy-nine | setenta y nueve | say-ten-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 80 | eighty | ochenta | oh-chehn-tah |
Numbers 81 to 90
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | eighty-one | ochenta y uno | oh-chehn-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 82 | eighty-two | ochenta y dos | oh-chehn-tah-ee-dohs |
| 83 | eighty-three | ochenta y tres | oh-chehn-tah-ee-trehs |
| 84 | eighty-four | ochenta y cuatro | oh-chehn-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 85 | eighty-five | ochenta y cinco | oh-chehn-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 86 | eighty-six | ochenta y seis | oh-chehn-tah-ee-say-s |
| 87 | eighty-seven | ochenta y siete | oh-chehn-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 88 | eighty-eight | ochenta y ocho | oh-chehn-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 89 | eighty-nine | ochenta y nueve | oh-chehn-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 90 | ninety | noventa | noh-ben-tah |
Numbers 91 to 100
| Number | In English | In Spanish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | ninety-one | noventa y uno | noh-ben-tah-ee-oo-noh |
| 92 | ninety-two | noventa y dos | noh-ben-tah-ee-dohs |
| 93 | ninety-three | noventa y tres | noh-ben-tah-ee-trehs |
| 94 | ninety-four | noventa y cuatro | noh-ben-tah-ee-k-ah-troh |
| 95 | ninety-five | noventa y cinco | noh-ben-tah-ee-seen-koh |
| 96 | ninety-six | noventa y seis | noh-ben-tah-ee-say-s |
| 97 | ninety-seven | noventa y siete | noh-ben-tah-ee-see-eh-teh |
| 98 | ninety-eight | noventa y ocho | noh-ben-tah-ee-oh-choh |
| 99 | ninety-nine | noventa y nueve | noh-ben-tah-ee-noo-eh-beh |
| 100 | one hundred | cien | see-ehn |
From 31 to 99, numbers in Spanish are formed by connecting the tens and units with “y,” meaning “and.” For example, “treinta y dos” represents thirty-two (30 and 2).
Beyond 100: Key Considerations for Spanish Numerals
The Spanish number system continues logically beyond 100. Here are some key points:
- Hundreds: Numbers like 200 (doscientos), 300 (trescientos), and so on follow a pattern.
- Thousands: 1,000 is “mil.” To say 1,500, you would say “mil quinientos.”
- Millions: 1,000,000 is “un millón.”
Alt text: A table displaying the numbers zero to ten in English, Spanish, and a phonetic pronunciation guide.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Gender Agreement: “Uno” changes to “una” when referring to feminine nouns. For example, “una mesa” (one table).
- “Cien” vs. “Ciento”: Use “cien” for exactly 100, but use “ciento” when it’s part of a larger number (e.g., “ciento uno” for 101).
Practice Makes Perfect: Tips for Mastering Spanish Numbers
- Flashcards: Create flashcards with the Spanish numbers on one side and the English translation on the other.
- Everyday Practice: Incorporate numbers into your daily life. Count objects, tell the time, or practice simple math in Spanish.
- Immersion: Immerse yourself in the Spanish language as much as possible. Listen to Spanish music, watch Spanish movies, and try to converse with native speakers.
Conclusion: Your Journey to Spanish Number Proficiency
Mastering numbers in Spanish is an achievable goal with dedication and the right resources. By understanding the basic principles and consistently practicing, you’ll soon be counting like a native speaker. Use this definitive guide to beh as a starting point, and continue to explore the fascinating world of the Spanish language.
