The Numbers In Spanish Spelled Out | Clear Patterns That Stick

Learning how to write Spanish number words comes down to a few repeatable patterns for small, large, and decimal numbers.

Numbers show up in every Spanish conversation: prices, dates, addresses, scores, and more. When you know how the numbers in Spanish are spelled out, you stop pausing, second-guessing accents, or hesitating over long figures.

This guide walks you through the patterns behind Spanish number words, from cero up to millones. You will see how to build new numbers from a small set of pieces, how to deal with gender and accents, and how to write larger or decimal figures the way native speakers do.

Keep a pen or notes app nearby. Writing a few examples as you read helps lock in the spelling and the rhythm of each number.

Why Spanish Number Words Matter

Spelling Spanish numbers correctly helps in far more than school exercises. You need them for bookings, money, dates on forms, and messages with friends or colleagues. Misplacing a letter or accent can change how clear your message feels, especially in formal emails or documents.

Spanish uses cardinal numbers for counting and quantities: uno, dos, tres, and so on. Grammars such as the Real Academia Española guide to cardinal numerals explain that these words work both as determiners (dos libros) and as nouns (un tres en la lotería). Once you understand the pattern, you can read and write even large quantities with ease.

The goal is not to memorize huge lists one by one. Instead, you learn the base forms, see how Spanish glues them together, and then you can spell out almost any number you meet.

Spanish Numbers Spelled Out For Everyday Use

The smallest numbers appear most often, so they deserve extra care. Pay attention to accents and the few spelling changes between teens and twenties.

Zero To Twenty In Spanish

Start with the core list from cero to veinte:

cero, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve, veinte.

Watch two features here. First, dieciséis keeps an accent on the last syllable, while diecisiete, dieciocho, and diecinueve do not. Second, from dieciséis to diecinueve the words join diez and the next digit into a single word.

Uno changes shape in real use. Before masculine nouns it shortens to un: un libro, un coche. Before feminine nouns it becomes una: una mesa, una casa. As a pure number on its own, you keep uno.

The Pattern From Thirty To Ninety

From treinta onward, Spanish tens follow a clear pattern:

treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, noventa.

For the twenties, modern spelling joins the words: veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, and so on up to veintinueve. Note the accents in veintidós, veintitrés, and veintiséis.

Learners often find it easier to group numbers in blocks: 0–20 as one group, 21–29 as another, then the tens from treinta to noventa. A resource like Lingolia’s Spanish cardinal numbers page organizes practice exactly in these slices, which matches how your memory handles them.

Number	Spanish Word	Notes
0	cero	Only one form
1	uno	un / una before nouns
2	dos	Used for both genders
3	tres	Stable form
4	cuatro	Stable form
5	cinco	Stable form
6	seis	No accent
7	siete	No accent
8	ocho	No accent
9	nueve	No accent
10	diez	Base for teens
11	once	Irregular form
12	doce	Irregular form
13	trece	Irregular form
14	catorce	Irregular form
15	quince	Irregular form
16	dieciséis	Accent on “séis”
17	diecisiete	Single word
18	dieciocho	Single word
19	diecinueve	Single word
20	veinte	Base for veinti- forms
21	veintiuno	veintiún / veintiuna before nouns
22	veintidós	Accent on “dós”
23	veintitrés	Accent on “trés”
26	veintiséis	Accent on “séis”
30	treinta	treinta y uno, etc.
40	cuarenta	cuarenta y dos, etc.
50	cincuenta	cincuenta y tres, etc.
60	sesenta	sesenta y cuatro, etc.
70	setenta	setenta y cinco, etc.
80	ochenta	ochenta y seis, etc.
90	noventa	noventa y siete, etc.
100	cien / ciento	cien before nouns; ciento + more digits

Building Larger Numbers In Spanish Words

Once you have the tens in place, larger numbers become a simple construction game. Spanish uses the word y between tens and units from treinta upward: treinta y dos, cuarenta y ocho, noventa y nueve.

For 21–29, the pattern changes a bit. As you saw before, Spanish writes these as single words: veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, and so on. A guide such as SpanishDictionary.com’s list of numbers from 0 to 100 lays out each of these forms with audio, which helps match spelling with sound.

Tens Plus Units With Y

The rule for tens plus units is simple:

• Tens from treinta to noventa stand alone when the units digit is zero: treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta.
• When there is a nonzero units digit, place y between them: treinta y cinco, sesenta y cuatro, ochenta y uno.

Notice that y does not appear after cien, mil, or millón. You say ciento uno, mil dos, un millón tres, without inserting y between the higher word and the next number.

Hundreds And Gender

Hundreds in Spanish follow a fairly regular pattern based on ciento:

ciento, doscientos, trescientos, cuatrocientos, quinientos, seiscientos, setecientos, ochocientos, novecientos.

