How to Count to Ten in Spanish (Plus More Numbers Up to 100!)

When you start learning Spanish, one of the first things you'll master is how to count. This skill serves as a building block to other aspects of the language. Once you know numbers, you'll be able to quantify groups of things as well as understand how much items cost when you go shopping! Start small and learn to count up to 10 in Spanish, and from there you’ll be able to form other numbers more easily.

Counting in Spanish: #s 1-10

These are the numbers 1-10 in Spanish: uno (OO-noh), dos (dohs), tres (trays), cuatro (KWAH-troh), cinco (SEEN-koh), seis (says), siete (see-EY-tay), ocho (OH-choh), nueve (noo-EY-vay), and diez (dee-ACE).

Section 1 of 6:

Numbers 1-10 in Spanish

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Start with “uno” (1) and count up to “diez” (10) in Spanish. Below you’ll find a handy list of the numbers 1-10, along with their Spanish translations and pronunciations. ^{[1]
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Research source} Review this list and practice saying them out loud until you’ve committed them to memory and can say them without consulting the list. It may also help to break the numbers up into smaller chunks (e.g., 1-5, 6-10) to give you less to learn at a time. ^{[2]
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- 1 in Spanish: uno, (OO-noh) .
- 2 in Spanish: dos, (dohs) .
- 3 in Spanish: tres, (trays) .
- 4 in Spanish: cuatro, (KWAH-troh) .
- 5 in Spanish: cinco, (SEEN-koh) .
- 6 in Spanish: seis, (says) .
- 7 in Spanish: siete, (see-EY-tay) .
- 8 in Spanish: ocho, (OH-choh) .
- 9 in Spanish: nueve, (noo-EY-vay) .
- 10 in Spanish: diez, (dee-ACE) .

Section 2 of 6:

Further Learning: Numbers 11-100 in Spanish

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1
Spanish Numbers 11-15 There's no point in stopping once you've learned to count up to 10 in Spanish! Using the same strategy of repeated pronunciation that you did when you learned to count to ten, learn the Spanish words for the numbers 11 through 15: ^{[3]
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- For eleven (11), say once ( OHN-say ).
- For twelve (12), say doce ( DOH-say ).
- For thirteen (13), say trece ( TRAY-say ).
- For fourteen (14), say catorce ( kah-TOHR-say ).
- For fifteen (15), say quince ( KEEN-say ).
2
Spanish Numbers 16-19 Moving on to even higher numbers in the Spanish language, you can learn to say 16, 17, 18, and 19 in Spanish! These numbers are all formed in the same way: by combining diez (“10”) + y (“and”) + the Spanish word for the second digit in the number (i.e., 6, 7, 8, or 9). The resulting Spanish translations and pronunciations for numbers 16-19 look like this: ^{[4]
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- Sixteen (16) is dieciséis ( dee-EH-see-SAYS ).
- Seventeen (17) is diecisiete ( dee-EH-see-EY-tay ).
- Eighteen (18) dieciocho ( dee-EH-see-OH-cho ).
- Nineteen (19) is diecinueve ( dee-EH-see-noo-EY-vay ).
3
Spanish Numbers 20-29 Counting from 20-29 in Spanish follows a very similar pattern as counting from 16-19. Instead of using diez (“10”) as the base number, however, you’ll use the Spanish word for 20! 20 in Spanish is veinte , making the rest of the numbers as follows: ^{[5]
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- Twenty-one (21) is veintiuno ( bayn-tee-OO-noh ).
- Twenty-two (22) is veintidós ( bayn-tee-DOHS).
- Twenty-three (23) veintitrés ( bayn-tee-TRACE ).
- Twenty-four (24) is veinticuatro ( bayn-tee-KWAH-troh ).
- Twenty-five (25) is veinticinco ( bayn-tee-SEEN-koh').
- Twenty-six (26) is veintiséis ( bayn-tee-SAYS ).
- Twenty-seven (27) veintisiete ( bayn-tee-see-EY-tay ).
- Twenty-eight (28) is veintiocho ( bayn-tee-OH-cho ).
- Twenty-nine (29) is veintinueve ( bayn-tee-noo-EY-vay ).
4
Spanish Numbers 30-100 Once you’ve made your way up to 30 in Spanish, it’s easy to count the rest of the way to 100! In order to do that, you have to start by memorizing the base numbers to count in 10s (e.g., 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90). After learning each of these “tens” numbers, you can say any other number between 30-99 by saying the base number, then y (“and”), and the Spanish word for the second digit of the number. 31 in Spanish, for example, is treinta y uno —literally “thirty and one.” ^{[6]
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- For thirty (30), say treinta ( TRAYN-tah ).
- For forty (40), say cuarenta ( kwah-RAYN-tah ).
- For fifty (50), say cincuenta ( seen-koo-AYN-tah ).
- For sixty (60), say sesenta ( say-SAYN-tah ).
- For seventy (70), say setenta ( say-TAYN-tah ).
- For eighty (80), say ochenta ( oh-CHAYN-tah ).
- For ninety (90), say noventa ( noh-BAYN-tah ).
- For ninety (100), say cien ( see-EYN ).

