How to Spell Spanish Numbers 1-100

According to the 2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 12 percent, or 35 million, of U.S. residents speak Spanish at home. With this many people speaking Spanish, there is an emphasis in many communities, from schools to the professional and community service worlds, to learn at least basic Spanish. Knowing how to spell numbers is one of the key elements necessary for basic communication in any language, including Spanish. Luckily, the language follows similar rules to American English when spelling out numbers.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Remember that small numbers are spelled as follows: one is uno, two is dos, three is tres, four is cuatro, five is cinco, six is seis, seven is siete, eight is ocho, nine is nueve and ten is diez.

2. Remember that the teen numbers are formulaic, with each number having an "e" at the end. Eleven is once, 12 is doce, 13 is trece, 14 is catorce and 15 is quince. Sixteen through 19 are characterized with "dieci" as their prefix, which implies there is a ten in front of the number. In a direct translation, dieciseis, or 16, would be "ten and six." This formula is revisited with higher numbers. Sixteen is dieciséis, 17 is diecisiete, 18 is dieciocho and 19 is diecinueve.

3. Remember that the numbers for 20 up through 99 will have either a prefix or first word to show which set of ten you're counting (twenties, thirties, forties, etc.) and end with the small number (21, 22, 23). These are the same spellings for the small numbers you learned in step 1. Twenty is veinte, 21 is veintiuno, 22 is veintidós, 23 is veintitres, 24 is veinticuatro, 25 is veinticinco, 26 is veintiseis, 27 is veintisiete, 28 is veintioco and 29 is veintinueve.

4. Remember that numbers from 30 through 99 will be made up of separate words. Notably, the word signifying which set of ten you're in will be separated from the small number with "y," which means "and." Thirty is treinta, 31 is treinta y uno, 32 is treinta y dos, 33 is treinta y tres, 34 is treinta y cuatro, 35 is treinta y cinco, 36 is treinta y seis, 37 is treinta y siete, 38 is treinta y ocho, 39 is treinta y nueve.

5. Remember that the spellings for the forties through the nineties will follow the same construction as the spellings for the thirties, including the "y" to separate the ten set from the small number. The forties will start with cuarenta, the fifties will start with cincuenta, the sixties will start with sesenta, the seventies will start with setenta, the eighties will start with ochenta and the nineties will start with noventa.

6. Remember the spelling for 100 is cien.

Tips & Warnings

• In Spanish, nouns are considered male or female. When assigning the numbers "uno" and "veintiuno" to a noun, you would use "uno" and "veintiun" before male nouns and "una" and "veintiuna" for female nouns. Note that "veintiún" does not end with an "o." No other numbers will change in this sense, even if they end in "uno."

Resources

• U.S. Census Burea's statistics on people who speak Spanish in the U.S.