un billón
/un biʝon/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for one trillion is un billón.
The term refers to the number 1,000,000,000,000. In colloquial settings, if you want to refer to an extremely large, unquantifiable number, you can use the phrase un montón to mean loads.
Which one should you use?
It is important to note that in Spanish, un billón refers to a million millions (10^12), which matches the English one trillion. This differs from the English one billion, which is translated as mil millones in Spanish.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the term un billón is recommended following the long scale system.
How do you pronounce it?
/un biʝon/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use un billón to mean one billion (10^9). In Spanish, un billón is a much larger number (10^12).
Did you know?
- While un billón is the standard in Spain, the influence of US English often leads to 'billion' being used incorrectly in Latin American business contexts.
- The word billón is a direct relative of the French word billion, which was borrowed into Spanish.
- The phrase un billón is formally recommended by the Royal Spanish Academy to maintain the long scale system across all Spanish-speaking countries.
Examples in context
- Según las estimaciones económicas, la deuda nacional asciende a un billón de dólares.According to economic estimates, the national debt amounts to one trillion dollars.
- Tenemos un montón de problemas en el país. Eso cuesta como mil billones de pesos resolverlos.We have loads of problems in the country, it costs like a trillion pesos to solve them.
- Esa empresa tiene un billón de pesos.That company has one trillion pesos.
- La deuda alcanzó un billón de euros.The debt reached one trillion euros.
- El presupuesto es de un billón de dólares.The budget is one trillion dollars.
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are discussing the global economy.
- Sofía¿Es verdad que la economía perdió un billón?Is it true that the economy lost one trillion?
- MateoSí, Sofía, es una cifra devastadora.Yes, Sofía, it is a devastating figure.
- SofíaMateo, me parece una cantidad increíble.Mateo, it seems like an incredible amount to me.
- MateoLo es, es un problema global.It is, it is a global problem.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries billón, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
