dieciséis
/djeθiseis/from spelling rules
The Spanish word dieciséis means sixteen.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a contraction of the older form diez y seis, which literally means ten and six.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word dieciséis always carries a written accent on the 'e' to indicate that the stress is on the final syllable.
How do you pronounce it?
/djeθiseis/
Did you know?
- While dieciséis is standard today, Old Spanish once used the word seze or sedze for sixteen, which more closely resembles the Latin sēdecim.
Examples in context
- Tengo dieciséis años.I am sixteen years old.
- Hoy es el dieciséis de mayo.Today is the sixteenth of May.
- Necesito dieciséis dólares para comprar esto.I need sixteen dollars to buy this.
- Hay dieciséis sillas en la sala.There are sixteen chairs in the room.
- El libro tiene dieciséis páginas.The book has sixteen pages.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are talking about their siblings' ages.
- Alejandro¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermano?How old is your brother?
- LucíaÉl tiene dieciséis años ahora.He is sixteen years old now.
- AlejandroYa está muy mayor.He is already very grown up.
- LucíaSí, crece muy rápido.Yes, he grows very fast.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dieciséis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
