Spanish Numbers: How to Count from 0 – 1,000+ in Spanish

By the end of this article, you will know how to write, pronounce and understand Spanish numbers, specifically how to count from 0 – 1,000+ in Spanish!

Learning how to count and say specific numbers is a key part of any language. Not only does it come in handy when quantifying something, but it is also needed when we refer to dates, times, saying how old we are etc…

Learning Spanish can be tough, but learning to count in Spanish is not difficult.

There are certain numbers that you simply need to remember, but the vast majority of numbers in Spanish between 1 – 100 are part of a simple pattern.

So, let’s get going and discover how to count from 0 – 1,000+ in Spanish.

Spanish for “One”: Un, Uno, or Una?

If you have been learning Spanish for a while, or if you have been using travel-lingual as a source to learn, then you may have noticed that Spanish doesn’t distinguish between “one” and “a” in the same way that English does.

“Un coche” can mean “a car” or “one car”.

It’s important to note that the word uno changes to match the gender of the noun it describes.

Before a feminine noun, it becomes una.

Before a masculine noun, you drop the o and just use un.

The examples below should be useful for you.

Un coche – a car/one car. Drop the “o” from “uno” because it’s followed by a masculine noun.

Una casa – a house/one house. Change “uno” to “una” because it’s followed by a feminine noun.

Tengo uno – “I have one”. “Uno” is unchanged because it’s not followed by a noun.

“¿Hay dudas?” “Sí, hay una.” – “Any doubts?” “Yes, there is one”.

In this case you use una because you’re referring to a duda (doubt), which is a feminine word.

Spanish for 100: Cien or Ciento? Spanish Numbers – Counting from 100 to 199 in Spanish

It is worth remembering at this early stage that the number 100 can be translated into Spanish as either cien or ciento.

There is a difference between the two.

You should use ‘cien’ when there are exactly one hundred of something in quantity.

For example:

Cien coches = one hundred cars
Cien casas = one hundred houses

‘Ciento’ is used if it is forming a larger number, however.

For example:

‘one hundred and one’ = ciento uno.

Forming large numbers, like the vast majority of numbers in Spanish between 0 – 100, is relatively straightforward.

Again, you are just remembering a simple pattern, or set of rules.

For numbers from 100 to 199, use ciento:

102 = ciento dos

125 = ciento veinticinco

187 = ciento ochenta y siete.

You will see here that we do not add ‘y’ after ciento – it’s ciento dos, not ciento y dos.

Counting from 200 to 999 in Spanish

What about numbers between 200 and 999?

Just as we learnt the multiples of 10 in the first section of this text, we must now learn the multiples of 100.

You will see below that this is really straightforward.

200 = doscientos
300 = trescientos
400 = cuatrocientos
500 = quinientos
600 = seiscientos
700 = setecientos
800 = ochocientos
900 = novecientos

Do You Spot Any Irregularities?

Do you spot any irregularities here?

You may have seen that 500 (quinientos), 700 (setecientos) and 900 (novecientos) have their own pattern.

That is to say, they are not ‘cincocientos’ ‘sietecientos’ and ‘nuevecientos.’

It is definitely worth remembering that these eight Spanish numbers (doscientos, trescientos, cuatrocientos, quinientos, seiscientos, setecientos, ochocientos and novecientos) have masculine and feminine forms.

Therefore, they must agree with the noun:

For example:

setecientas casas = seven hundred houses
ochocientos coches = eight hundred cars

In order to say or spell the Spanish numbers between 200 and 300, all you need to do is follow the same patterns as for 100 (ciento):

201 = doscientos uno
202 = doscientos dos
220 = doscientos veinte
221 = doscientos veintiuno
225 = doscientos veinticinco
238 = doscientos treinta y ocho

Spanish Numbers From 1 Thousand to 1 Million

1,000+

From this point, as you’ve learned every Spanish number up until one thousand, there are only two new words that you will need to learn.

These are mil (1,000) and un millón (1,000,000).

Note that 1,000 is mil, not un mil – whereas for un millón, you can’t leave out the un.

The only time you’ll see un mil is in numbers like treinta y un mil (31,000).

Now, you need to put an un in this number to distinguish it from treinta mil (30,000).

When you’re just talking about 1,000 with nothing the “ten-thousands” column, write mil, with no un.

It is very easy to form new numbers with mil and un millón.

The numbers below provide some examples of this:

1,000 = mil
1,001 = mil uno (not “mil y uno”!)
1,500 = mil quinientos
1,787 = mil setecientos setenta y siete
2,001 = dos mil uno
30,000 = treinta mil
43,000 = cuarenta y tres mil
100,000 = cien mil
583,383 = quinientos ochenta y tres mil trescientos ochenta y tres
1,000,000 = un millón
4,000,000 = cuatro millones
7,493,000 = siete millones cuatrocientos noventa y tres mil
9,651,933 = nueve millones seiscientos cincuenta y un mil novecientos treinta y tres (Now that is a mouthful!)

Finally, note that when you’re using un millón or millones with a noun, you must use de.

For example, “one million cars” is un millón de coches. The literal translation is “one million of cars.”

Do you want to learn Spanish fast? Get off to the perfect start with Spanish for Beginners with James. It includes fun, easy to follow lessons on Spanish numbers.

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