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Spanish Numbers Practice

Veintiún libros, cien euros, doscientas personas, mil novecientos noventa y dos — Spanish numbers hide more grammar than you'd expect. Drill all the traps with 30 exercises and instant explanations.

30 exercises~9 min to completeA1 – A2 level
IRead first

The rule, in plain English.

Spanish numbers look easy until the details bite. From 16 to 29 you write one word — dieciséis, veintidós — and veintidós, veintitrés and veintiséis carry accents. From 31 up you switch to three words with y: treinta y uno. But that y only lives between tens and units, so 105 is ciento cinco, never "ciento y cinco." Uno changes shape: un before a masculine noun (veintiún libros) and una before a feminine one (cuarenta y una páginas).

Exactly 100 is cien; from 101 to 199 it becomes ciento. Hundreds agree in gender — doscientas personas, quinientos euros — and 500, 700 and 900 are irregular: quinientos, setecientos, novecientos. Mil never pluralizes in counting (dos mil, not "dos miles") and never takes un, while millón needs de before a noun: un millón de habitantes. Add the ordinals primero–décimo, with primer and tercer shortening before masculine singular nouns, plus dates and years, and you have everything this drill covers.

30 exercises below. Read the explanation after each answer — that's where the rule sinks in.

IIQuick reference
0–30: one word, watch the accents16–29 fuse into a single word
01
16–19 start with dieci-
dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve
02
21–29 start with veinti-
veintiuno, veinticuatro, veintinueve
03
accents on 22, 23, 26
veintidós, veintitrés, veintiséis
04
31+ splits into three words with y
treinta y uno, cuarenta y ocho
05
no y between hundreds and units
ciento cinco (never "ciento y cinco")
uno, cien and the hundreds change shapenumbers agree with the noun they count
01
un before masculine nouns
veintiún libros, treinta y un días
02
una before feminine nouns
cuarenta y una páginas
03
cien = exactly 100; ciento in 101–199
cien euros, ciento veinte euros
04
hundreds agree in gender
doscientas personas, doscientos coches
05
irregular hundreds
quinientos, setecientos, novecientos
mil and millón
  • mil, dos mil, diez mildos mil euros (never "dos miles")
  • no un before milmil euros (never "un mil euros")
  • millón + de + nounun millón de habitantes
  • millones in the pluralocho millones de personas
Ordinals, dates and years
  • ordinals primero–décimoprimero, segundo, tercero... décimo
  • primer / tercer before masc. sing. nounsel primer piso, el tercer día
  • dates take cardinal numbersel quince de mayo
  • years are full numbersmil novecientos noventa y dos (1992)
  • time uses y and menoslas tres y cuarto, las ocho menos diez
IIIPractice exercises

Practice.

Answer first, then read the explanation. Don't skip it — that's the whole point.

Exercise 01 of 30Tag: 16 is one word
Fill in the blank

Mi prima tiene _____ años. (16)

My cousin is sixteen years old.

Exercise 02 of 30Tag: 22 with accent
Fill in the blank

En la clase hay _____ estudiantes. (22)

There are twenty-two students in the class.

Exercise 03 of 30Tag: 31+ with y
Fill in the blank

Veintinueve, treinta, _____, treinta y dos...

Twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two...

Exercise 04 of 30Tag: veintiún before masculine noun
Fill in the blank

Compré _____ libros en la feria.

I bought twenty-one books at the fair.

Exercise 05 of 30Tag: una before feminine noun
Fill in the blank

La revista tiene cuarenta y _____ páginas.

The magazine has forty-one pages.

Exercise 06 of 30Tag: cien for exactly 100
Fill in the blank

Hay exactamente _____ personas en la sala.

There are exactly one hundred people in the room.

Exercise 07 of 30Tag: no y after ciento
Fill in the blank

El hotel tiene _____ habitaciones. (105)

The hotel has one hundred and five rooms.

Exercise 08 of 30Tag: hundreds agree in gender
Fill in the blank

Vinieron _____ personas a la boda. (200)

Two hundred people came to the wedding.

Exercise 09 of 30Tag: irregular 500
Fill in the blank

El billete de avión cuesta _____ euros. (500)

The plane ticket costs five hundred euros.

Exercise 10 of 30Tag: mil never pluralizes
Fill in the blank

El pueblo tiene dos _____ habitantes. (2,000)

The village has two thousand inhabitants.

