Numbers. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
I'm sure you remember these from Sesame Street or Dora. So, say them with me. Let's count.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
11 is--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
12--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
13--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
14--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
15--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Remember that the E is not silent, so you do need to pronounce it. Otherwise, [SPEAKING SPANISH] would sound just like 12, even though it's two.
[SPEAKING SPANISH] is two, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is 12. Now, for one to 15, you have to memorize the numbers. But once you get past 15, it's a matter of combining numbers you already know and just learning new tens place numbers. For example, 16 is 10 and six.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
You could write it either-- [SPEAKING SPANISH], separate word [SPEAKING SPANISH], the word "and", which is Y, and then, [SPEAKING SPANISH], the number six, or like most Spanish speakers do, you can condense that into one word. Change your Z to a C, your Y to an I, and you get [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You can write it either way, the pronunciation is the same both ways. So, next we count 10 and seven, or 17. [SPEAKING SPANISH] then, [SPEAKING SPANISH].
20 is [SPEAKING SPANISH].
Remember the V is pronounced like a B, [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So, now you just need to add on the ones place numbers.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
These can also be written out as three separate words. So, instead of [SPEAKING SPANISH], you could spell out the word "twenty", [SPEAKING SPANISH], ending in an E or [SPEAKING SPANISH], the word "and" which is E, the letter Y, and separate word [SPEAKING SPANISH]. It's your choice. Most Spanish speakers will condense them.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Our next tens place number is 30.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Now, for the 30s, you can no longer combine these into one word. So, it's 30 and one.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Now, Count up with me. All you do is add on the next number.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
The rest of the numbers follow this exact pattern. So, for 40, [SPEAKING SPANISH], you would do the same thing.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
--and so forth. So, let's learn the tens place numbers. 40--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
50--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
60--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
70--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
80--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
And 90--
[SPEAKING SPANISH].
A hundred is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. They do sometimes shorten to [SPEAKING SPANISH]. They shorten it to [SPEAKING SPANISH] when it's an even hundred of something. For example, [SPEAKING SPANISH], or [SPEAKING SPANISH]. There are a hundred pills, or a hundred tablets. Again, only when it's an even hundred-- if we had $120, we would use the full form-- [SPEAKING SPANISH].
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Now, try 200. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
300--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
400--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Now, 500 is irregular. It's not [SPEAKING SPANISH], it's [SPEAKING SPANISH], like 15 was [SPEAKING SPANISH]--
600--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
700--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
800--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
--and 900--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
And they put their numbers together the same way we do. So, you start with the largest number, and work your way down. 999 would be--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
1,000 is [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You may see the decimal point instead of the comma if a Spanish speaker writes the word or the digits for 1,000. This is because, actually, in most of the world it's done this way. We are the oddballs by doing the comma instead of the decimal point. But most who have been here long enough will recognize one, comma, zero, zero, zero as 1,000.
Don't get 1,000 and a million confused, [SPEAKING SPANISH] is 1,000, like millennium. So, it would be [SPEAKING SPANISH] for the singular. Then you just add however many thousand there are, by putting your number in front of [SPEAKING SPANISH], just like we do in English.
2000 would be--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
3,000--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
--and so forth. Just like we don't make 1,000 plural, they don't either. So, [SPEAKING SPANISH], just like it's 2,000, not 2,000s. A million-- [SPEAKING SPANISH]. Hopefully you'll not be filling that many in a day, nor will you be charging that much for the prescriptions. But nonetheless, that's how you say million. It does not have an L before the O, the double L sounds like-- [SPEAKING SPANISH] already. So, that's where you get that pronunciation.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Two million-- they do make this one plural-- [SPEAKING SPANISH]. You add an ES on the end.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
--and so forth. When they say years in Spanish, they will not combine two digits. Instead, they say it like this-- 1999 is--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
2010--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
2018-- how would you say that?
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
When they call phone numbers, however, they usually do pair them up, because in most Spanish speaking countries, there's an even number of numbers or an even number of digits in a phone number. So, they usually do pair them in that case. However, you can always just call out the numbers one digit at a time. So, to give the phone number 770-555-5555, I could say--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Or, where you have three together, you could say the first one alone and then combine the next two--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
And then--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
And then pair the next two, and the next two--
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
It's your choice. They'll understand either way. To say how many there are, use the verb [SPEAKING SPANISH]-- H-A-Y. The H is silent, so it sounds like [SPEAKING SPANISH]. So, there are 33 pills.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
It is also the singular. So, [SPEAKING SPANISH]
The chart below will help you learn how to say all of the numbers you will need to know in Spanish.
Number | English | Spanish |
---|---|---|
1 - 10 | one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten | uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez |
11-19 | eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen | once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve |
20 - 29 | twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine | veinte, veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro, veinticinco, veintiséis, veintisiete, veintiocho, veintinueve |
30 - 39 | thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine | treinta, treinta y uno, treinta y dos, treinta y tres, treinta y cuatro, treinta y cinco, treinta y seis, treinta y siete, treinta y ocho, treinta y nueve |
40 - 90 (follow the pattern for 30-39) | forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety | cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, noventa |
100 - 900 | one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred, six hundred, seven hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred | ciento, doscientos, trescientos, cuatrocientos, quinientos, seiscientos, setecientos, ochocientos, novecientos |
1,000 | one thousand | un mil |
2,000 | two thousand | dos mil |
1,000,000 | one million | un millón |
2,000,000 | two million | dos millones |
Note that the decimal and comma are the opposite in Spanish number notation: 1,000.00 (one thousand) in English is written as 1.000,00 (un mil) in Spanish notation.
1a. Expressing Years
The following chart provides examples to demonstrate how to communicate years in Spanish.
Year | English | Spanish |
---|---|---|
1999 | nineteen ninety-nine | mil novecientos noventa y nueve |
2010 | two thousand ten | dos mil diez |
1b. Stating How Many There Are
The following chart provides an example with the necessary vocabulary for stating how many of something there are.
Amount | English | Spanish |
---|---|---|
33 | There are thirty-three pills. | Hay treinta y tres píldoras. |
If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact SpanishforNursesSupport@capella.edu for assistance.
If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.
Source: This content has been adapted from "Spanish for Nurses" by Stephanie Langston.