How to count in Spanish - The Ultimate Guide
Introduction
Yes - this is one the the absolute basics.
.... being able to count in a foreign language is so important.
And if you are a student of Spanish or just need a quick and easy reference to count in Spanish you are definitely in the right place.
Why is it important to know how to count in Spanish?
The list is potentially endless, but here are just a few reasons:
Contents of the article
This is an in-depth article is on how to count in Spanish.
In order to help you find your way around the article quickly, use the menu below.
Purpose of the article
The idea of this article is for you to be able to:
- see the numbers written down
- hear the numbers so that you can practice pronouncing them
- use online materials on this page to test yourself
Spanish numbers 1 to 10
English number
Spanish number
one 1
uno / una
two 2
dos
three
tres
four
cuatro
five
cinco
six
seis
seven
siete
eight
ocho
nine
nueve
ten
diez
Test yourself on Spanish numbers 1 -10 (quizlets)
Test yourself on Spanish numbers 1 -10
English number
Spanish number
eleven
once
twelve
doce
thirteen
trece
fourteen
catorce
fifteen
quince
sixteen
dieciséis
seventeen
diecisiete
eighteen
dieciocho
nineteen
diecinueve
twenty
veinte
twenty one
veintiuno / veintiuna
twenty two
veintidós
twenty three
veintitrés
twenty four
veinticuatro
twenty five
veinticinco
twenty six
veintiséis
twenty seven
veintisiete
twenty eight
veintiocho
twenty nine
veintinueve
thirty
treinta
Test yourself on Spanish numbers 11 -30 (quizlets)
Spanish numbers going up in tens from 0 to 100
English number
Spanish number
zero
cero
ten
diez
twenty
veinte
thirty
treinta
forty
cuarenta
fifty
cincuenta
sesenta
sixty
seventy
setenta
eighty
ochenta
ninety
noventa
one hundred
cien / ciento
Test yourself on Spanish numbers going up in tens from 0 to 100 (quizlet)
Spanish numbers going up from 1 to 100 - the complete list
English number
Spanish number
one
uno / una
two
dos
three
tres
four
cuatro
five
cinco
six
seis
seven
siete
eight
ocho
nine
nueve
ten
diez
eleven
once
twelve
doce
thirteen
trece
fourteen
catorce
fifteen
quince
sixteen
dieciséis
seventeen
diecisiete
eighteen
dieciocho
nineteen
diecinueve
twenty
veinte
twenty one
veintiuno / veintiuna
twenty two
veintidós
twenty three
veintitrés
twenty four
veinticuatro
twenty five
veinticinco
twenty six
veintiséis
twenty seven
veintisiete
twenty eight
veintiocho
twenty nine
veintinueve
thirty
treinta
thirty one
treinta y uno / una / un
thirty two
treinta y dos
thirty three
treinta y tres
thirty four
treinta y cuatro
thirty five
treinta y cinco
thirty six
treinta y seis
thirty seven
treinta y siete
thirty eight
treinta y ocho
thirty nine
treinta y nueve
forty
treinta y cuarenta
forty one
cuarenta y uno / una
forty two
cuarenta y dos
forty three
cuarenta y tres
forty four
cuarenta y cuatro
forty five
cuarenta y cinco
forty six
cuarenta y seis
forty seven
cuarenta y siete
forty eight
cuarenta y ocho
forty nine
cuarenta y nueve
fifty
cincuenta
fifty one
cincuenta y uno / una
fifty two
cincuenta y dos
fifty three
cincuenta y tres
fifty four
cincuenta y cuatro
fifty five
cincuenta y cinco
fifty six
cincuenta y seis
fifty seven
cincuenta siete
fifty eight
cincuenta y ocho
fifty nine
cincuenta y nueve
sixty
sesenta
sixty one
sesenta y uno / una
sixty two
sesenta y dos
sixty three
sesenta y tres
sixty four
sesenta y cuatro
sixty five
sesenta y cinco
sixty six
sesenta y seis
sixty seven
sesenta y siete
sixty eight
sesenta y ocho
sixty nine
sesenta y nueve
seventy
setenta
seventy one
setenta y uno / una
seventy two
setenta y dos
seventy three
setenta y tres
seventy four
setenta y cuatro
seventy five
setenta y cinco
seventy six
setenta y seis
seventy seven
setenta y siete
seventy eight
setenta y ocho
seventy nine
setenta y nueve
eighty
ochenta
eighty one
setenta y uno / una
eighty two
setenta y dos
eighty three
setenta y tres
eighty four
setenta y cuatro
eighty five
setenta y cinco
eighty six
setenta y seis
eighty seven
setenta y siete
eighty eight
setenta y ocho
eighty nine
setenta y nueve
ninety
noventa
ninety one
noventa y uno / una
ninety two
noventa y dos
ninety three
noventa y tres
ninety four
noventa y cuatro
