veintiuno
/beinˈtjuno/masculine
The Spanish word for twenty-one is veintiuno.
Meaning: cardinal number (num)
Which one should you use?
Use veintiún when the number precedes a masculine singular noun, and use veintiuna for the feminine form.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form veintiuno becomes veintiún when it directly precedes a masculine singular noun. The feminine form is veintiuna.
How do you pronounce it?
/beinˈtjuno/
Did you know?
- The root of veintiuno traces back to the Proto-Indo-European word for 'two' and 'ten', showing a mathematical logic that predates Latin.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, when playing card games, players might say veintiuno to refer to the game Blackjack.
- The transition from veintiuno to veintiún is a process called apocope, where the final vowel is dropped to avoid a clashing sound with the following noun.
Examples in context
- Veintiuna mujeresTwenty-one women
- Veintiún añosTwenty-one years
- Veintiún librosTwenty-one books
- Veintiuna cancionesTwenty-one songs
- El número es veintiuno.The number is twenty-one.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are counting items in a shop.
- Javier¿Cuántos libros hay en la caja?How many books are in the box?
- LucíaHay veintiuno en total.There are twenty-one in total.
- Javier¡Es un número muy alto!That is a very high number!
- LucíaSí, Javier, son muchos.Yes, Javier, there are many.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “twenty-one” translations and entries veintiuno, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries veintiuno, CC BY-SA 4.0.
