Do you know the cardinal and ordinal numbers in Spanish? Learning Spanish numbers is one of the first steps in mastering the language well. To determine which number to use, you will need to ask yourself first ‘what is ordinal numbers and cardinal numbers?’

With this iScribo post you will learn ordinal and cardinal numbers in Spanish. Read on to learn more about this topic.

Cardinal Numbers in Spanish

Cardinal numbers are a type of natural numbers that we use to count the elements that exist in a group or set. Among the characteristics of cardinal numbers, we can mention that they represent the number of things in a total.

For example: uno (one), dos (two), tres (three), quinientos cincuenta y siete (five hundred and fifty-seven), cinco mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos (five thousand four hundred and ninety-two), and so on.

Nos compramos un coche la semana pasada. (We bought a -one- car last week.)

En el frutero hay quince peras, veintidós fresas y cuatro manzanas. (In the fruit bowl there are fifteen pears, twenty-two strawberries and four apples.)

Cardinal numbers are divided into odd and even numbers.

Even numbers: cero (zero), dos (two), cuatro (four), seis (six) and so on.

Odd: uno (one), tres (three), cinco (five), siete (seven) and so on.

List of Ordinal Numbers in Spanish

Ordinal numbers express order or succession within the natural numbers and indicate the place they occupy within a series. In other words, they are used to indicate position. Note that ordinal numbers vary in gender and number depending on the context and the word they accompany.

For example: primero (first), segunda (second), vigésimos (twentieth), quincuagésimo segundo (fifty-second), and so on.

Remember that the suffix -avo is considered incorrect as an ordinal number and is only used with fractional numbers, so we would say decimoquinto (fifteenth) and not quinceavo.

Quedó octavo en la carrera. (He came eighth in the race.)

Vivimos en el trigésimo segundo piso de la torre norte. (We live on the thirty-second floor of the north tower.)

iScribo Teaches and Helps You

The higher the number, the more difficult it is to write it, and we are aware that ordinal numbers are also more difficult to write than cardinals.

Don’t be discouraged, once you learn how to write the natural numbers and become familiar with the suffixes, you will see that they are all written in the same way.

A trick to make sure you never make a mistake is to use a spelling and grammar checker to help you clarify and learn them well from the very first moment. Have you tried iScribo yet? Tell us about it in the comments.