Spanish numbers: How to count from 1 to millions in Spanish

Do you struggle with Spanish Numbers? In this blog post, I will show you how to count until one million.

Plus I want to share some tips to avoid some common mistakes that Spanish students make when talking about numbers.

Why should you care about Spanish numbers?

The real world is full of numbers everywhere, and I’m not talking complex mathematical problems.

We need to use numbers even in the more basic things, for instance, imagine you want to know how much something costs. Or maybe you want to give your address to a pizza restaurant so they can deliver your dinner on time.

Or what if you have to give your telephone number to an important executive who wants to invest in your company? How would you deal with numbers in these kinds of situations when it’s all in Spanish?

Let me show you how easy it is…

The basic Spanish numbers (0-15)

Spanish numbers are just as easy as they are in English. All you need to know is the base, which is just knowing the numbers from 0 to 15.

Memorize these first numbers just as you did in English when you were a kid. Just say them out loud as you tell them in order.

You can also use your fingers just to help your memory with some physical exercise:

0- Cero1 – Uno2 – Dos3 – Tres4 – Cuatro5 – Cinco6 – Seis7 – Siete8 – Ocho9 – Nueve10 – Diez11 – Once12 – Doce13 – Trece14 – Catorce15 – Quince

After 15, you just say together: 10 (Diez), the phonetic sound you make when you say the letter “E” in English, the last digit of the number (which is a basic number), and then you say all of that as if it was just one word.

So for example, the number 16, would sound like:Diez + “E” + Seis.

You just go like that until 19:

16- Dieciséis17- Diecisiete18- Dieciocho19- Diecinueve

The multiples of ten (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90)

Now, just memorize this names:

20- Veinte30- Treinta40- Cuarenta50- Cincuenta60- Sesenta70- Setenta80- Ochenta90- Noventa100- Cien

After that, if you want to say any number that doesn’t end in zero(0), you just need to use the following formula:

Spanish numbers when you hit 100

The specific number ‘100’ is called “Cien” in Spanish. After that, it goes “Ciento” + any of the numbers I talked in the previous subtitles, for example:

Ciento Uno
Ciento Dos

…

\150. Ciento Cincuenta

\163. Ciento Sesenta Y Tres

\195. Ciento Noventay Cinco

*Note:Some students get confused when they get to the hundreds. They try to connect the “Ciento” with a “y”, just like I told you to do it under the subtitle ‘multiples of 10’, so they say things like:*
151. Ciento y Cincuenta y Uno 183. Ciento y Ochenta y Tres

This is not correct, andit sounds unnatural!

Just remember, all you need to do when you get to the hundreds is to add “Ciento”, nothing else, just like this:

136. Ciento Treinta y Seis 172. Ciento Setenta y dos

Counting from 200 to 999

This is simple, correct pronunciation will happen if you just go with:

A basic number + the word “Cientos”.

For example: “Dos” + “Cientos” would be 200, “Cuatro” + “Cientos” would be 400, and so on.

*Note:This rule does not apply to 500(Quinientos), 700(Setecientos) and 900 (Novecientos). As you can see, these numbers have their exclusive name.*

Here’s their correct spelling:

Doscientos
Trescientos
Cuatrocientos
Quinientos
Seiscientos
Setecientos
Ochocientos
Novecientos

Now, when you want to talk about these hundreds ending in different numbers than zero, you just say their name with:

Cientos + everything we saw in previous subtitles, for example:

“Dos” – “Cientos” – “Uno”
“Dos” – “Cientos” – “Diecisiete”…
“Tres” – “Cientos” – “Treinta” – “E” – “Tres”
“Quinientos” – “Cincuenta”…
“Seis” – “Cientos” – “Ochenta” – “E” – “Nueve”925, “Novecientos” – “Veinticinco”

Spanish numbers from 1000 to a Million!

You get to one thousand and everything gets easier, just say “mil” and that’s it!

“Mil” is the exact number: 1000.

Now, when you want to go further, just say:

“Mil” + everything we saw in previous subtitles.

For example:

\1001. “Mil” – “uno”\1150. “Mil” – “ciento” – “cincuenta”\1302. “Mil” – “trescientos” – “dos”

*Note:Some students get confused when they get to 1001 and say “un mil”, 1002 “dos mil”, etc… and this is not correct!*
The right way is 1000 (Mil), 1001 (Mil Uno), 1002 (Mil Dos), and so on.

The correct spelling is the same, you just add the word “Mil”:

\1500. Mil Quinientos\1835. Mil Ochocientos Treinta y Cinco

Now, when you leave 1000 behind, you just say:

The basic number + the word “mil”, for example:

Dos mil
Tres mil
Cuatro mil
Cinco mil
Seis mil
Siete mil
Ocho mil
Nueve mil10.000 Diez mil11.000 Once mil…35.000 Treinta y Cinco mil90.000 Noventa mil…100.000 Cien mil900.000 Novecientos mil

Finally, you get to the six zeros: one million (1.000.000).

In Spanish the first million is called “Un millón”, the rest is just as you do it with “Mil”, but instead, you say the word “Millones”, for example:

1.000.000 – Un Millón2.000.000 – Dos Millones3.000.000 – Tres Millones.…5.630.000 – Cinco Millones, Seiscientos Treinta mil98.250.010 – Noventa y Ocho Millones, Doscientos Cincuenta mil, Diez.

How will you learn all the Spanish numbers?

As I said in the beginning, you just need to know the basics (0-15), and the rest is just a matter of practice.

Learn them systematically, just like you did when you learned to count in your native language. Remember that the secret to a powerful and fluent Spanish is to imitate everything children do, so don’t stress too much with the formulas!

Now, some students have found other tricks to memorizethis numbers in Spanish, what do you do to learn Spanish numbers? Let me know in the comments below.

Spanish numbers: How to count from 1 to millions in Spanish - SpanishToMind (2024)