This page is an overview of Spanish numbers. Like in English and other languages, learning numbers requires memorizing the smallest ones (up to 10) and then understanding the patterns used to combine them into bigger numbers.
0 to 10
Here are the basic Spanish numbers from zero to ten. Even if you are a complete beginner to Spanish, some of them (like uno dos tres) may be familiar from songs or popular culture.
0 = cero
1 = uno
2 = dos
3 = tres
4 = cuatro
5 = cinco
6 = seis
7 = siete
8 = ocho
9 = nueve
10 = diez
11 to 15
The next five numbers all end with -ce, in a way similar to the English -teen. While the English -teens run from 13 to 19, the Spanish -ce numbers are from 11 to 15.
11 = once
12 = doce
13 = trece
14 = catorce
15 = quince
Avoiding common mistakes:
- Unlike uno (1), once (11) starts with "o", not "u".
- Unlike cuatro (4), there is no "u" in catorce (14).
- Unlike cinco (5), quince (15) starts with "q", not "c".
16 to 19
The numbers from 16 to 19 are all formed in the same way, literally by saying ten and six, ten and seven, ten and eight, ten and nine.
16 = dieciséis
17 = diecisiete
18 = dieciocho
19 = diecinueve
Main things to remember when writing these numbers:
- The numbers are written together as one word.
- While "and" is "y" in Spanish, in this case it is spelled "i".
- While diez (10) ends with "z", in this case there is a "c".
So 17 is not "diez y siete", but diecisiete, although there is no real difference in the spoken language.
Also notice the little accent in dieciséis (16), which is not present in seis (6). It is a hint that when pronouncing dieciséis, you should put stress on the last syllable (séis) and not on the second-to-last syllable (i), as it would be without the accent mark.
20 to 29
Twenty is just one more number you need to memorize:
20 = veinte
The numbers from 21 to 29 follow the same logic as the numbers 16 to 19 explained above. You literally say twentyandone, twentyandtwo etc., write the number as one word, and use "i" instead of "y" to connect the two digits. Also note the "e" from the end of veinte is no longer there:
21 = veintiuno
22 = veintidós
23 = veintitrés
24 = veinticuatro
25 = veinticinco
26 = veintiséis
27 = veintisiete
28 = veintiocho
29 = veintinueve
Main things to remember:
While there is "e" at the end of veinte (20), it is no longer present in the other numbers. For example, 21 is veintiuno, not veinteiuno. You can feel it is also much easier to say without the "e".
Notice the accents in veintidós (22), veintitrés (23), and veintiséis (26). The reason is the same as in dieciséis (16) discussed earlier – when pronouncing these numbers, put stress on the last syllable.
30 to 99
Once you get to 30, creating higher numbers becomes very easy. You just need to memorize the tens:
30 = treinta
40 = cuarenta
50 = cincuenta
60 = sesenta
70 = setenta
80 = ochenta
90 = noventa
You can see that they are all derived from the corresponding numbers 3 to 9, although there are some very important differences.
Common mistakes:
- Unlike in seis (6) and siete (7), there is no "i" in sesenta (60) and setenta (70).
- "ue" in nueve (9) becomes "o" in noventa (90).
- If you speak Italian, it may be tempting to use the ending "-anta" for the Spanish tens, which are otherwise very similar to the Italian ones. The correct ending for Spanish tens from 40 to 90 is "-enta".
Once you know the tens, it is very easy to form all the other numbers from 31 to 99. They are still formed by saying thirty and one, thirty and two etc., but the big difference from the 20's is that the number is no longer written as one word and the conjunction "and" is spelled "y" as elsewhere in Spanish. There are no extra accents and no surprises:
31 = treinta y uno
32 = treinta y dos
33 = treinta y tres
34 = treinta y cuatro
35 = treinta y cinco
36 = treinta y seis
37 = treinta y siete
38 = treinta y ocho
39 = treinta y nueve
41 = cuarenta y uno
42 = cuarenta y dos
43 = cuarenta y tres
51 = cincuenta y uno
61 = sesenta y uno
71 = setenta y uno
81 = ochenta y uno
91 = noventa y uno
99 = noventa y nueve
Note: In the past (many decades ago) it was common and correct to write the numbers 16-19 and 21-29 in the same way, as separate words (e.g. veinte y uno). In today's Spanish they are written as one word, while the numbers 31-99 are still written as separate words.