ninety five
noventa y cinco
ninety six
noventa y seis
ninety seven
noventa y siete
ninety eight
noventa y ocho
ninety nine
noventa y nueve
one hundred
cien / ciento
Spanish numbers going up from 100 to 1000 - going up in 100's
one hundred
cien / ciento
two hundred
doscientos / doscientas
three hundred
trescientos / trescientas
four hundred
cuatrocientos / cuatrocientas
five hundred
quinientos / quinientas
six hundred
seiscientos / seiscientas
seven hundred
setecientos / setecientas
eight hundred
ochocientos / ochocientas
nine hundred
novecientos / novecientas
one thousand
mil
Test yourself on Spanish numbers going up from 100 to 1,000 - going up in 100's - Quizlet
Millions and billions in Spanish
a thousand
mil
2019
dos mil diecinueve
ten thousand
diez mil
five hundred thousand
quinientos mil
a million
un millón
a billion (1,000,000,000)
mil millones
ten billion 1,000,000,000,000)
un billón
Spanish numbers that cause difficulty for English speakers
Spanish is phonetic - by which I mean what you see is what you get.
And, once you know that a "j" is quite an ugly sound like clearing your throat and a couple other things, you are basically "good to go".
But, hang on - not quite so fast!
In my experience of teaching Spanish over the years there are a selection of numbers that do seem to trip English speakers up.
Here there are - not in any random order, but, naturally enough in numerical order!
uno / una
So, when do you use "uno" and when do you use "una".
My trusty Spanish grammar says:
Spanish cardinal numbers (the numbers used for counting) do not change their form, except for uno (one) ...... which agrees in gender with the thing being counted. (A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish. Butt and Benjamin)
seis and siete (6 and 7)
This charming sibilant duo can cause difficulties.
Whilst for the attentive and the not hard of hearing, the difference is quite clear, 6 and 7 in Spanish can cause the occasional hitch.
once (11)
Not, of course, to be confused with the English word "once" as in "once upon a time.
I have said - of course, but this confusion has happened on a number of occasions during my teaching career.
sesenta and setenta (60 and 70)
As with their sibilant single digit twins, 60 and 70 can also cause the odd difficulty.
And, because the numbers are larger, it is important to be more vigilant if yiu are finding it difficult to differentiate between the two.
The odd "puede repetir, por favor" might well be useful if in doubt.
sesenta y seis and setenta y siete (66 and 67)
These duo is included for the sake of completeness. Previous comments for 6,7,60 and 70 apply.
quinientos (500)
500 in Spanish could be considered to be a little mischievous. It is not, as could be logically expected, cincocientos but quinientos.
Well, that's language learning life!
setecientos (700)
Setecientos is not quite as mischievous as quinientos. However, the radical change from siete (the -ie-) does not carry through into setecientos.
novecientos (900)
Novecientos, like its buddy setecientos, is not quite as mischievous as quinientos. However, the radical change from nueve (the -ue-) does not carry through into novecientos.
How to remember Spanish numbers
Constant practice. Yes - good old constant practice!
Click here for quizlets to help you.
Here are some ideas to give you further help. Knowing the origin of words and seeing the links between Spanish and English can help.
12
Doce
Doce is linked into the English word dozen.
100
Cien
Cien is linked to English words century (there are 100 years in a century), centimetre (there are 110 centimetres in a metre) , centipede (an animal which has a 100 feet - I wonder if anyone has ever counted!) etc.
1000
Mil
Mil is linked into the English words millenium (every thousand years), or millimetre (there are a thousand millimetres in each metre) and a millipede (see comments above on a centipede!)
Who is counting?
Gender of numbers in Spanish
Numbers in Spanish are all masculine (unlike letters which are feminine)
“puse un dos y no un siete”
(I put a two and not a seven)
Common errors with numbers in Spanish - make ciento agree!
When is it "Cien" and when is it "Cientos / cientas"?
