Spanish Numbers – Part 1

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There are two types of numerals in Spanish: cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.

The cardinal numbers or números cardinals are the numbers that correspond to series: uno (one), dos (two), tres (three), cuatro (four), etc. The second group, the ordinal numbers are numbers referred to the order in series: primero (first), segundo (second), tercero (third), cuarto (fourth), etc.

 

In this post we will study them and we will see that the numerals can be adjectives and pronouns. For instance:

 

– Tengo dos hermanos españoles (I have two Spanish brothers) (Adjective)

– Los dos están jugando al fútbol (the two are playing football) (Pronoun)

 

Cardinal numbers


1 uno (un), una

2 dos

3 tres

4 cuatro

5 cinco

6 seis

7 siete

8 ocho

9 nueve

10 diez

11 once

12 doce

13 trece

14 catorce

15 quince

16 dieciséis

17 diecisiete

18 dieciocho

19 diecinueve

20 veinte

21 veintiuno

30 treinta        31 treinta y uno    40 cuarenta

50 cincuenta  60 sesenta           70 setenta

80 ochenta     90 noventa          100 cien (see below)

The Spelling and gender of cardinal numbers in Spanish

 

– Numbers from 0 to 30 are written as a single word

– Numbers from 31 to 99 are written as two words linked by except for the tens (20, 30, 40, 50,) : treinta y uno (31).

 

Numbers are masculine in general. For instance, throwing a six and a four with the dice in Spanish would be : un seis, un cuatro.

-¿Uno or una?

Uno is replaced by una if it is followed by a feminine singular noun: una libra (one pound)

– ¿Uno o un?

 

uno is shortened to un when it is followed by a masculine singular noun: tengo un euro (I have one euro)

Hundreds:

100 cien 300 trescientos  800 ochocientos

101 ciento uno  400 cuatrocientos 900 novecientos

200 doscientos  500 quinientos

201 doscientos uno  600 seiscientos

Ciento is shortened to cien before a noun or an adjective but not before another number, except mil (thousand). Examples:

cien estudiantes (a hundred students)

ciento una familias (a hundred and one families)

los cien mejores libros (the hundred best books)

ciento treinta casas (a hundred and thirty houses)

ciento un estudiantes (a hundred and one students)

cien mil habitants (a hundred thousand inhabitants)

 

We hope we helped with the Spanish Numerals. (Spanish info)