Numbers, dates and time
How to say numbers, dates, times and ages, including the small rules that catch people out.
Take the quizNumbers up to 100
16 to 29 are written as one word
- dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve16, 17, 18, 19
- veintidós, veintitrés, veintiséis22, 23, 26
Several take an accent: dieciséis, veintidós, veintitrés, veintiséis.
From 31 on, use tens + y + ones
- treinta y uno, cuarenta y cinco31, 45
- noventa y nueve99
Uno shortens before a masculine noun and changes before a feminine one
- un hermano, una hermanaone brother, one sister
- veintiún añostwenty-one years
- treinta y una personasthirty-one people
Hundreds and thousands
Cien alone or before a noun, ciento in combinations
- cien dólaresa hundred dollars
- ciento cinco105
Never un cien.
Hundreds agree with feminine nouns
- doscientos hombres200 men
- doscientas personas200 people
Watch the irregular hundreds
- quinientos, setecientos, novecientos500, 700, 900
Mil has no un, and doesn't go plural in counting
- mil personasa thousand people
- tres mil dólaresthree thousand dollars
Millón takes un and de
- un millón de dólaresa million dollars
- dos millones de personastwo million people
Ordinals
First through tenth agree with the noun
- la segunda callethe second street
- el cuarto pisothe fourth floor
The series is primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto, sexto, séptimo, octavo, noveno, décimo.
Primero and tercero shorten before a masculine singular noun
- el primer díathe first day
- el tercer pisothe third floor
Days and dates
Days and months aren't capitalized
- Hoy es martes.Today is Tuesday.
- Mi cumpleaños es en enero.My birthday is in January.
El means on with days, and los means every
- Voy el lunes.I'm going on Monday.
- Trabajo los lunes.I work on Mondays.
Dates are el + number + de + month
- Hoy es el cinco de mayo.Today is May 5th.
- Nací el diez de junio de 1990.I was born on June 10, 1990.
Written dates put the day first, so 5/6 is June 5th.
Latin America uses primero for the first of the month
- el primero de eneroJanuary 1st
Spain usually says el uno de enero.
Years are read as whole numbers
- mil novecientos noventa y cinco1995
- dos mil veintiséis2026
Telling time
Es la una, and son las for everything else
- Es la una.It's one o'clock.
- Son las tres.It's three o'clock.
Add minutes with y
- Son las dos y diez.It's 2:10.
- Son las cuatro y media.It's 4:30.
- Son las cinco y cuarto.It's 5:15.
Before the hour, Latin America often uses faltan or para
- Faltan diez para las ocho.It's ten to eight.
- Son las ocho menos diez.It's ten to eight.
Use a la or a las for at
- La clase es a las nueve.The class is at nine.
- Llego a la una.I arrive at one.
Parts of the day use de with a clock time, por without
- Son las ocho de la mañana.It's eight in the morning.
- Trabajo por la mañana.I work in the morning.
Age
Use tener, not ser
- Tengo treinta años.I'm thirty years old.
- ¿Cuántos años tienes?How old are you?
Keep the ñ in años. Without it, the word is something very different.