Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| undécimo | /unˈdeθimo/ /unˈdesimo/ |
| decimoprimero | /ˌdeθimopɾiˈmeɾo/ /ˌdesimopɾiˈmeɾo/ |
The word undécimo can also be used as a noun to mean something in the eleventh position or to refer to one of eleven equal parts of a whole.
Which one should you use?
While onceavo is often used in colloquial speech to mean 'eleventh', undécimo is the correct ordinal form for position, whereas onceavo technically refers to a fraction (one-eleventh). Additionally, decimoprimero is an alternative way to say 'eleventh', though undécimo is more common in many contexts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word undécimo changes based on gender and number: the feminine form is undécima, the masculine plural is undécimos and the feminine plural is undécimas. If you use the alternative form decimoprimero, its feminine form is decimoprimera.
How do you pronounce it?
/unˈdeθimo/
Did you know?
- The word undécimo shares a common Latin ancestor with the English word 'undecillion', a number representing a massive power of ten.
- In legal or official documents, the distinction between undécimo and onceavo is strictly enforced to prevent confusion between a sequence of events and a division of property.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, the term undécimo might be avoided entirely in favor of the phrase el número once when talking about a sequence of items.
Examples in context
- Noviembre es el undécimo mes del año.November is the eleventh month of the year.This sentence is useful for showing how to use undécimo to describe a month.Tatoeba #10091853 by Seael, translation #10234029 by Seael
- Enero es el primer mes del año, abril es el cuarto, noviembre es el undécimo y diciembre es el duodécimo.January is the first month of the year, April is the fourth, November is the eleventh, and December is the twelfth.This sentence demonstrates how to use undécimo within a sequence of ordinal numbers.Tatoeba #1187497 by nancy, translation #1550218 by Zaghawa
- El undécimo lugar en la competencia fue para Juan.The eleventh place in the competition went to Juan.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are looking at a list of winners in a contest.
- Lucía¿Quién es el undécimo ganador del torneo?Who is the eleventh winner of the tournament?
- AlejandroEs el nombre que aparece en la lista.It is the name that appears on the list.
- Lucía¡Ah, ya lo veo!Ah, I see it now!
- AlejandroÉl es un gran jugador.He is a great player.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eleventh” translations and entries undécimo, decimoprimero, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