Section 3 of 6:

Perfecting Your Pronunciation

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1
Review the Spanish alphabet and basic accentuation rules. Spanish is a phonetic language, meaning the pronunciation is fairly simple as long as you know how each letter of the alphabet is pronounced. Take some time to review the Spanish alphabet and how each letter is pronounced in a word.
- Make sure to also pay attention to accented letters—if you see an accent mark over a letter, it tells you that you are supposed to stress or emphasize that syllable when you pronounce the word.
- Some Spanish words are spelled the same way, but mean entirely different things depending on which syllable is stressed. ^{[7]
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- The essential accentuation rule in Spanish is that if the word ends in a vowel, an n , or an s , you'll put stress on the last syllable. However, if the word has an accent mark, you stress that syllable and ignore the general rule.
- For example, in your numbers, you may have noticed an accent in the word for sixteen (16), dieciséis . This means that you should stress the syllable with an accent, which is the last syllable.
2
Consume Spanish-language TV, films, and music. Listening to people speak and sing Spanish can help you understand more about how the words fit together and how they're said in the context of normal conversation or dialogue. In TV shows and movies, actors often speak slowly and with a lot of purpose, which may make it easier for you to learn the language. Music can also be an easy route to learning Spanish pronunciation due to the rhythm and repetitiveness of the lyrics. ^{[8]
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- You may not understand exactly what something means, but the important part when you're just beginning to learn Spanish is to listen to the way the words are pronounced and how the language sounds.
- Keep in mind that Spanish is spoken in many countries all over the world, giving rise to multiple dialects and variations. Even for a native speaker, someone from another country can be difficult to understand
3
Talk to native speakers. When you're learning any no language, there's nothing better to enhance your understanding of the language and the way the words are spoken than to talk to people who are fluent in the language.
- Native speakers also can correct your pronunciation and give you tips on how to pronounce the words correctly.
- Particularly if you have another language in common, a native speaker may be able to give you tips on how to pronounce words in Spanish that you wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.

Section 4 of 6:

Using Numbers 1-10 in Spanish

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1
Ordering food One of the most common (and most delicious) applications for counting in Spanish is to order a certain number of food items. Whether you’re looking to order tacos, empanadas, churros, or a steaming cup of coffee, being able to provide the number of items that you want is a pretty good skill to have. Here are some examples of how to use numbers to order food in Spanish :
- I’ll have six ham croquettes. = Me das seis croquetas de jamón.
- Three coffees with milk, please. = Tres cafés con leche, por favor.
- I’d like two cookies and one glass of milk. = Me gustaría dos galletas y un vaso de leche.
2
Talking about your age As you may have guessed, another popular way to use numbers in Spanish is to tell your age. While the numbers 1-10 may help you here if you’re still within that age group, you’ll need some more advanced numbers if you’re a bit older! To tell your own age in Spanish, say “Yo tengo ___ años” with your age in the blank. ^{[9]
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- For example, if you’re 8 years old, you’d say “Yo tengo ocho años. If you’re 60 years old, you’d say “Yo tengo sesenta años.
- The full phrase is pronounced “yo TAYN-goh ___ AHN-yos.” Be sure to pronounce the tilde mark on the “n” in años , otherwise you’ll be saying a whole different word!
- If you want to tell someone else’s age, you can say “Él/ella tiene ___ años” (“He/she is ___ years old”), pronounced “ehl/EY-yah tee-AYN-ey ___ AHN-yos.”
3
Saying the date You can also use your new ability to count in Spanish to share the date in Spanish —but you may want to learn the months in Spanish as well! To tell someone what day it is, use this phrase: “Hoy es el (number) de (month) ” . Hoy (pronounced “oy”) means “today,” so this entire phrase means “Today is the ___ of ____.” ^{[10]
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- For example, if the date is February second, you’d say “Hoy es el dos de febrero ” .
- Here’s a full list of the months in Spanish to help you get started:
  - January: enero, (ey-NEHR-oh) .
  - February: febrero, (fehb-RARE-oh) .
  - March: marzo, (MAHR-soh) .
  - April: abril, (ah-BREEL) .
  - May: mayo, (MY-oh) .
  - June: junio, (HOO-nee-oh) .
  - July: julio, (HOO-lee-oh) .
  - August: agosto, (ah-GOH-stoh) .
  - September: septiembre, (seyp-tee-EYM-bray) .
  - October: octubre, (ohk-TOO-bray) .
  - November: noviembre, (noh-vee-EYM-bray) .
  - December: diciembre, (dee-see-EYM-bray) .

