{"id":4190,"date":"2022-05-28T09:57:44","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T09:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/?p=4190"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:32:10","slug":"spanish-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/spanish-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Count in Spanish: All You Need to Know About Spanish Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Has someone just asked your age at a party in Ibiza? Do you need to talk about estimated figures during a conference in Mexico City? Do you want to know how much it costs to order asado <\/em>in an exclusive restaurant in Buenos Aires? If the answer to at least one of these questions is yes, there is something you will need to do before you travel: learn Spanish numbers!<\/p>\n

Whether you need to talk about age, money or prices, keep reading to make sure you can do it in flawless Spanish!<\/p>\n

Spanish numbers 0-15<\/h2>\n

It might be cute for small children to use their fingers to say how old they are. But if a Spanish person asked you <\/em>how old your children are, counting with your fingers may not be the most dignified thing to do. So make sure you memorize these Spanish numbers:<\/p>\n

0 – Cero<\/em><\/p>\n

1 – Uno<\/em><\/p>\n

2 – Dos<\/em><\/p>\n

3 – Tres<\/em><\/p>\n

4 – Cuatro<\/em><\/p>\n

5 – Cinco<\/em><\/p>\n

6 – Seis<\/em><\/p>\n

7 – Siete<\/em><\/p>\n

8 – Ocho<\/em><\/p>\n

9 – Nueve<\/em><\/p>\n

10 – Diez<\/em><\/p>\n

11 – Once<\/em><\/p>\n

12 – Doce<\/em><\/p>\n

13 – Trece<\/em><\/p>\n

14 – Catorce<\/em><\/p>\n

15 – Quince<\/em><\/p>\n

You may have noticed that I said \u201cmemorize\u201d instead of \u201clearn\u201d. This is because numbers 0-15 do not follow any pattern. Apart from the fact that 12-15 end in \u201cce\u201d, there are no formulas here.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the next set of numbers is much easier to learn, especially for those who love patterns!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Spanish numbers 16-19<\/h2>\n

What do English numbers sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen have in common?<\/p>\n

Exactly! They\u2019re formed by adding the suffix \u201cteen\u201d to a single digit.<\/p>\n

Spanish works in a very similar way:<\/p>\n

16 – dieciseis<\/em><\/p>\n

17 – diecisiete<\/em><\/p>\n

18 – dieciocho<\/em><\/p>\n

19 – diecinueve<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been paying attention, you will remember that number 10 is diez <\/em>in Spanish. Well, the words above are formed by combining the word diez <\/em>with a single digit, and then contracting the resulting phrase \u2014diez y seis: dieciseis; diez y siete: diecisiete <\/em>; etc.<\/p>\n

Easy, right? And it will only get easier from here.<\/p>\n

Spanish numbers 20-99<\/h2>\n

If you are on a date and you want to say that you are 25 (whether that\u2019s true or not!), pay attention. In this section, we are going to learn how to say the \u201cten\u201d numbers (decenas<\/em>), and I will tell you why 20-99 are actually the easiest Spanish numbers in this blog.<\/p>\n

Decenas (Tens)<\/h3>\n

20 – veinte<\/em><\/p>\n

30 – treinta<\/em><\/p>\n

40 – cuarenta<\/em><\/p>\n

50 – cincuenta<\/em><\/p>\n

60 – sesenta<\/em><\/p>\n

70 – setenta<\/em><\/p>\n

80 – ochenta<\/em><\/p>\n

90 – noventa<\/em><\/p>\n

Spanish numbers: 21-29<\/h3>\n

From numbers 21-29, you have to apply a rule similar to the one we mentioned for 16-19. Instead of saying \u201cveinte y uno<\/em>\u201d, we contract veinte <\/em>y to \u201cveinti\u201d and then add uno <\/em>without spaces in between: veintiuno<\/em>.<\/p>\n

21 – veintiuno<\/em><\/p>\n

22 – veintidos<\/em><\/p>\n

23 – veintitres<\/em><\/p>\n

24 – veinticuatro<\/em><\/p>\n

25 – veinticinco<\/em><\/p>\n

26 – veintiseis<\/em><\/p>\n

27 – veintisiete <\/em><\/p>\n

28 – veintiocho<\/em><\/p>\n

29 – veintinueve<\/em><\/p>\n

Spanish numbers 31-99<\/h3>\n

From 31 onwards, things get even easier. Instead of using contractions, we use full tens and we add the word \u201cy\u201d (and) before the next digit.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see a few examples:<\/p>\n

31 – treinta y uno<\/em><\/p>\n

32 – treinta y dos<\/em><\/p>\n

43 – cuarenta y tres<\/em><\/p>\n

44 – cuarenta y cuatro<\/em><\/p>\n

55 – cincuenta y cinco<\/em><\/p>\n

56 – cincuenta y seis<\/em><\/p>\n

67 – sesenta y siete<\/em><\/p>\n

68 – sesenta y ocho<\/em><\/p>\n

71 – setenta y uno<\/em><\/p>\n

72 – setenta y dos<\/em><\/p>\n

83 – ochenta y tres<\/em><\/p>\n

84 – ochenta y cuatro<\/em><\/p>\n

95 – noventa y cinco<\/em><\/p>\n

96 – noventa y seis<\/em><\/p>\n

Spanish numbers 100-999<\/h2>\n

In the previous section, we made sure that you can speak about age and dates. In this section, you will learn how to understand bigger numbers so that when your next credit card statement arrives, you won\u2019t have a heart attack as you realize you spent much more than you had intended.<\/p>\n