Exercise 11 of 30Tag: no un before mil
Fill in the blank

El coche de segunda mano cuesta _____ euros. (1,000)

The second-hand car costs one thousand euros.

Exercise 12 of 30Tag: millón + de
Fill in the blank

La ciudad tiene un millón _____ habitantes.

The city has one million inhabitants.

Exercise 13 of 30Tag: primer before masc. sing. noun
Fill in the blank

Vivo en el _____ piso, sin ascensor.

I live on the first floor, with no lift.

Exercise 14 of 30Tag: tercera keeps full form
Fill in the blank

Es la _____ vez que te lo digo.

It's the third time I've told you.

Exercise 15 of 30Tag: dates use cardinals
Fill in the blank

Mi cumpleaños es el _____ de mayo. (15th)

My birthday is on the fifteenth of May.

Exercise 16 of 30Tag: 26 with accent
Fill in the blank

Mi hermano tiene _____ años. (26)

My brother is twenty-six years old.

Exercise 17 of 30Tag: irregular 700
Fill in the blank

La entrada para el festival costó _____ euros. (700)

The festival ticket cost seven hundred euros.

Exercise 18 of 30Tag: irregular 900 + gender
Fill in the blank

La novela tiene _____ páginas. (900)

The novel has nine hundred pages.

Exercise 19 of 30Tag: Reading years
Choose the correct sentence

How do you say the year 1992 in Spanish?

Saying the year 1992.

Exercise 20 of 30Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which sentence has a number error?

Spot the number mistake.

Exercise 21 of 30Tag: reading 2015
Fill in the blank

Este ordenador costó _____ euros. (2,015)

This computer cost two thousand and fifteen euros.

Exercise 22 of 30Tag: ordinal décima
Fill in the blank

La oficina está en la _____ planta. (10th)

The office is on the tenth floor.

Exercise 23 of 30Tag: the 1st of the month
Fill in the blank

El _____ de enero es festivo en toda España.

The first of January is a public holiday in all of Spain.

Exercise 24 of 30Tag: telling the time
Fill in the blank

Son las siete _____ cuarto de la tarde.

It's a quarter past seven in the evening.

Exercise 25 of 30Tag: Spelling check
Choose the correct sentence

Which number is spelled correctly?

Pick the correctly spelled number.

Exercise 26 of 30Tag: quinientas feminine
Fill in the blank

En el concierto había _____ mujeres. (500)

There were five hundred women at the concert.

Exercise 27 of 30Tag: millones plural
Fill in the blank

En la capital viven ocho _____ de personas.

Eight million people live in the capital.

Exercise 28 of 30Tag: 76 with y
Fill in the blank

Hay _____ alumnos en la lista. (76)

There are seventy-six students on the list.

Exercise 29 of 30Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which sentence is wrong?

Spot the wrong sentence.

Exercise 30 of 30Tag: Choose the sentence
Choose the correct sentence

Which sentence is correct?

He was born in nineteen eighty-five.

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Questions answered

Common questions.

When are Spanish numbers written as one word?+

From 16 to 29: dieciséis, diecisiete, veintiuno, veintinueve. Remember the accents on veintidós, veintitrés and veintiséis. From 31 upwards you switch to three words with y: treinta y uno, cuarenta y ocho, noventa y nueve.

What's the difference between cien and ciento?+

Cien is exactly 100, alone or right before a noun: cien euros, cien personas. Ciento appears inside 101–199: ciento cinco, ciento veinte. And note there's no y after the hundred: ciento cinco, never "ciento y cinco."

Why is it doscientas personas and not doscientos?+

The hundreds from 200 to 900 agree in gender with the noun they count: doscientos coches but doscientas personas, quinientos euros but quinientas páginas. Also memorize the three irregular hundreds: quinientos (500), setecientos (700) and novecientos (900).

Why can't I say "dos miles" or "un mil"?+

In counting, mil is invariable: mil, dos mil, cien mil. It never pluralizes and never takes un — "un mil euros" is a direct translation error. Millón behaves differently because it's a noun: it pluralizes (dos millones) and needs de before a noun (un millón de habitantes).

How do I say dates and years?+

Dates use cardinal numbers: el quince de mayo, el veintiocho de febrero. Only the 1st optionally uses an ordinal: el primero (or el uno) de enero. Years are read as full numbers: mil novecientos noventa y dos (1992), dos mil veinticuatro (2024) — never split English-style.

Are these exercises free?+

Yes. All 30 exercises run right in your browser, need no signup, and give you a clear explanation after every answer.