números ordinales
/numeɾos oɾdinales/from spelling rules
The English phrase "ordinal numbers" is números ordinales in Spanish.
How do you pronounce it?
/numeɾos oɾdinales/
Did you know?
- While Spanish has ordinal numbers for every digit, people rarely use them beyond décimo in daily speech, switching to cardinal numbers like veinte for 'twentieth'.
- When referring to centuries, Spanish uses a specific rule where you use the ordinal number for the first through tenth centuries, but switch to cardinal numbers for the eleventh century onwards.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, people often use cardinal numbers like uno or dos instead of ordinals when stating dates, such as saying el dos de mayo instead of the ordinal form.
Examples in context
- Algunos países usan números ordinales para contar milenios, mientras que otros los cuentan usando números cardinales.Some countries use ordinal numbers to count millennia, whereas others count them using cardinal numbers.This sentence compares the use of números ordinales with cardinal numbers when counting millennia.Tatoeba #6764248 by UsuarioX, translation #3661228 by Vanilla
- El primer lugarThe first place
- La segunda opciónThe second option
- El tercer pisoThe third floor
- La cuarta páginaThe fourth page
- El quinto elementoThe fifth element
- La sexta entregaThe sixth installment
- El séptimo cieloThe seventh heaven
- El octavo capítuloThe eighth chapter
- La novena ediciónThe ninth edition
- El décimo aniversarioThe tenth anniversary
- El segundo tren llega en tres minutos.The second train arrives in three minutes.
- Mi hermana es la quinta en la fila.My sister is the fifth in line.
- Hoy es nuestro undécimo aniversario.Today is our eleventh anniversary.
- Vivo en el sexto piso del edificio.I live on the sixth floor of the building.
- Ella es la séptima persona en recibir el premio.She is the seventh person to receive the award.
- La novena edición del libro ya está disponible.The ninth edition of the book is now available.
- La película tiene una octava versión extendida.The movie has an eighth extended version.
- En español, los números ordinales se usan para indicar orden.In Spanish, ordinal numbers are used to indicate order.
- No confundas los números cardinales con los números ordinales.Don't confuse cardinal numbers with ordinal numbers.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are studying Spanish grammar together.
- Mateo¿Sabes cómo se llaman estos números?Do you know what these numbers are called?
- MaríaSí, son números ordinales.Yes, they are ordinal numbers.
- Mateo¡Qué bien que lo sepas, María!How great that you know it, María!
- MaríaEs un tema muy útil para estudiar.It is a very useful topic to study.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
