The numbers in Spanish – From zero to millions!

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

In this lesson, we will learn the cardinal numbers (uno, dos, tres…) equivalent to the English “one, two, three…”.

At the end of the lesson you’ll find a Quiz and an Exercise for practice.

Note: If you wish to learn Ordinal Numbers instead (equivalent to the English “first, second, third…”), then click here

The numbers in Spanish – List

From 0 to 10

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

From 11 to 15

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

11	once
12	doce
13	trece
14	catorce
15	quince

From 16 to 19

Another trick here: they all begin with dieci-:

16	dieciséis
17	diecisiete
18	dieciocho
19	diecinueve

From 20 to 29

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

Pay attention to the accent marks:

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

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.

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

100

cien

From 101 to 999

There is no “y” right after the hundreds.

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

From 1000 to 1999

It is always mil, and then the rest of the number with the rules we have learned:

No word “y” right after the thousands either.

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

From 2000 to 999 999

The trick is to separate it 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 in order, with the word “mil” in between. (Obviously if the last number is just “000”, we don’t say anything for that part)

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

From one million on

We simply 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.

1 000 000	un millón
2 000 000	dos millones
3 500 000	tres millones quinientos mil
55 248 248	cincuenta 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 choose 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 to test your knowledge about the numbers in Spanish:

Exercise

Try to write the following numbers in a piece of paper before looking at the solutions:

a) 95
b) 890
c) 891
d) 821
e) 1203
f) 3714
g) 45 655
h) 523 999
i) 12 684 987

Solutions:
a) noventa y cinco
b) ochocientos noventa
c) ochocientos noventa y uno
d) ochocientos veintiuno
e) mil doscientos tres
f) tres mil setecientos catorce
g) cuarenta y cinco mil seiscientos cincuenta y cinco
h) quinientos veintitrés mil novecientos noventa y nueve
i) doce millones seiscientos ochenta y cuatro mil novecientos ochenta y siete

Related topics

Check out these lessons:

• Ordinal numbers (“primero, segundo…”)
• Days of the week