Numbers turn up everywhere: prices at a market, a bus time, your age, a birthday. Get the patterns and you can say almost any number.
0 to 31
- 1–10: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez
- 11–15: once, doce, trece, catorce, quince
- 16–19: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve ("ten and six", written as one word)
- 20–29: veinte, veintiuno, veintidós… (one word)
- 30 onwards: separate words with y: treinta y uno, cuarenta y cinco
- 100: cien, which becomes ciento before another number: ciento veinte (120)
Days and months
lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo. The week starts on Monday, and days and months don't take capital letters.
- "On Monday" is el lunes: Te veo el lunes (see you on Monday).
- "On Mondays" is los lunes: Tengo clase los lunes.
Dates
The pattern is el + number + de + month: el cinco de mayo (5 May). For the first of the month, most of Latin America says el primero; in Spain el uno is common too.
The time
- ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
- Son las tres. It's three o'clock.
- Es la una. It's one o'clock (singular, because it's one hour).
- Son las cuatro y media. It's half past four.
Your age
Spanish uses tener (to have): Tengo quince años, literally "I have fifteen years". Ask: ¿Cuántos años tienes?
Mistakes learners make
- "Soy 15 años." Age uses tener: tengo 15 años.
- "En lunes." Use the article: el lunes.
- "Son las una." One o'clock is singular: es la una.
- Capital letters on days and months. Spanish writes them in lower case.
Try it
Say today's day and date out loud: "Hoy es… , el… de…". Then say your age and your birthday. ¿Cómo se dice "It's half past two"?