Ordinal Numbers

Números ordinales

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Ordinal numbers are essential for lists: they denote the rank, position, or order of items in a group, whether that group is made up of people, objects, or things to do.

Por ejemplo…

Pablo está en segundo lugar, y David en quinto.		Pablo is in second place, and David is in fifth.
En primer lugar, tenemos que elegir un presidente.		In the first place, we need to choose a chairperson.

Spanish ordinal numbers

first		primero primer	1st	1º
second		segundo	2nd	2º
third		tercero tercer	3rd	3º
fourth		cuarto	4th	4º
fifth		quinto	5th	5º
sixth		sexto	6th	6º
seventh		séptimo	7th	7º
eighth		octavo	8th	8º
ninth		noveno	9th	9º
tenth		décimo	10th	10º

 When primero and tercero precede a masculine noun, they change to the short-form adjectives primer and tercer.

Por ejemplo…

José está en segundo lugar y Alberto está en quinto.		José is in second place and Alberto is in fifth.
En primer lugar, tenemos que elegir un presidente.		In the first place, The first thing we need to do is choose a chairperson.

 Notes

• As shown in the table above, Spanish ordinal numbers can be abbreviated with superscript letters called letras voladas.
• Like most Spanish nouns, ordinal numbers end in o when masculine and a when feminine: el segundo 2o / la segunda 2ª.
• The ordinal numbers up to tenth usually precede the noun. After tenth, however, ordinal numbers are commonly expressed with just the cardinal number after the noun:

el segundo piso		the second floor
el piso veinte		the twentieth floor

 Most ordinal numbers are identical to their corresponding fractions.

 If you have trouble remembering the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers, try this mnemonic:

• ordinals are for ordering
• cardinals are for counting cards

 Related lessons

• Cardinal numbers
• Fractions
• Dates
• Adjectives
   

 En français

• Adjectifs numéraux ordinaux
   

 In italiano

• Numeri ordinali
   

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