I can say and write in words any number up to one hundred, ask for a phone number, give mine, and read an e-mail address aloud.
Números: 0–100
Números: 0–100
Phone numbers, ZIP codes, ages, and prices are all numbers, and in speech they're always words.
The numbers from zero to twenty are learned whole; they aren't built from parts: catorze, quinze, dezasseis, dezassete, dezoito, dezanove. In Brazil they're spelled dezesseis, dezessete, dezenove: here, write the European forms. See the table.
After twenty, numbers are joined with e (“and”): vinte e um, trinta e dois, quarenta e cinco. English “twenty-one” has no “and”; Portuguese always has e.
One and two change with gender: um — uma, dois — duas. With a masculine noun, vinte e um; with a feminine one, vinte e uma; trinta e dois and trinta e duas.
Cem is exactly one hundred. What comes after it, you'll learn later.
Phone numbers are read in groups of two or three digits: nove um dois, três quatro cinco, seis sete oito. In the ZIP code 1100-053 the dash is called traço.
An e-mail address aloud: @ is arroba, the dot is ponto, and letters have their names from “Letters and sounds”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “vinte um” — tens and ones need e between them.
• NOT “dez e sete” — seventeen has its own word: dezassete.
• NOT “quarenta e dez” — fifty has its own word: cinquenta.
• NOT “vinte e uma anos” — anos is masculine, so vinte e um anos.
Numbers from 0 to 20
Learn all twenty-one words whole: they aren't built from parts.
| Figure | Word | Figure | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | 11 | onze |
| 1 | um | 12 | doze |
| 2 | dois | 13 | treze |
| 3 | três | 14 | catorze |
| 4 | quatro | 15 | quinze |
| 5 | cinco | 16 | dezasseis |
| 6 | seis | 17 | dezassete |
| 7 | sete | 18 | dezoito |
| 8 | oito | 19 | dezanove |
| 9 | nove | 20 | vinte |
| 10 | dez | — | — |
Tens and how a number is built
There's always an e between the tens and the ones; one and two change with gender.
| Tens | With a masculine noun | With a feminine noun |
|---|---|---|
| vinte | vinte e um | vinte e uma |
| trinta | trinta e dois | trinta e duas |
| quarenta | quarenta e um | quarenta e uma |
| cinquenta | cinquenta e dois | cinquenta e duas |
| sessenta | sessenta e um | sessenta e uma |
| setenta | setenta e dois | setenta e duas |
| oitenta | oitenta e um | oitenta e uma |
| noventa | noventa e dois | noventa e duas |
| cem | exactly one hundred | exactly one hundred |
Lesson notes
Números: 0–100
Phone numbers, ZIP codes, ages, and prices are all numbers, and in speech they're always words.
The numbers from zero to twenty are learned whole; they aren't built from parts: catorze, quinze, dezasseis, dezassete, dezoito, dezanove. In Brazil they're spelled dezesseis, dezessete, dezenove: here, write the European forms. See the table.
After twenty, numbers are joined with e (“and”): vinte e um, trinta e dois, quarenta e cinco. English “twenty-one” has no “and”; Portuguese always has e.
One and two change with gender: um — uma, dois — duas. With a masculine noun, vinte e um; with a feminine one, vinte e uma; trinta e dois and trinta e duas.
Cem is exactly one hundred. What comes after it, you'll learn later.
Phone numbers are read in groups of two or three digits: nove um dois, três quatro cinco, seis sete oito. In the ZIP code 1100-053 the dash is called traço.
An e-mail address aloud: @ is arroba, the dot is ponto, and letters have their names from “Letters and sounds”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “vinte um” — tens and ones need e between them.
• NOT “dez e sete” — seventeen has its own word: dezassete.
• NOT “quarenta e dez” — fifty has its own word: cinquenta.
• NOT “vinte e uma anos” — anos is masculine, so vinte e um anos.