Learn Spanish numbers in 10 minutes
Numbers are everywhere when you travel: prices, platforms, phone numbers, times, room numbers. Spanish numbers follow clear patterns, so once you know about thirty words you can say almost any number up to a million. Set a timer for ten minutes and work through this lesson out loud.
Minutes 1–3: zero to fifteen
These you simply have to learn. Say each one aloud twice.
| 0 cero | 4 cuatro | 8 ocho | 12 doce |
| 1 uno | 5 cinco | 9 nueve | 13 trece |
| 2 dos | 6 seis | 10 diez | 14 catorce |
| 3 tres | 7 siete | 11 once | 15 quince |
Minutes 3–5: sixteen to twenty-nine
From 16 the pattern is ten and six, squashed into one word: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve. Then veinte (20), and the twenties also join into one word: veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve.
Watch the accents on dieciséis, veintidós, veintitrés and veintiséis: they show where the stress falls.
Minutes 5–7: the tens
| Number | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 30 | treinta |
| 40 | cuarenta |
| 50 | cincuenta |
| 60 | sesenta |
| 70 | setenta |
| 80 | ochenta |
| 90 | noventa |
From 31 on, numbers are three separate words joined by y (and): treinta y uno, cuarenta y cinco, noventa y nueve. That's it: there are no more irregular two-digit numbers.
Minutes 7–9: hundreds and thousands
Cien is exactly 100. Above that it becomes ciento: ciento uno (101), ciento cincuenta (150). Hundreds agree with feminine nouns: doscientos euros but doscientas personas.
| Number | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 100 | cien |
| 200 | doscientos |
| 300 | trescientos |
| 400 | cuatrocientos |
| 500 | quinientos (irregular) |
| 600 | seiscientos |
| 700 | setecientos (irregular) |
| 800 | ochocientos |
| 900 | novecientos (irregular) |
| 1.000 | mil |
Mil never takes un and doesn't change in the plural: mil (1,000), dos mil (2,000), diez mil (10,000). A million is un millón, two million dos millones.
Minute 10: real life
Test yourself
Say these aloud, then check: 17, 22, 38, 56, 99, 115, 500, 777, 2026.
Answers: diecisiete, veintidós, treinta y ocho, cincuenta y seis, noventa y nueve, ciento quince, quinientos, setecientos setenta y siete, dos mil veintiséis.
Numbers stick when you hear them at speed. Ask a friend to read you random prices, or practise the market and café scenes with Lina, where totals and prices come up in every conversation.