An ordinal number is defined as a number that tells the position or order of something in a list. In this article, you will find a vocabulary list of ordinal numbers in Spanish, their abbreviations, and guides on how to use Spanish ordinal numbers in a sentence.
Ordinal numbers vocabulary list from first to tenth - Primero to Décimo
- Ordinal number - número ordinal
- First - primero
- Second - segundo
- Third - tercero
- Fourth - Cuarto
- Fifth - quinto
- Sixth - sexto
- Seventh - séptimo
- Eighth - octavo
- Ninth - noveno
- Tenth - décimo
And as you might already know, Spanish is an inflected language which forms of words change depending on gender or nouns, etc. Ordinal numbers in Spanish is not an exception. Unlike in English when form of ordinal numbers always stays the same in every sentence, Spanish ones change their form since they match the nouns they modify in both number and gender.
For example:
Los primeros días de nuestras vacaciones fueron fantásticos - The first days of our vacation were fantastic.
Fuimos las primeras personas invitadas a la fiesta - We were the first people invited to the party.
Another thing that you should bear in mind is that, “primero” and “tercero” will be, respectively, shortened to “primer” and “tercer” when they come before nouns that are singular and masculine.
For example: el primer president - the first president
Ordinal numbers in Spanish from eleventh to ninth - Decimoprimero to Decimonoveno
- Eleventh – decimoprimero / undécimo
- Twelfth – decimosegundo / duodécimo
- Thirteenth - decimotercero
- Fourteenth - decimocuarto
- Fifteenth - decimoquinto
- Sixteenth - decimosexto
- Seventeenth - decimoséptimo
- Eighteenth - decimoctavo
- Nineteenth - decimonoveno
Formula for the formation of Spanish ordinal numbers from eleventh to nineteenth:
Décimo + ordinal number from first to tenth
Ordinal numbers in Spanish divisible by 10
- Twentieth - vigésimo
- Thirtieth - trigésimo
- Fortieth - cuadragésimo
- Fiftieth - quincuagésimo
- Sixtieth - sexagésimo
- Seventieth - septuagésimo
- Eightieth – octogésimo
- Ninetieth – nonagésimo
Formula for the forming of ordinal numbers from twentieth to ninety-ninth:
Base number (divisible by 10) + ordinal number from first to tenth
Examples:
twenty-thirth: vigésimo + tercero = vigésimo tercero
thirty-seventh: trigésimo + séptimo = trigésimo séptimo
Spanish ordinal numbers above 100
- Hundredth - centésimo
- Two hundredth - ducentésimo
- Three hundredth - tricentésimo
- Ffour hundredth - cuadringentésimo
- Five hundredth - quingentésimo
- Six hundredth - sexcentésimo
- Seven hundredth – septingentésimo
- Eight hundredth - octingentésimo
- Nine hundredth - noningentésimo
- Thousandth – milésimo
Ordinal numbers from 101 to 999 are formed by writing out each successive ordinal numbers as a separate word.
For example:
Three hundred ninety-fifth: tricentésimo + nonagésimo + quinto = tricentésimo nonagésimo Quinto
See also: Numbers in Spanish
Spanish ordinal number abbreviations
Formula for Spanish ordinal number abbreviation form:
For masculine ordinal numbers*: numeral + . + superscript o
For primer and all numbers ending in primer = numeral + . + superscript er
For tercer and all numbers ending in tercer = numeral + . + superscript er
For feminine ordinal numbers: numeral + . + superscript a
Examples:
1st - 1.º
10th page - 10.ª página
Placement of ordinal numbers in Spanish language
1. Spanish ordinal numbers often come before nouns they modify. However, when translating from Spanish to English, if the noun refers to a member of the royalty, a street name, etc, the ordinal adjective will go after.
For example: Carlos the Fifth – Carlos Quinto
2. If cardinal and ordinal numbers appear together, the cardinal number will come before the ordinal number.
For example:
I love the first two scenes - Me encantan las dos primeras escenas.