Count to 20 in Spanish!

Imagine you are at a busy market in Madrid, Spain. The seller holds up fingers and calls out prices. But the prices are in Spanish! Could you understand them? Let's find out how much you already know. Look at these Spanish words: uno, dos, tres. Do any of them sound like a word you have heard before? Say them out loud — uno (OO-no), dos (DOSE), tres (TRESS). Notice how some Spanish numbers sound a little like English words. That's because both languages share ancient roots.

In Spanish, every number has its own name. Let's learn them in two groups. **Group 1: uno to diez (1 to 10)** Say each number out loud as you read it. 1 — uno (OO-no) 2 — dos (DOSE) 3 — tres (TRESS) 4 — cuatro (KWAH-tro) 5 — cinco (SINK-oh) 6 — seis (SAY-ss) 7 — siete (see-EH-teh) 8 — ocho (OH-cho) 9 — nueve (noo-EH-veh) 10 — diez (dee-ETH) **Group 2: once to veinte (11 to 20)** Numbers 11 to 15 each have their own special name. Numbers 16 to 19 follow a pattern — they are built by joining diez (10) and a small linking word y seis, y siete, and so on. The word y means 'and' in Spanish. 11 — once (ON-seh) 12 — doce (DOH-seh) 13 — trece (TREH-seh) 14 — catorce (kah-TOR-seh) 15 — quince (KIN-seh) 16 — dieciséis (dee-eh-see-SAY-ss) 17 — diecisiete (dee-eh-see-see-EH-teh) 18 — dieciocho (dee-eh-see-OH-cho) 19 — diecinueve (dee-eh-see-noo-EH-veh) 20 — veinte (VAYN-teh) Tip: For 16 to 19, you can hear diez at the start and the smaller number at the end. This pattern helps you remember them! **Worked example:** Your friend says 'catorce'. What number is that? Step 1: You know catorce is in the 11–15 group. Step 2: You count through the group: once, doce, trece, catorce. Step 3: Catorce = 14. ✓