cien
/ˈθjen/masculine
To say hundred in Spanish, use cien. Use ciento when another number follows, as in one hundred and five. If unsure, use cien. Wiktionary also lists centena and centenada.
Meaning: cardinal number 100 (num)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cien | /ˈθjen/ /ˈsjen/ |
masculine |
| ciento | /ˈθjento/ /ˈsjento/ |
masculine |
| centena | /θenˈtena/ /senˈtena/ |
feminine, noun |
| centenada | /θentenada/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /sentenada/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine, noun |
| centenar | /θenteˈnaɾ/ /senteˈnaɾ/ |
masculine, noun |
cien is used when the number stands alone or comes right before a noun, as in a hundred dollars or a hundred years.
Which one should you use?
ciento is the form used inside larger numbers such as 105. The noun centena refers to a group or set of one hundred things.
How does it change in a sentence?
With ciento plus a number from 1 to 99, one is uno, as in ciento uno, but it shortens to un before a masculine noun such as pesos.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /ˈθjen/, which is the pronunciation of Spain with a th sound. In Latin America the word starts with an s sound instead.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use ciento for exactly a hundred on its own. Use cien there and keep ciento for numbers from 101 to 199.
Did you know?
- The word cien comes from the Latin word centum, which is the same ancestor that gave English the word 'cent' for a penny and 'century' for a hundred years.
- In Spanish, a person who has reached the age of one hundred is called a centenario or centenaria, a term that carries a specific cultural connotation of prestige and longevity.
- While cien represents an exact count, using the phrase un centenar allows a speaker to describe a vague, approximate group of 'around a hundred'.
Examples in context
- Él ahorró cien dólares.He saved a hundred dollars.Here cien comes straight before the noun for dollars.Tatoeba #693856 by Shishir, translation #288340 by CK
- Tiene más de cien años.It's more than a hundred years old.Here cien follows más de to say more than a hundred.Tatoeba #2470317 by marcelostockle, translation #2470142 by Hybrid
- Planeo vivir cien años.I plan to live to be a hundred.Here cien goes with años to talk about living to a hundred.Tatoeba #5660999 by arh, translation #5649216 by CK
- Tengo cien libros en mi biblioteca.I have one hundred books in my library.
- Tengo ciento veinte dólares.I have one hundred and twenty dollars.
- Tenemos ciento cincuenta empleados.We have one hundred and fifty employees.
- doscientas casasTwo hundred houses
- Tengo cien años.I am one hundred years old.
- Tienes ciento cincuenta problemas.You have one hundred and fifty problems.
- Hay cien manzanas en el árbol.There are one hundred apples on the tree.
- 142 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María and Javier are talking about the price of a new shirt.
- MaríaEsta camisa cuesta cien pesos.This shirt costs one hundred pesos.
- JavierEs un precio muy bueno.It is a very good price.
- MaríaSí, solo tenemos cien unidades.Yes, we only have one hundred units.
- JavierVoy a comprar una ahora.I am going to buy one now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hundred” translations and entries cien, ciento, centena, centenar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cien, ciento, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
