Numbers in Spanish

By the end of this tutorial, you will know the most important things about numbers in Spanish.

First of all, we need to understand that cardinal numbers are 1,2,3,4, etc. and ordinal numbers are first, second, third, etc.

It is not necessary for cardinal numbers in Spanish to agree with the noun in number or gender:
Las ocho chicas tienen 14 años = The eight girls are 14 years old.
Los dos chicos viven en Veracruz. = The two boys live in Veracruz.

Note: we don't say "las *ochas* chicas tienen 14 años".

uno is shortened before masculine nouns:
"Uno" and numbers ending in "-uno" are shortened to "un" when they immediately precede a masculine noun.
e.g. un coche (a car), un libro (a book), veintiún coches (21 cars)
ciento is shortened to cien before a noun of either gender
cien euros (one hundred euros), cien libras (one hundred pounds)

numbers are masculine when used as nouns
He sacado un cinco en el examen. (= I got a five in the exam.)
el seis es mi numero favorito (six is my favourite number)

An exception - One and the hundreds (uno and cientos) have to agree with the gender of the noun.
un niño y una niña (a boy and a girl)
veintiún coches (21 cars), veintiuna casas (21 houses)
En Málaga hay doscientas personas que duermen en la calle (= In Malaga there are 200 people who sleep in the street).

500, 700 and 900 are irregular.

500 = quinientos (not cinco cientos) - 700 = setecientos (not siete cientos) - 900 = novecientos (not nueve cientos)

It is very useful to know Spanish ordinal numbers when using a lift.
¿A qué piso va? Al sexto.
¿A qué planta va? A la sexta
(What floor are you going to? The sixth.)

When used as an adjective, ordinal numbers must agree with the nouns they refer to both in number and gender:
el segundo libro ("the second book"), la segunda mesa ("the second table")
La Tercera Guerra Mundial - (the Third World War)

Ordinal numbers of more than 10 are rarely used in Spanish.
However, they do occur for example:
¿Te he dicho ya que te quiero? – Es la milésima vez que me lo dices en media hora.
(Have I told you that I love you yet? - It is the thousandth time that you have told me in the last half hour.)

When primero and tercero precede a singular masculine noun, the final -o is dropped:

El primer partido de fútbol (the first game of football) - El tercer hombre (the third man)

Instructions

You can use the Flashcard exercise below to get learn the numbers in Spanish. Click "restart" to start.
Don't spend too much time learning the Spanish ordinal numbers over 12 because they are rarely used.

The content of the flashcards