100 to 199
The word for the number 100 in Spanish is:
100 = cien
Notice the similarity to the English words percent or century, or the metric unit prefix centi-, which means 1/100 (e.g. 1 centimeter is 1/100 of 1 meter). These all relate to the Latin word for 100 = centum (the Roman number C for hundred is not a coincidence).
In the numbers from 101 to 199 "cien" turns into "ciento":
101 = ciento uno
102 = ciento dos
103 = ciento tres
110 = ciento diez
111 = ciento once
116 = ciento dieciséis
120 = ciento veinte
121 = ciento veintiuno
122 = ciento veintidós
130 = ciento teinta
131 = ciento treinta y uno
168 = ciento sesenta y ocho
185 = ciento ochenta y cinco
199 = ciento noventa y nueve
It is all very simple: just ciento followed by the number from 1 to 99. Note there is no "y" (and) between ciento and the rest.
200 to 999
The higher hundreds are made as multiples of ciento, using the plural cientos. They are all written as one word:
200 = doscientos
300 = trescientos
400 = cuatrocientos
500 = quinientos
600 = seiscientos
700 = setecientos
800 = ochocientos
900 = novecientos
Notice the small irregularities in the numbers 500, 700, and 900:
- Quinientos (500) is quite like quince (15) and unlike cinco (5). Note that there is no "c" in quinientos.
- There is no "i" in setecientos (700), like setenta (70) and unlike siete (7).
- Novecientos (900) is quite like noventa (90) and unlike nueve (9).
Also note that seiscientos (600) and ochocientos (800) are completely regular, made simply by connecting the words seis+cientos and ocho+cientos. Ochocientos has an "o" like ocho (8), not an "e" like ochenta (80).
Once you know the hundreds, the numbers in between are again very easy, following the same pattern as the numbers from 101 to 199. Main rule: no "y" (and) between the hundreds and the rest.
201 = doscientos uno
215 = doscientos quince
222 = doscientos veintiuno
333 = trescientos treinta y tres
444 = cuatrocientos cuarenta y cuatro
555 = quinientos cincuenta y cinco
666 = seiscientos sesenta y seis
777 = setecientos setenta y siete
888 = ochocientos ochenta y ocho
999 = novecientos noventa y nueve
1000 to 1999
The word for thousand is:
1000 = mil
Numbers from 1001 to 1999 are simply mil followed by the already familiar numbers from 1 to 999:
1001 = mil uno
1002 = mil dos
1025 = mil veinticinco
1100 = mil cien
1101 = mil ciento uno
1492 = mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos
1516 = mil quinientos dieciséis
1813 = mil ochocientos trece
1978 = mil novecientos setenta y ocho
There is no "y" between thousands and hundreds, and no "y" between hundreds and tens. There is an "y" between tens and ones (in 31 to 99).
2000 to 999999
Higher thousands are made simply as the number of thousands, followed by the word mil (not "mils" – that's wrong).
2000 = dos mil
3000 = tres mil
10000 = diez mil
55000 = cincuenta y cinco mil
182000 = ciento ochenta y dos mil
325000 = trescientos veinticinco mil
The rest follows the logic that is already familiar. The hardest part with these higher numbers (though not that hard to remember) is where to put an "y" (and) and where not.
262144 = doscientos sesenta y dos mil ciento cuarenta y cuatro
531441 = quinientos treinta y uno mil cuatrocientos cuarenta y uno
390625 = trescientos noventa mil seiscientos veinticinco
823543 = ochocientos veintitrés mil quinientos cuarenta y tres
Note: When writing numbers as digits, most Spanish speaking countries (including Spain, Argentina, Chile, and most of South America) use a dot as thousands separator and a comma as decimal separator – we will also do that below. On the contrary, Mexico and most of Central America follow the decimal comma system like the US or the UK.
