decimoséptimo
/ˌdeθimoˈsebtimo/
The English phrase "seventeenth" is decimoséptimo in Spanish.
decimoséptimo is the ordinal number for seventeenth.
Meaning: ordinal number (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of decimo (tenth) and séptimo (seventh).
Which one should you use?
Use decimoséptimo to denote position in a sequence, such as the 17th century. In contrast, use diecisieteavo when referring to fractions, such as one seventeenth.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word must agree in gender with the noun it modifies, changing the final -o to -a for the feminine form decimoséptima. To agree with plural nouns, the word takes the plural suffix -s, resulting in decimoséptimos.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌdeθimoˈsebtimo/
Did you know?
- In Latin America, many speakers use the fractional form diecisieteavo when they actually mean the ordinal 'seventeenth'. This common usage often confuses learners who were taught the strict grammatical distinction.
- The word decimo inside this compound is a linguistic relative of the English word 'decade'. Both words share a common ancestral root centered on the number ten.
- In rapid speech, some Spanish dialects soften or drop the 's' in decimoséptimo. This phonetic shift can make the word sound entirely different from its written form to a student.
Examples in context
- En enero de ese año, vimos nevar durante cuatro días, desde el catorceavo al decimoséptimo día.In January of that year, we saw snow for four days, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth.This sentence is useful for seeing the use of decimoséptimo to denote a specific day in a sequence.Tatoeba #1595078 by teskmon, translation #973638 by CN
- María ocupó el decimoséptimo lugar en la competencia de natación.María took the seventeenth place in the swimming competition.
- En la fiesta, Raúl se sentó en el asiento 17º junto a los demás invitados.At the party, Raúl sat in the seventeenth seat next to the other guests.
- El equipo de fútbol obtuvo su decimoséptima victoria de la temporada.The soccer team achieved their seventeenth victory of the season.
- Vive en el decimoséptimo piso.He lives on the seventeenth floor.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing the order of a list of projects.
- Elena¿Cuál es el número de este proyecto?What is the number of this project?
- DanielEs el decimoséptimo de la lista.It is the seventeenth on the list.
- ElenaGracias por la información, Daniel.Thanks for the information, Daniel.
- DanielDe nada, Elena.You're welcome, Elena.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seventeenth” translations and entries decimoséptimo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
