Numbers & Time
The short answer
Spanish numbers from 1 to 15 are: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince. Numbers 16–19 are fused forms (dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve) and 21–29 are also fused (veintiuno through veintinueve). To say the time, use "Es la una" for 1:00 and "Son las [hour]" for all other hours. To ask the time, say "¿Qué hora es?"
Numbers and time expressions appear in almost every real-world interaction in Spanish — from buying tickets and making appointments to reading menus and catching a bus. Building fluency with numbers early pays dividends across every other topic.
What you'll practise
10 practice scenes · CEFR A1 · Beginner
Key phrases
¿Qué hora es?
What time is it?
Son las tres y cuarto.
It is quarter past three.
3:15
Son las nueve menos veinte.
It is twenty to nine.
8:40
El vuelo sale a las catorce treinta.
The flight leaves at 14:30.
24-hour clock is common in formal contexts
Tengo veintitrés años.
I am twenty-three years old.
Use tener for age, not ser/estar
Common questions
What are the Spanish numbers from 1 to 20?
1 uno, 2 dos, 3 tres, 4 cuatro, 5 cinco, 6 seis, 7 siete, 8 ocho, 9 nueve, 10 diez, 11 once, 12 doce, 13 trece, 14 catorce, 15 quince, 16 dieciséis, 17 diecisiete, 18 dieciocho, 19 diecinueve, 20 veinte. Numbers 16–19 are fused forms of diez + y + the unit number.
How do I tell the time in Spanish?
Say "Es la una" for 1:00 (singular) and "Son las [hour]" for all other hours: "Son las tres" (It is three o'clock). For minutes past the hour: "Son las tres y cuarto" (3:15), "Son las tres y media" (3:30). For times past the half hour: "Son las cuatro menos cuarto" (3:45 — literally four minus a quarter).
How do ordinal numbers work in Spanish?
Ordinal numbers (first, second, third…) are adjectives that agree in gender and number with the noun: primero/primera (1st), segundo/segunda (2nd), tercero/tercera (3rd). Primero and tercero shorten to primer and tercer before masculine singular nouns: "el primer piso" (the first floor). Ordinals above 10th are rarely used in everyday speech.
How do I say the date in Spanish?
Spanish dates follow the order day-month-year: "el 15 de marzo de 2025" (the 15th of March 2025). Use cardinal numbers for the day — except the 1st: "el primero de enero". Months are not capitalised in Spanish: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre.
How do I express how long something takes in Spanish?
Use "tardar + time + en + infinitive": "Tardo veinte minutos en llegar" (It takes me twenty minutes to arrive). For how long something has been ongoing, use "hace + time + que + present tense": "Hace dos años que vivo aquí" (I have lived here for two years). For completed duration with the preterite, use "por": "Estudié por tres horas".
Related vocabulary topics
Grammar that supports this vocabulary
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