Section 5 of 6:

What’s the difference between un, uno, and una?

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Un, uno, and una are alternately used based on gender and grammar. Spanish is a grammatically gendered language, meaning that all nouns (i.e., persons, places, and things) have a gender. So, all of the articles we use to describe them (like “a,” “an,” and “the”) must change to match their gender. ^{[11]
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- When we talk about having one thing in Spanish, we use un or una , which can both mean either “a/an” or “one.” Un is used in front of masculine nouns, while una is feminine—here are some examples:
  - Do you have a banana? = ¿Tienes un plátano?
  - Yes, I have a banana. = Sí, tengo un plátano
  - I have one banana. = Tengo un plátano.
  - Do you have a pineapple? = ¿Tienes una piña?
  - Yes, I have a pineapple. = Sí, tengo una piña.
  - I have one pineapple. = Tengo una piña.
- So when do you use uno ? Uno means “one” in Spanish, and it’s also masculine. It can be used to count objects, like you would when saying you have one thing. However, it can’t be placed directly in front of a noun—you’d use un in these cases. Here are some examples:
  - Do you have a banana? = ¿Tienes un plátano?
  - Yes, I have one. = Sí, tengo uno .
  - Do you have a pineapple? = ¿Tienes una piña?
  - Yes, I have one. = Sí, tengo una .

Section 6 of 6:

What are cardinal vs. ordinal numbers in Spanish?

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Cardinal numbers are for counting, while ordinal numbers describe sequences. Cardinal numbers are probably what first come to your mind when you think of numbers: e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. These numbers are used for describing an amount of items, telling the time, sharing your age, and more! Ordinal numbers, on the other hand, typically only go up to 10 and are used to discuss sequential items such as rankings in a contest, the floors of a building, or the order of objects in a list. ^{[12]
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- In English, ordinal numbers include “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc.”
- Here are some examples of cardinal numbers in context:
  - There are two butterflies. = Hay dos mariposas.
  - I’m 10 years old. = Tengo diez años.
  - It’s 5 o’clock. = Son las cinco .
- Here are some examples of ordinal numbers in context:
  - He placed first. = El quedó primero .
  - It’s on the third floor. = Está en el tercero piso.
  - It’s the tenth restaurant on the list. = Es el décimo restaurante de la lista.

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Where can I learn to speak Spanish online?

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One of the most commonly used websites is Duolingo.

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"Cien" is 100 in Spanish. And if you're counting from 100 up, you would use "ciento" plus the next number, such "ciento uno," etc.

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The number five is called "cinco" (you pronounce it like SEEN-CO) in Spanish.

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Try incorporating the Spanish words for numbers into your everyday life by thinking of the Spanish word for a number when you're looking at any number of items. For example, if you have a bowl of fruit in your kitchen with 2 apples, 3 bananas, and 7 oranges, you might think to yourself that there are dos apples, tres bananas, and siete oranges. It doesn't matter whether you know the Spanish words for those fruits!

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Find another friend who speaks Spanish or is trying to learn and play a game of UNO together. Since the game is mostly numbers 1-10, you can play the game in Spanish to practice!
Try copying the numbers on a piece of paper over and over to help you memorize them!

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How to Count to Ten in Spanish (Plus More Numbers Up to 100!)

Counting in Spanish: #s 1-10

Steps

Numbers 1-10 in Spanish

Further Learning: Numbers 11-100 in Spanish

Perfecting Your Pronunciation

Using Numbers 1-10 in Spanish

What’s the difference between un, uno, and una?

What are cardinal vs. ordinal numbers in Spanish?

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Tips from our Readers

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