Cardinal numbers—expressions like one, two, three, or twenty-five—are one of the most essential building blocks in Spanish. You use them to talk about age, prices, dates, time, quantities, statistics, phone numbers, and almost every practical area of communication.
For students, professionals, and multilingual users, mastering cardinal numbers ensures accuracy and fluency in both spoken and written Spanish. This guide provides a clear explanation of how Spanish numbers work, the grammar rules behind them, and their real-world applications.
What Are Cardinal Numbers?
Cardinal numbers (números cardinales) express quantity. They answer the question “How many?” Unlike ordinal numbers (first, second, third), which express order, cardinal numbers focus only on amount.
Examples:
- dos libros – two books
- quince minutos – fifteen minutes
- trescientas personas – three hundred people
These numbers appear constantly in everyday Spanish, so accuracy and pattern recognition are especially important.
1. Basic Cardinal Numbers: 0–15
The numbers from 0 to 15 must be memorized because they do not follow predictable patterns. However, they are short and used frequently, which makes them easier to learn.
- cero – zero
- uno – one
- dos – two
- tres – three
- cuatro – four
- cinco – five
- seis – six
- siete – seven
- ocho – eight
- nueve – nine
- diez – ten
- once – eleven
- doce – twelve
- trece – thirteen
- catorce – fourteen
- quince – fifteen
Examples:
Tengo cinco amigos.
I have five friends.
Ella tiene doce años.
She is twelve years old.
2. Numbers 16–29: The Fusion Pattern
Numbers from 16 to 29 follow a combined-word structure.
- dieciséis – sixteen
- diecisiete – seventeen
- dieciocho – eighteen
- diecinueve – nineteen
- veinte – twenty
- veintiuno – twenty-one
- veintidós – twenty-two
- veintitrés – twenty-three
- veinticuatro – twenty-four
- veintinueve – twenty-nine
Note the accents: veintidós, veintitrés, veintiséis.
Examples:
Hay veintidós estudiantes en la clase.
There are twenty-two students in the class.
Compré veinticinco manzanas.
I bought twenty-five apples.
3. Numbers 30–99: Tens + “y” + Units
From 30 onward, Spanish becomes very logical. Tens are fixed forms, and numbers combine using y (and).
The Tens
- treinta – thirty
- cuarenta – forty
- cincuenta – fifty
- sesenta – sixty
- setenta – seventy
- ochenta – eighty
- noventa – ninety
Combination Pattern
treinta y uno – thirty-one
cincuenta y cuatro – fifty-four
setenta y ocho – seventy-eight
Examples:
El hotel está a treinta y dos kilómetros.
The hotel is thirty-two kilometers away.
Mi madre tiene sesenta y cinco años.
My mother is sixty-five years old.
4. Hundreds: Gender Agreement Begins
The number 100 has two forms:
- cien – used alone or before a noun
- ciento – used when followed by another number
Examples:
cien personas
one hundred people
ciento veinte páginas
one hundred twenty pages
Forms of 200–900
These numbers show masculine/feminine agreement.
- doscientos / doscientas – two hundred
- trescientos / trescientas – three hundred
- cuatrocientos / cuatrocientas – four hundred
- quinientos – five hundred
- seiscientos – six hundred
- setecientos – seven hundred
- ochocientos – eight hundred
- novecientos – nine hundred
Example:
Compramos doscientas entradas.
We bought two hundred tickets.
5. Thousands and Millions
Thousands
- mil – one thousand
- dos mil – two thousand
- diez mil – ten thousand
- cien mil – one hundred thousand
Spanish does not say “one thousand.”
mil alone means “one thousand.”
Millions
- un millón – one million
- dos millones – two million
- diez millones – ten million
When followed by a noun, “millón/millones” requires de:
un millón de personas
one million people
dos millones de turistas
two million tourists
6. How “Uno” Changes Before Nouns
One of the most important grammar points is the transformation of uno.
- uno – used for counting
- un – before masculine nouns
- una – before feminine nouns
This also applies to all numbers ending in –1.
Examples:
Uno, dos, tres…
One, two, three…
un libro
one book
una casa
one house
veintiún días
twenty-one days
treinta y una semanas
thirty-one weeks
7. Real-Life Uses of Cardinal Numbers
Age
- Tengo veintitrés años. – I am twenty-three years old.
Prices
- Cuesta cincuenta euros. – It costs fifty euros.
Dates
- Hoy es el veinte de abril. – Today is the twentieth of April.
Time
- La clase empieza a las ocho. – The class starts at eight.
Quantities
- Quiero tres cafés. – I want three coffees.
Phone Numbers
- Mi número es seis cinco cinco… – My number is six five five…
Addresses
- Vivo en el número quince. – I live at number fifteen.
8. Common Mistakes
- Using “uno” before masculine nouns
Incorrect: uno libro
Correct: un libro
“Uno” only works when counting. - Forgetting accents in numbers 22, 23, 26
veintidos → veintidós
veintitres → veintitrés
veintiseis → veintiséis - Using “cien uno” instead of “ciento uno”
Correct: ciento uno – one hundred one - Not changing hundreds for gender
Incorrect: trescientos mujeres
Correct: trescientas mujeres – three hundred women - Using “uno mil” instead of “mil”
Spanish never uses “uno mil.”
9. Example Sentences
- Hay cuatro opciones disponibles.
There are four options available. - Vivimos a diez kilómetros del centro.
We live ten kilometers from downtown. - Necesito cien fotocopias para la reunión.
I need one hundred photocopies for the meeting. - La empresa tiene más de doscientos empleados.
The company has more than two hundred employees. - El reporte incluye más de un millón de datos.
The report includes more than one million data points. - Pedimos treinta y cinco mesas para el evento.
We requested thirty-five tables for the event. - Su oficina está en el piso veintiuno.
His office is on the twenty-first floor. - Compré veintidós cuadernos para el taller.
I bought twenty-two notebooks for the workshop. - En la conferencia había nueve mil asistentes.
There were nine thousand attendees at the conference. - La tienda abre a las siete.
The store opens at seven.
Key Takeaways
• Cardinal numbers show quantity and appear in daily communication like age, dates, prices, and phone numbers.
• Numbers from 0 to 15 must be memorized, while higher numbers follow predictable patterns.
• Numbers 16 to 29 use a fusion form, and numbers 30 to 99 follow a simple tens plus units structure.
• Hundred forms can change for gender, and one changes before nouns as un or una.
• Spanish uses mil for one thousand and millón with de before nouns.
• Accurate accents in numbers like veintidós and veintitrés matter for correct writing.
Conclusion
Cardinal numbers in Spanish form a clear and structured system. While the first fifteen numbers require memorization, most higher numbers follow predictable patterns. Key challenges – such as the change from uno → un/una, gender agreement in hundreds, and the fusion in 16-29 become simple once understood.
Whether you are preparing for exams, working with Spanish-speaking clients, or learning for personal growth, mastering these numbers will make your communication accurate, confident, and efficient.
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Vikas Kumar is a multilingual educator, language specialist, and book author, and the founder of My Language Classes, an independent language learning platform dedicated to structured, clarity-driven language education.
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