dieciocho
/djeˈθjot͡ʃo/
The English word 'eighteen' is translated into Spanish as dieciocho.
dieciocho is the cardinal number used to represent the quantity eighteen.
Meaning: cardinal number (num)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a combination of diez (ten) and ocho (eight), joined by a connecting vowel.
How do you pronounce it?
/djeˈθjotʃo/
Did you know?
- In Spain, the pronunciation of the c in dieciocho is a voiceless dental fricative, sounding like 'th' in 'think'. In Latin America, it is pronounced as an 's' sound.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, dieciocho is the legal age of majority, but the social transition is often marked by the quinceañera at fifteen.
- The word dieciocho is built from diez (ten) and ocho (eight) joined by the word y (and). In the transition from Old Spanish to modern Spanish, the y sound shifted to an i to make the word easier to say.
Examples in context
- Seis por tres, dieciocho.Six times three is eighteen.Tatoeba #13816357 by Seael, translation #4750416 by Ooneykcall
- Tengo más de dieciocho años.I'm over eighteen.Tatoeba #9706587 by Shishir, translation #1891101 by CK
- ¿Tienes más de dieciocho años?Are you older than eighteen years old?Tatoeba #5922463 by baudelaire, translation #5922469 by mailohilohi
- Tengo dieciocho añosI am eighteen years old
- Él tiene dieciocho añosHe is eighteen years old
- ¡ya tienes dieciocho años!you're already eighteen!
- 29 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are counting items in a box.
- ElenaHay dieciocho libros aquí.There are eighteen books here.
- Daniel¿Estás segura, Elena?Are you sure, Elena?
- ElenaSí, los conté todos.Yes, I counted them all.
- DanielPerfecto, gracias por ayudarme.Perfect, thanks for helping me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eighteen” translations and entries dieciocho, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dieciocho, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