100 – cien<\/em><\/p>\n

101 – ciento uno<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you notice any difference among these Spanish numbers?<\/p>\n

Very good! When \u201cone hundred\u201d stands alone, we say \u201ccien\u201d. However, when we combine it with other digits, we say \u201cciento\u201d. The good news is that, no matter what number comes after \u201cciento\u201d, we\u2019ve already covered it above.<\/p>\n

But do you know what the best part is? \u201cOne hundred\u201d is the only \u201chundred\u201d that has a stand-alone form! For the other hundreds, there is only one, no matter if they\u2019re on their own or followed by other digits.<\/p>\n

Here are all the \u201chundred\u201d numbers in Spanish:<\/p>\n

100 – cien<\/p>\n

200 – doscientos<\/p>\n

300 – trescientos<\/p>\n

400 – cuatrocientos<\/p>\n

500 – quinientos<\/p>\n

600 – seiscientos<\/p>\n

700 – setesientos<\/p>\n

800 – ochocientos<\/p>\n

900 – novecientos<\/p>\n

If you want to say more specific digits, all you have to do is use these and then add the rest of the numbers.<\/p>\n

For example, how many countries are there in the world? Ciento noventa y cinco.<\/em><\/p>\n

How many pages does the last Harry Potter book have? Seiscientas seis.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Spanish numbers: 1000 and beyond<\/h2>\n

The \u201cthousand\u201d numbers are particularly useful to speak about years and dates. For example:<\/p>\n

Yo nac\u00ed en 1988 (mil novecientos ochenta y ocho)<\/em><\/p>\n

I was born in 1988<\/p>\n

Ahora estamos en 2022 (dos mil veintidos)<\/em><\/p>\n

We are in 2022 now.<\/p>\n

El hombre lleg\u00f3 a la luna en 1969 (mil novecientos sesenta y nueve)<\/em><\/p>\n

Man landed on the moon in 1969.<\/p>\n

If you want to add \u201cthousand\u201d before any given number, just use these words:<\/p>\n

1000 – mil<\/p>\n

2000 – dos mil<\/p>\n

3000 – tres mil<\/p>\n

(\u2026)<\/p>\n

9000 – nueve mil<\/p>\n

10.000 – diez mil<\/p>\n

20.000 – veinte mil<\/p>\n

30.000 – treinta mil<\/p>\n

(\u2026)<\/p>\n

90.000 – noventa mil<\/p>\n

100.000 – cien mil<\/p>\n

200.000 – doscientos mil<\/p>\n

300.000 – trescientos mil<\/p>\n

(…)<\/p>\n

900.000 – novecientos mil<\/p>\n

All you have to do is follow this pattern: number of thousands + word mil <\/em>(+ rest of the number as seen in previous sections).<\/p>\n

Oh, by the way, you may have noticed that, according to Spanish punctuation rules<\/a>, we use stops, not commas, to separate big numbers!<\/p>\n

Big Spanish numbers: millions, billions, and trillions<\/h2>\n

The words for Spanish big numbers are very similar to their English counterparts:<\/p>\n

million – mill\u00f3n<\/em><\/p>\n

billion – bill\u00f3n<\/em><\/p>\n

trillion – trill\u00f3n<\/em><\/p>\n

As you can see, they\u2019re almost the same words minus the second \u201ci\u201d and <\/em>with the stress on the last syllable. But not so fast! Though the words may look alike, the concepts they stand for are strikingly different.<\/p>\n

In English, a \u201cbillion\u201d is one thousand millions (1,000,000,000) while a \u201ctrillion\u201d stands for one thousand billions (1,000,000,000,000). To put it in a different way, every \u201cstep up\u201d involves multiplication by 1,000.<\/p>\n

This numbering method is known as a short-scale system. However, most Spanish-speaking countries use a \u201clong scale\u201d system. In countries like Spain and Argentina, a \u201cbillion\u201d is one million millions, and a \u201ctrillion\u201d is one million billion! In other words, instead of multiplying by a thousand each time, you multiply by a million.<\/p>\n

Here are the biggest Spanish numbers and their English counterparts.<\/p>\n

un mill\u00f3n – 1,000,000 (English: one million)<\/p>\n

un millardo – 1,000,000,000 (English: one billion)<\/p>\n

un bill\u00f3n – 1,000,000,000,000 (English: one trillion)<\/p>\n

mil billones – 1,000,000,000,000,000 (English: one quadrillion)<\/p>\n

un trill\u00f3n – 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (English: one quintillion)<\/p>\n

Now that you know how to talk about age, dates, prices, wages, and a long list of number-related topics, how will you continue your Spanish learning?<\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t you do what our client Amanda did, and take an online course with a native tutor without leaving your home?<\/p>\n

See what she had to say about her experience:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Spanish lessons are going very well. I\u2019m impressed at how much I\u2019ve learned in a few weeks. Irene is a fantastic teacher, and very flexible with her schedule!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Or maybe you prefer an in-person course\u2026? That\u2019s just what Brian did in his home in Louisville, Kentucky, and it seems it\u2019s working great for him as well:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am truly enjoying my lessons. I am both learning a lot and enjoying my teacher\u2019s innovative instruction methods and practices. Irene is awesome! I would highly recommend her.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether you prefer in-person or online lessons, you\u2019ve come to the right place. Contact us now<\/a> and we\u2019ll match you with a fully qualified teacher for a tailored trial lesson based on your interests and needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Has someone just asked your age at a party in Ibiza? Do you need to talk about…","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":4193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[700,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-resources","category-spanish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4195,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190\/revisions\/4195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}