un billón de dólares
/un biʝon de dolaɾes/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'one trillion dollars' is translated into Spanish as un billón de dólares.
The phrase is used to express the amount of one thousand billion dollars.
Which one should you use?
English speakers often mistakenly use un trillón de dólares to mean one trillion, but in Spanish, un billón is the correct term for one million millions.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using large number words like billón to express a quantity of a noun, you must include the preposition de before the noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/un biʝon de dolaɾes/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying un trillón de dólares to mean one trillion. In Spanish, un trillón refers to a million billion billion (10^18), which is a much larger number.
Did you know?
- The root of billón comes from the Latin 'bis', meaning 'twice', which refers to the doubling of the groups of zeros compared to a million.
- The word billón belongs to the 'long scale' system, which is still the official standard for most of Europe and Latin America, while the US and UK use the 'short scale'.
- In Spanish, the logic for naming large numbers is so consistent that you can find a specific word for a number with 12 zeros, 18 zeros and 24 zeros without using 'thousand' as a modifier.
Examples in context
- El PIB de Estados Unidos alcanzó un millón de millones de dólares en el último año.The GDP of the United States reached one trillion dollars in the last year.
- El magnate posee una fortuna de un millón de millones de dólares.The tycoon owns a fortune of one trillion dollars.
- Nuestro presupuesto de inversión asciende a un millón de millones de dólares.Our investment budget amounts to one trillion dollars.
- Esa empresa tiene un billón de dólares.That company has one trillion dollars.
- El proyecto costará un billón de dólares.The project will cost one trillion dollars.
- No podemos gastar un billón de dólares.We cannot spend one trillion dollars.
Example conversation
Two economists are discussing a global financial report.
- LucíaEl presupuesto es de un billón de dólares.The budget is one trillion dollars.
- MateoEs una cantidad increíble, Lucía.It is an incredible amount, Lucía.
- LucíaMateo, es un desafío para la economía.Mateo, it is a challenge for the economy.
- MateoTienes razón, es demasiado dinero.You are right, it is too much money.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