Millions
The word for million in Spanish is:
1.000.000 = un millón
While we don't put an un before a single thousand (mil), we must always include it before a single million (un millón).
1.001.001 = un millón mil uno
1.234.567 = un millón doscientos treinta y cuatro mil quinientos sesenta y siete
Notice the accent in millón. When pronouncing it, put stress on the second syllable (llón).
The plural is millones – without an accent mark, but stress should still be put on the llon syllable, which is now second-to-last.
Multiple millions are formed very simply:
2,000,000 = dos millones
10,000,000 = diez millones
50,000,000 = cincuenta millones
100,000,000 = cien millones
200,000,000 = doscientos millones
123,456,789 = ciento veintitrés millones cuatrocientos cincuenta y seis mil setecientos ochenta y nueve
202,020,202 = doscientos dos millones veinte mil doscientos dos
999,999,999 = novecientos noventa y nueve millones novecientos noventa y nueve mil novecientos noventa y nueve
Notice in the last example how the number 999 is always the same (novecientos noventa y nueve), only first you add millones for 999 millions, then you add mil for 999 thousand, and then you add nothing for 999. Also keep in mind there is no "y" after millones, no "y" after mil, no "y" after novecientos, but there is an "y" in every noventa y nueve.
Billions, trillions, and more
These can be very confusing if your native language is English, because Spanish uses the same words for totally different numbers!
English numbers use the so called short scale system, where new words come at multiples of one thousand:
billion = 1000x million = 1,000,000,000
trillion = 1000x billion = 1,000,000,000,000
quadrillion = 1000x trillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000
In other words, you always add three zeros to get to the next higher word.
On the contrary, Spanish uses the so called long scale system, where new words come at multiples of one million (you add six zeros to get from million to billion, from billion to trillion, and so on). While the words themselves are the same (un billón, un trillón), the numbers they represent are completely different:
1,000,000 = un millón (so far so good)
1,000,000,000 = the English billion = mil millones (literally a thousand millions) or un milliard (special word for one billion not common in English, but used in many other European languages)
1,000,000,000,000 = the English trillion = un billón (yes, the Spanish billion is actually the English trillion)
1,000,000,000,000,000 = the English quadrillion = mil billones (one thousand Spanish billions)
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = the English quintillion = un trillón
Luckily, you won't need these numbers very often in everyday use. For most purposes (e.g. understanding Spanish economic news), just remember that billion in Spanish is mil millones or un milliard.
Negative numbers
Saying negative numbers in Spanish is as easy as in English. Just add the word menos (minus) before the number.
-10 = menos diez
-5500 = menos cinco mil quinientos
Decimal numbers
As already mentioned, most of the Spanish speaking world uses a comma as decimal separator. When pronouncing decimal numbers, you just say the integer part, followed by the word coma and the digits after the comma. It is in fact exactly like in English, only with coma instead of the English "point".
For example, the number pi, written as 3.14159 in English, would be written 3,14159 in Spain or Argentina, and pronounced:
tres coma uno cuatro uno cinco nueve
In Spanish speaking countries which use decimal point, use the word punto instead of coma. For example, in Mexico the number pi would be pronounced:
tres punto uno cuatro uno cinco nueve
While it is never wrong to say the digits after the decimal separator one by one as in the examples above, they are often grouped together and said as a sequence of two-digit numbers. For example:
5,25 = cinco coma veinticinco
7,1215 = siete coma doce quince
This form will most likely be used when shorter and more convenient than the digit-by-digit form. Notice how siete coma doce quince is much easier to say than siete coma uno dos uno cinco. Nonetheless, both are correct.
It is also common when talking about prices or amounts of money, where the two digits after the comma represent the number of cents to pay. For example:
€12,63 = doce coma sesenta y tres
With prices and amounts of money, the word con (with) is sometimes used for the decimal separator instead of coma or punto. For example:
€12,63 = doce con sesenta y tres = doce euros con sesenta y tres cent
The above said, the Spanish speaking world is very diverse and different forms are more common in some countries or regions than others.