Spanish: Numbers and Counting

Numbers are one of the most useful things you can learn in any language. In Spanish, numbers follow patterns that make them easier to memorize once you know the building blocks. Spanish is spoken by more than 500 million people around the world, and whether you are shopping at a market in Mexico City, telling time in Madrid, or giving your phone number in Buenos Aires, you will need numbers every single day. Let us start at the very beginning and build your way up to one hundred!

Here are the numbers zero through ten in Spanish. These are the foundation of everything else, so it is worth memorizing them well. Zero is cero (SAY-ro). One is uno (OO-no). Two is dos (dohs). Three is tres (trehs). Four is cuatro (KWAH-tro). Five is cinco (SEEN-ko). Six is seis (says). Seven is siete (see-EH-teh). Eight is ocho (OH-cho). Nine is nueve (NWEH-veh). Ten is diez (dee-EHS). Say each one out loud a few times to get comfortable with the sounds.

Numbers eleven through fifteen have their own special forms that you just have to learn: once (OHN-seh) is 11, doce (DOH-seh) is 12, trece (TREH-seh) is 13, catorce (kah-TOR-seh) is 14, and quince (KEEN-seh) is 15. Notice they do not follow an obvious pattern yet. But starting at 16, something interesting happens. The numbers are built by combining diez and seis, diez and siete, and so on, smooshed into single words: dieciséis (16), diecisiete (17), dieciocho (18), diecinueve (19). The word dieci means ten-and in this construction.

Once you reach 20, Spanish numbers become very logical. Twenty is veinte (VAYN-teh). Twenty-one through twenty-nine are also single compound words: veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve. Notice that veinti is a squished version of veinte plus i (meaning and). From 30 onward, the pattern changes slightly. Thirty is treinta (TRAYN-tah). To say 31, you say treinta y uno. The y means and. So 31 is treinta y uno, 32 is treinta y dos, and so on.

The tens from 30 to 90 each have their own word. Thirty is treinta. Forty is cuarenta (kwah-REN-tah). Fifty is cincuenta (seen-KWEN-tah). Sixty is sesenta (seh-SEN-tah). Seventy is setenta (seh-TEN-tah). Eighty is ochenta (oh-CHEN-tah). Ninety is noventa (no-VEN-tah). One hundred is cien (see-EN). For any number between the tens, just add y (and) plus the ones digit. For example, 45 is cuarenta y cinco, and 78 is setenta y ocho. The structure is always: tens word + y + ones word.

Numbers are not used alone. In Spanish, you use them in all kinds of sentences. To say your age, you use the verb tener (to have): Tengo diez años means I am ten years old (literally I have ten years). To ask how old someone is, say Cuántos años tienes? (How many years do you have?). To say how many of something you want, just put the number before the noun: dos tacos, tres libros (three books), cinco minutos (five minutes). Numbers come before the noun in Spanish, just like in English.

You can also use numbers to tell time in Spanish. Qué hora es? means What time is it? The answer uses the verb ser (to be). Es la una means It is one o'clock. For all other hours you say Son las followed by the number: Son las tres means It is three o'clock. To add minutes, use y: Son las cuatro y veinte means It is four twenty. Spanish speakers also use a veinticuatro hora clock (24-hour clock) in formal settings like train schedules, so knowing numbers up to 24 is especially handy.

Here is a quick review of the big patterns you have learned. Zero to fifteen: memorize each word individually. Sixteen to nineteen: dieci plus the ones word, all one word. Twenty to twenty-nine: veinti plus the ones word, all one word. Thirty to ninety-nine: tens word plus y plus ones word, three separate words. One hundred: cien. Every time you see a number in real life, try translating it into Spanish in your head. License plates, prices, page numbers, and sports scores are all great practice. The more you use the numbers, the faster they will feel natural.