The Numbers in Spanish – Learn and Practice

Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson on the numbers in Spanish (“los números”).

Here we will learn the so called cardinal numbers (uno, dos, tres…) equivalent to the English one, two, three…

A couple of Spanish sentences including numbers
A couple of sentences including numbers

By the end of this lesson, you have the necessary tools to understand and say any number in Spanish, from zero to millions.

You will also find a Quiz and an Exercise to practice.

Note: click here if you wish to learn ordinal numbers instead (equivalent to the English “first, second, third…”).

The numbers in Spanish – List

From 0 to 10

0cero
1uno
2dos
3tres
4cuatro
5cinco
6seis
7siete
8ocho
9nueve
10diez

From 11 to 15

There is a trick: they all end in -ce.

11once
12doce
13trece
14catorce
15quince

From 16 to 19

Another trick here: they all begin with dieci-.

16dieciséis
17diecisiete
18dieciocho
19diecinueve

From 20 to 29

20 is veinte, and the rest are still written with one word, beginning with veinti-.

Pay attention: some of them have accent marks.

20veinte
21veintiuno
22veintidós
23veintitrés
24veinticuatro
25veinticinco
26veintiséis
27veintisiete
28veintiocho
29veintinueve

From 30 to 99

From 30 on, whenever there are units in the number, it’s written with 3 words, and the middle word is y.

For example 35 = treinta y cinco.

30treinta
31treinta y uno
32treinta y dos
40cuarenta
43cuarenta y tres
50cincuenta
60sesenta
70setenta
80ochenta
90noventa
99noventa y nueve

Exactly 100

We use the word cien only when it’s exactly one hundred, without tens or units. Otherwise it becomes “ciento” (see below).

100cien

From 101 to 999

There is no “y” right after the hundreds.

101ciento uno
110ciento diez
146ciento cuarenta y seis
200doscientos
280doscientos ochenta
300trescientos
388trescientos ochenta y ocho
400cuatrocientos
500quinientos
600seiscientos
700setecientos
800ochocientos
900novecientos
999novecientos noventa y nueve

From 1000 to 1999

All begin with mil, and then the rest of the number with the rules we have learned.

No word “y” right after the thousands either.

1000mil
1003mil tres
1040mil cuarenta
1872mil ochocientos setenta y dos

From 2000 to 999 999

We must split the number mentally into 2 numbers: the number formed by the last 3 digits, and the number formed by the rest.

Then, say each of those 2 numbers with the word mil in between. (If the last 3 digits are “000”, we don’t say anything for that part)

2 000dos mil
2 001dos mil uno
2 480dos mil cuatrocientos ochenta
4 300cuatro mil trescientos
37 000treinta y siete mil
37 600treinta y siete mil seiscientos
125 125ciento veinticinco mil ciento veinticinco
472 346cuatrocientos setenta y dos mil trescientos cuarenta y seis
999 999novecientos noventa y nueve mil novecientos noventa y nueve

From one million on

We say how many millions there are. Then, for whatever comes after the millions, we follow the rules learned in this lesson.

No word “y” right after the millions either.

1 000 000un millón
2 000 000dos millones
3 500 000tres millones quinientos mil
55 248 248cincuenta y cinco millones doscientos cuarenta y ocho mil doscientos cuarenta y ocho

What’s the difference between “uno, un, una”?

In the first table of this lesson, we have shown that the number “one” in Spanish is “uno”. But it also can be “un” or “una”, depending on the specific sentence.

If it refers to a feminine noun, always una:

Tengo una lavadora.
I have one washing machine.

Tengo una.
I have one. (still meaning “lavadora“)


If it refers to a masculine noun, then it is un if it precedes the noun, and uno if it doesn’t:

Tengo un coche.
I have one car.

Tengo uno.
I have one. (still meaning “coche“).


This phenomenon happens with any number that ends in -uno.

For example, with veintiuno (21):

Tengo veintiuna lavadoras.
I have twenty one washing machines.

Tengo veintiún coches.
I have twenty one cars.

Or with ciento uno (101):

Tengo ciento una lavadoras.
I have 101 washing machines.

Tengo ciento un coches.
I have 101 cars.

Practice

Quiz

Take this short Quiz about the numbers in Spanish:


Exercise

Write the names of the following numbers in a piece of paper, then click on the gray spaces to see the solutions:

a) 95 – noventa y cinco
b) 890 – ochocientos noventa
c) 891 – ochocientos noventa y uno
d) 821 – ochocientos veintiuno
e) 1203 – mil doscientos tres
f) 3714 – tres mil setecientos catorce
g) 45 655 – cuarenta y cinco mil seiscientos cincuenta y cinco
h) 523 999 – quinientos veintitrés mil novecientos noventa y nueve
i) 12 684 987 – doce millones seiscientos ochenta y cuatro mil novecientos ochenta y siete