Numbers in Spanish

In Spanish we have two forms of numbers:

Cardinal numbers – 1 (one), 2 (two) etc. (they are used to count)

Ordinal numbers – 1st (first), 2nd (second) etc. (used to give sequence order)

Cardinal numbers

We use cardinals when you:

You count things:

I have two brothers.
January has thirty-one days.

You say your age:

I am thirty three years old.
My sister is twenty-seven years old.

You give your phone number to someone:

My phone number is seven – eight – nine – zero – one – three – five. (7890135)

Talk about a specific year:

She was born in nineteen seventy-five (1975).
America was discovered in the year 1492 (1492).

Note that in Spanish, unlike in English, we do not divide the years, in other words the year is said in full. Example: One thousand nine hundred and eighty-two (1982); Two thousand nine (2009).

Also when we say the telephone numbers we have two options, first that is number by number (two – six – three- four – five – one – five; 2-6-3-4-5-1-5) or group them in the first three digits and then two numbers and the other two afterwards (two hundred sixty-three – forty-five – fifteen; 263 45 15)

Ordinal numbers

Ordinals are used to:

Give a date (only when it is the 1st of each month):

My birthday is the first of January. (The first of January)

Put things in sequence:

Chile is first in the World Cup qualifiers.

Say the floor where you live in a building:

The office is on the 10th floor.

Versions or festivals:

This is the fiftieth version of the Calameño melon festival in the city of Calama.

Cardinal numbers

1 one
2 – of the
3 three
4 – four
5 – five
6 – six
7 – seven
8 eight
9 nine
10 ten
11 – once
12 – sweet
13 – passes
14 – fourteen
15 – quince
16 – sixteen
17 – seventeen
18 – eighteen
19 – nineteen
20 Twenty
21 – twenty one
22 – twenty two
23 – twenty three
30 – thirty
40 – forty
50 fifty
60 – sixty
70 – seventy
80 – eighty
90 – ninety
100 – cen *
101 – one hundred and one
125 – one hundred and twenty five
200 – two hundred
300 – three hundred
400 – four hundred
500 – five hundred
600 – six hundred
700 – seven hundred
800 – eight hundred
900 – nine hundred
1000 thousand
1,000,000 – one million
10,000,000 – ten million

Video

Hundred vs. Hundred

A) We use cen when we refer to the exact number (100) or when we use it with nouns.
Price = 100
One hundred books
One hundred cars
One hundred houses
One hundred women

It does not matter if it is male or female.

B) We use hundred when we refer to numbers composed of one hundred plus other numbers (101, 102, etc.)
101 = One hundred and one
154 = one hundred fifty five
180 = one hundred and eighty

Remember that the separation with “and” of the numbers is done between the tens and the ones, not in the hundreds.
135 = one hundred and thirty five (incorrect)
135 = one hundred thirty-five (correct)

Long Numbers

With long numbers we generally divide them into groups of three into three separated with dots.

5000000 (5 million) is written 5,000,000
9,876,543 = nine million, eight hundred seventy-six thousand, five hundred forty-three.

Cardinal numbers in Spanish

*** We have a version of this image for teachers: Poster – The Numbers 0-100 ***

Ordinal numbers

1st – first
2nd – second
3rd – third
4th – fourth
5th – fifth
6th – 6th
7th – seventh
8th – eighth
9th – ninth
10th – tenth
11th – eleventh / eleventh
12th – twelfth / twelfth
13th – thirteenth
14th – fourteenth
15th – fifteenth
16th – 16th
17th – seventeenth
18th – 18th
19th – nineteenth
20th – twentieth
21st – twenty-first
22nd – twenty-second
23rd – twenty-third
30th – thirtieth
40th – fortieth
50th – fiftieth
60th – sixtieth
70th – seventieth
80º – octogésimo
90th – ninetieth
100th – hundredth
101st – hundredth first
200º – two hundred
300º – three hundredth
400 ° – four hundredth
500°- five hundred
600°- six hundred
700 ° – septingingésimo
800°- eight hundred
900º – Ninth hundredth
1000th – thousandth
1000000º – millionth

Fractions and Decimals

We use fractional and decimal numbers to talk about values divided into fractions.

1/2 – a half
1/3 – one third
2/3 – two thirds
1/4 – a quarter
3/4 – three quarters
1/5 – one fifth
2/5 – of the fifths
1/6 – one sixth
5/6 – five sixths
1/7 – one seventh
1/8 – one eighth
1/10 – one tenth
7/10 – seven tenths
1/20 – one twentieth
47/100 – forty-seven hundredths
1/100 – one hundredth
1/1,000 – one thousandth

If we have a fractional number we use “and“to do the separation of integers and fractions.
For example: 2 3/5 = 2 integers and three fifths.

If we express it as decimal numbers, we separate it with commas.
For example: 2 1/2 (two integers and a half) = 2.5 (two point five)

If there is a number with more than one digit after the decimal point, we say the number individually.
For example: 3,456,789 = three thousand four hundred fifty-six point seven hundred eighty-nine.

The exception to this rule is when we talk about dollars and cents united with the preposition with or with the conjunction and.
For example: $ 21.95 = twenty-one dollars with ninety-five cents or twenty-one dollars and ninety five cents