🔢 Numbers - Números
Beginner Spanish · Numbers and everyday life
Spanish Numbers
Numbers start small, but they show up everywhere. Learn the first numbers, spot the patterns that build bigger ones, and put them to work when you order, shop, make plans, or talk about a date.
Your next small win: count from zero to twenty, build common two-digit numbers, ask about a price, and use numbers in a simple everyday situation.
Start the count
Numbers 0 to 10
These are the building blocks. Listen to them in small groups and say each one aloud. You will reuse them when larger numbers appear later.
Listen as a sequence: cero, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez
Count something nearby
Choose three objects you can see. Count them in Spanish.
Uno, dos, tres.
Numbers 11 to 20
Eleven through fifteen have their own forms. Starting with sixteen, you can begin to see a pattern that connects diez with the next number.
The written accent in dieciséis belongs there. Keep it when you write the number as a word.
Find the pattern
Building Numbers to 99
You do not need ninety-nine separate tricks. Learn the tens, then combine them with the smaller numbers you already know.
The tens
Numbers 21 to 29
Numbers from 21 to 29 are normally written as one word.
Watch the written accents in forms such as veintidós and veintiséis.
Numbers 31 to 99
For numbers between the tens, place y between the tens and the ones.
Build it in pieces: 42 is cuarenta + y + dos. Once the tens feel familiar, many two-digit numbers become predictable.
Build forty-two
Start with forty, add the connecting word y, then add two.
Cuarenta y dos.
One number, a few forms
Uno, Un, and Una
Uno is the basic number one, but the form can change when it sits directly before a noun.
Order one coffee
You want exactly one coffee. Choose the form of “one” that belongs before café.
Un café, por favor.
Go beyond ninety-nine
Hundreds and Larger Numbers
You do not need every large number at once. Start with a few landmarks so you can recognize the scale when you hear it.
Cien and ciento
Spanish uses two closely related forms around one hundred.
Give the numbers a job
Numbers in Everyday Spanish
Counting is useful. Using the number inside a sentence is even better. Listen for the number, then say the whole phrase.
Checking a price
Making plans
Numbers connect with other lessons: prices, dates, and clock time have their own patterns. For now, focus on recognizing the number inside the complete phrase.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Spanish Numbers
Choose the number or phrase that fits each situation. The questions focus on the patterns from the main lesson, not on memorizing every large number at once.
Practice complete
Your numbers are adding up.
A few numbers to revisit
One last step: use the numbers without choices.
Imagine you are buying two tickets and one coffee. Say both requests aloud. Then say the number 42 and the number 100.
Necesito dos entradas, por favor.
Un café, por favor.
Cuarenta y dos.
Cien.
You are buying tickets and need two of them. What do you say?
- Necesito dos entradas, por favor.
- Necesito una entrada, por favor.
- Somos cuatro para la cena.
- Cuesta tres euros.
Dos means two. Necesito dos entradas, por favor asks for two tickets.
Necesito dos entradas, por favor. means “I need two tickets, please.”
A drink costs three euros. Which Spanish number means three?
- tres
- trece
- treinta
- seis
Tres is 3. Trece is 13 and treinta is 30.
tres = 3
You hear table number twelve. Which Spanish number is twelve?
- doce
- diez
- dos
- veinte
Doce is the Spanish word for 12.
doce = 12
How do you say 42 in Spanish?
- cuarenta y dos
- cuarenta dos
- veintidós
- catorce
From 31 to 99, Spanish normally places y between the tens and ones. Forty-two is cuarenta y dos.
cuarenta y dos = 42
Which Spanish form correctly writes the number 22?
- veintidós
- veinte y dos
- treinta y dos
- dieciséis
Numbers from 21 to 29 are normally written as one word. Twenty-two is veintidós.
veintidós = 22
You want one coffee. Which form belongs before the masculine noun café?
- un café
- una café
- uno café
- cien café
Uno normally becomes un directly before a masculine noun. Say un café.
un café = one coffee
You need exactly 100, with no additional number after it. Which form do you use?
- cien
- ciento
- mil
- quinientos
Cien is used for exactly 100. Ciento is used when another number follows, as in ciento uno.
cien = exactly 100
The movie begins at 8:30. Which reply says that in Spanish?
- Empieza a las ocho y media.
- Mi vuelo sale a las seis y cuarto.
- Cuesta tres euros.
- Somos cuatro para la cena.
Ocho is eight, and ocho y media expresses eight thirty in this sentence.
Empieza a las ocho y media. means “It starts at 8:30.”