Numbers in Spanish: To Order Tacos!

04.26.2021

If you have street tacos track or stand near you, we highly recommend trying their foods! Not to mention they have authentic tastes and flavors, it is usually less expensive than dining in Mexican restaurant. Trying as many tacos track as possible while we are in Los Angeles might be one of our pleasures.

Another reason that I enjoy being there is to learn (or just listen to) Spanish; Most people order and converse with the vendors in Spanish. I have never tried ordering in Spanish yet, but before I leave LA, I'd like to try it at least once.

Hence, I made a memo of the minimum necessary Spanish numbers for ordering Mexican foods in Spanish. I will write about the common Spanish phrases to order the foods in another post.

0 (zero)

First, 0 (zero) is cero, easy to remember. Moving on to other numbers.

1 — 19

It looks there is no pattern from 1 to 15. But from 16 to 19, it looks like it is a combination of 10 (diez) and ones place. For example, 16 (dieciséis) is 10 (diez) + 6 (seis). 10 (diez) changes its form to dieci when combined with other digits.

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

Sound of 1 to 10:

Sound of 11 to 19:

20 — 29

From 20 to 29, again, it is 20 (veinte) + ones place. When combined, 20 (veinte) becomes veinti.

20 veinte	21 veintiuno	22 veintidós	23 veintitrés	24 veinticuatro
25 veinticinco	26 veintiséis	27 veintisiete	28 veintiocho	29 veintinueve

Sound of 20 to 29:

Above 30 to 100

Above 30, the numbers take a form of "tens place" y "ones place" (except for multiples of ten). "y" in Spanish means "and."

30 treinta	31 treinta y uno	32 treinta y dos	...	38 treinta y ocho	39 treinta y nueve
40 cuarenta	41 cuarenta y uno	42 cuarenta y dos	...	48 cuarenta y ocho	49 cuarenta y nueve

So, now we need to know how to count the multiples of ten. To make it easier to associate numbers, I put 3 to 9 above each of them.

3 tres	4 cuatro	5 cinco	6 seis
30 treinta	40 cuarenta	50 cincuenta	60 sesenta

7 siete	8 ocho	9 nueve	N/A
70 setenta	80 ochenta	90 noventa	100 cien

Sound of 30 to 100 (multiples of ten):

In my case, knowing to 100 is enough for now. So, I will end this memo here.

I will update my knowledge when necessary.