Cientos agrees in gender with the noun that is being counted.
For example:
“quinientos euros = 500 Euros”
“setecientas páginas = 700 pages”
Prior to the Euro, the Spanish currency was the Peseta
Below is a 100 Peseta note. The "cien" does not agree.
Below is a 500 Peseta note. The quinientas does agree in this case.
“Bring back the Peseta. In the old days ... my students were able to make the hundreds in Spanish agree! They knew quinientas Pesetas and the rest. Not any more! ”
Apocryphal Spanish Teacher
Ordinal numbers in Spanish
An ordinal number is a number that puts something in order.
Here are the ordinal numbers in Spanish and English for first to tenth.
English ordinal numbers
Spanish ordinal numbers
first
primer(o)
second
segundo
third
tercer(o)
fourth
cuarto
fifth
quinto
sixth
sixto
seventh
séptimo, sétimo
eighth
octavo
ninth
noveno
tenth
décimo
Here are some examples of the use of ordinal numbers in Spanish.
Carlos Quinto = Charles V
Carlos Quinto = Charles V
Enrique Octavo = Henry VIII
Enrique Octavo = Henry VIII
Eleventh to twentieth in Spanish
eleventh
unidécimo
twelfth
duodécimo
thirteenth
decimotercero
fourteenth
decimocuarto
fifteenth
decimoquinto
sixteenth
decimosixto
seventeenth
decimoséptimo
eighteen
decimoctavo
ninteenth
decimonoveno
twentieth
vigésimo
Twentieth to hundredth in Spanish
twentieth
vigésimo
thirtieth
trigésimo
fortieth
cuadragésimo
fiftieth
quincuagésimo
sixtieth
sexagésimo
seventieth
sptuagésimo
eightieth
octogésimo
nintieth
nonavigésimo
hundredth
centésimo
Hundredth to a thousandth in Spanish
hundredth
centésimo
two-hundredth
ducentésimo
three-hundredth
tricentésimo
four-hundredth
cuadringentésimo
five-hundredth
quingentésimo
six-hundredth
sexcentésimo
seven-hundredth
septigentésimo
eight-hundredth
octingentésimo
nine-hundredth
noningentésimo
thousandth
milésimo
How do you say a millionth in Spanish?
A millionth in Spanish is millonésimo.
Dates in Spanish
Ordinal numbers are not used when writing or saying dates in Spanish.
This use contrasts with English e.g.
quince de enero
dos de mayo
15th of February
2nd of May
Note also that Spanish uses lower case for the months (and, come to that, the days of the week).
dos de mayo - Goya
There is an exception:
The first of = el primero de
el primero de enero
el primero de mayo
1st of February
1st of May
Percentages in Spanish
Por ciento is the Spanish for "per cent".
Note the use of "el" in the following example contrasting with the English translation.
“El cincuenta por ciento de ......”
=
fifty percent of ......
Maths in Spanish
Here are some common mathematical expressions in Spanish with an English translation.
Tres y tres son seis
=
three and three are six
tres por tres son nueve
=
three times three are nine
diez menos cinco son cinco
=
ten minus five equals five
seis dividido por dos son tres
=
six divided by two is three
Fractions in Spanish
Here are some common fractions in Spanish
la mitad = half
un cuarto = a quarter
un tercio = a third
Telephone numbers in Spanish
The Spanish newspaper El Pais has a style book Libro de Estilo El Pais / El País. Style Guide (Amazon link) and it suggests that telephone numbers should be repeated in pairs e.g.
“09 05 20 - cero nueve, cero cinco, veinte”
If the number is uneven, the following is the recommended way of expressing the number.
“205 66 55 -
doscientos cinco, sesenta y seis,
cincuenta y cinco”
It is useful to note, however, that you can say the numbers as separate figures - which might be a bit of relief for foreigners!
“7 33 49 50 - siete, tres, tres, cuatro, nueve, cinco, cero”
Conclusion
There you have it!
An in-depth dive into the intricacies of counting in Spanish.
Yes - a little tricky at times.
Yes - a little confusing at times.
Remember though. Whilst the information is here, sitting on the internet or your phone or your PDF of this article (oh, would you like a PSF - click here), if all else fails....
.... say the number, .....number by number
dos, tres, cuatro - 2, 3, 4 communicates.
Communication is king. Getting that idea or number from my head into yours.
