The Cardinal Numbers in Spanish

Learning the numbers in Spanish is not very complicated. You need to learn the numbers 1 - 15 which are unique, along with the multiples of 10. Then it is fairly easy to work out the larger numbers in Spanish.

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Numbers 1 - 15 Los números uno a quince.

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16	dieciséis
17	diecisiete
18	dieciocho
19	diecinueve
20	veinte

Tens from 10 - 100 - 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100.

The hundreds up to 1000 - 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000.

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100	cien
200	doscientos
300	trescientos
400	cuatrocientos
500	quinientos
600	seiscientos
700	setecientos
800	ochocientos
900	novecientos
1000	mil

Note that 500 is very irregular and 700 and 900 are slightly irregular.

Note also that the numbers from 200 to 900 have to agree with the noun they refer to: "ochocientos libros" "ochocientas niñas"

Numbers are built up from the units listed above the same way that they are in English. For example:

38 - treinta y ocho - literally "thirty and eight".

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249 - doscientos cuarenta y nueve -literally "two hundreds forty and nine".

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1567 - mil quinientos sesenta y siete - literally "thousand five hundred sixty and seven".

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Notes:

Although the numbers in the 20s are pronounced similarly to the higher numbers, they are written slightly differently - "veintiuno, veintidos" (all one word) but "treinta y uno, treinta y dos, cuarenta y uno, cuarenta y dos", etc.

¿Un, uno o una? - The number "one" in Spanish is the only number that has to agree with the noun it refers to. This is because the word for "a" and "one" are the same in Spanish. "Un amigo" can mean "a friend" or "one friend" depending on the context. If the noun is masculine then the form "un" is used. For example: un amigo, una amiga.

"Cien" and "ciento". The word for 100 is "cien", but when combining this with other numbers such as 105 you need to use "ciento" - "ciento cinco" (also note that the "y" is not used to join the words to make numbers in the hundreds.

Commas and full stops to break up numbers: In English it is normal to split every 3 digits of a whole number with a comma (3,478 for example), and mark the decimal point with a full stop (12.45 for example). But in Spanish this convention is reversed. Thus a large number with decimal places will be written 1.256,78

Interactive Exercise 1

Match the numbers.

1. Cuarenta y seis   -   49 46 64 89 .

2. Setenta y tres   -   63 79 73 72 .

3. 178   -   ciento ochenta y seis ciento ochenta y siete ciento setenta y ocho ciento sesenta y ocho .

4. Tres cientos noventa y dos   -   392 329 932 368 .

5. 27   -   veinte y siete venti siete veintisiete veintysiete .

6. 1.378   -   mil y trescientos setenta y ocho mil trescientos y setenta y ocho mil tres cientos setentaiocho mil trescientos setenta y ocho .

7. 68,432   -   sesenta y ocho mil cuatro cientos treintidos sesenta y ocho punto cuatro tres dos sesenta y ocho punto cuatro cientos treintido .

8. Hay   -   trescientos tres cientos tres cientas trescientas preguntas en el examen.

9. He trabajado   -   ciento cienta cien días en mi nuevo puesto.

10. En la tienda solo hay   -   un uno una camera de vigilancia.

Interactive Exercise 2

Listen to the audio and type the number in the box.

(remember to use the correct "punto" or "comma")

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

If you don't know the correct answer, type '?' to reveal it.

Covered in this Lesson

The cardinal numbers in Spanish from 1 to 1000. Click here for a free grammar lesson on the ORDINAL NUMBERS

 

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