Colours & Numbers
Basic Spanish colours, numbers, counting, and numerical expressions
GCSE theme: Getting Started
- words
- 61
- phrases
- 12
masculine feminine
The essentials
The colours and the numbers 0 to 10: the words you need first.
In a sentence
Colours and numbers in the sentences you will say most.
Colours
The basic colours, how to make them lighter or darker, and which ones change for feminine nouns.
- rojored
- azulblue
- amarilloyellow
- verdegreen
- negroblack
- blancowhite
- grisgrey
- rosapink
- moradopurple
- naranjaorange
- marrónbrown
Light, dark and bright
Add claro (light), oscuro (dark) or brillante (bright) after the colour.
Colour agreement
Colours ending in -o change to -a with feminine nouns (la camisa roja). Colours ending in -e or a consonant, like verde and azul, don't change.
| Colour | Masculine / feminine |
|---|---|
| red | rojoroja |
| black | negronegra |
| white | blancoblanca |
| yellow | amarilloamarilla |
| No change | Both genders |
|---|---|
| green | verde |
| blue | azul |
Counting
From 11 to a million, and how to build the numbers in between.
11 to 20
11 to 15 have their own names. From 16, the numbers join diez and the unit with i: dieciséis.
Tens to 100
Forming compound numbers
21 to 29 are one word (veintidós, veintiocho). From 31, put y between the tens and the unit.
Hundreds and thousands
Forming compound numbers
Cien becomes ciento when another number follows it: 101 is ciento uno.
Ordinal numbers
First, second, third... Like colours in -o, they have a feminine form: la primera vez.
| Masculine / feminine | |
|---|---|
| 1st | primeroprimera |
| 2nd | segundosegunda |
| 3rd | tercerotercera |
| 4th | cuartocuarta |
| 5th | quintoquinta |
All words by theme
More colour words. Open the group to see them.
More colours
4 words
Going further
Number patterns at a glance and tips for practising.
Number patterns to remember
Numbers 11-15
Have unique names, must be memorised
- 11 - once
- 12 - doce
- 13 - trece
- 14 - catorce
- 15 - quince
Numbers 16-29
Written as one word with "i"
- 16 - dieciséis
- 22 - veintidós
- 28 - veintiocho
Numbers 31-99
Use "y" (and) between tens and units
- 31 - treinta y uno
- 45 - cuarenta y cinco
- 99 - noventa y nueve
Hundreds
100 changes to "ciento" when followed by other numbers
- 100 - cien
- 101 - ciento uno
- 200 - doscientos
Practice tips
- Start by mastering 1-10 - these are the building blocks
- Practise counting everyday objects around you
- Learn phone numbers in Spanish (great for practising individual digits)
- Count by tens first (10, 20, 30...) before learning compound numbers
- Remember: y means "and" and connects tens with units (treinta y cinco = 35)