Two details stand out:

• Cien appears alone, or before nouns without extra digits: cien euros, cien personas. When more digits follow, switch to ciento: ciento cinco, ciento veinte.
• Hundreds agree in gender with the noun: doscientos libros but doscientas personas, cuatrocientos coches but cuatrocientas casas.

The Real Academia Española and other reference works treat words like millón and millar as nouns that take plural forms when needed, such as millones and millares. That view helps when you reach even larger figures.

Thousands, Millions, And Decimal Writing

Once you pass 999, the words mil and millón handle most of the work. With a clear picture of how they behave, long numbers stop feeling scary.

Writing Mil, Millón, And Millones

Mil is invariable: mil personas, mil doscientos euros, mil trescientas casas. You do not write un mil in standard modern Spanish; you simply write mil.

Millón and its plural millones behave like nouns. You say un millón, dos millones, and attach the rest with de when a noun follows: un millón de habitantes, dos millones de euros. Without a noun, you can drop de: un millón trescientos mil.

Here are a few longer examples written out:

• 1.250 → mil doscientos cincuenta.
• 12.450 → doce mil cuatrocientos cincuenta.
• 235.000 → doscientos treinta y cinco mil.
• 1.000.000 → un millón.
• 3.500.000 → tres millones quinientos mil.

If you want a structured overview that goes up to one billion and beyond, a resource like FluentU’s guide to numbers in Spanish gives many more large examples with audio and context.

Decimals And Separators In Spanish-Speaking Countries

In Spanish, decimal numbers follow the same word pattern: 3,5 becomes tres coma cinco; 2.017,25 euros becomes dos mil diecisiete euros con veinticinco céntimos. When you spell the number out, you no longer worry about dots or commas, only about the words.

For writing figures with digits, the Real Academia Española’s notes on whole numbers and the thousands separator explain that the preferred style is to group digits with thin spaces (12 345) rather than dots or commas. For decimals, the Academy’s guidance on decimal numbers accepts both a comma and a point as the separator, depending on local usage.

As a learner, the safest approach in mixed international settings is to read all decimals aloud as full Spanish words, and use a clear separator style in writing that matches the area where you study or work.

Context	Digits	Spanish Spelled Out
Age	27	veintisiete
Price	15,90 €	quince euros con noventa céntimos
Date	3/11/2026	tres de noviembre de dos mil veintiséis
Distance	120 km	ciento veinte kilómetros
Population	1.200.000	un millón doscientos mil
Temperature	21,5 °C	veintiún grados coma cinco
Score	3–2	tres a dos
Phone number	679 245 310	seis siete nueve, dos cuatro cinco, tres uno cero

The Numbers In Spanish Spelled Out In Real Sentences

Knowing how to write the numbers in Spanish spelled out is only half the story. You also need to place them smoothly in sentences that match daily situations.

Age, Dates, And Phone Numbers

For age, Spanish uses tener: Tengo treinta y dos años, Mi hijo tiene ocho años. The number comes right after the verb and before años.

Dates follow the pattern day + de + month + de + year: 14/7/2025 becomes catorce de julio de dos mil veinticinco. Notice that months are written in lowercase: enero, febrero, marzo, and so on.

Phone numbers usually appear in groups of two or three digits when spoken: seis cero seis, treinta y cinco, cuarenta y uno, veinte. In writing, people often keep the digits, but saying them aloud with clear pauses gives listeners time to catch them.

Money, Measurements, And Times

Money and measures behave in similar ways. The number usually comes before the noun: tres kilos de manzanas, dos litros de leche, veinte dólares, ciento cincuenta euros. When the quantity is one, you keep un or una: un dólar, una libra, un kilo.

For clock time, Spanish uses ser plus the hour: Es la una, Son las tres y cuarto, Son las ocho y media. Numbers from one to twelve stay in cardinal form; you do not need special words for first, second, and so on in this context.

Ordinal numbers appear in dates written in some styles (el primero de mayo) or in lists and rankings (la tercera planta, el quinto capítulo). For a fuller picture of how cardinals and ordinals interact, a site such as SpanishDictionary.com’s overview of Spanish numbers offers charts and short examples.

Simple Ways To Practice Spanish Number Words

Regular quick practice keeps Spanish number words fresh. A few short habits work better than rare long sessions. Here are ideas you can use on your own or with a partner.

• Count items around you each day: books on a shelf, steps on a staircase, cars in a row. Say the numbers aloud in Spanish from cero upward.
• Write small lists of prices or quantities, then rewrite them with the numbers in Spanish spelled out. Reading both versions side by side helps link digits and words.
• Pick a random year and write it in words: mil novecientos noventa y nueve, dos mil veinticuatro, dos mil treinta. Check your spelling against a trusted reference.
• Use online quizzes or worksheets that test spelling, such as printable charts or exercises based on cardinal numerals. Short bursts of recall give strong gains.
• Record yourself reading a series of numbers from a bill, receipt, or sports table, then play it back and check where you hesitated or stumbled.

As these patterns settle in, each new number feels familiar instead of new. You spot the base word, add the right ending, and write or say the form with confidence.