Catalan does not hyphenate every component of a written number, nor does it write all the components solidly. It marks two structural joints with a hyphen: tens–units and units–hundreds. The mnemonic D-U-C—desenes, unitats, centenes—tells you where those joints are.
This is a spelling rule, but it also reveals the number's grammatical architecture. Once you segment a long numeral correctly, the hyphens become predictable. The challenge is resisting English spacing and Spanish solid spelling.
The D-U-C rule in one table
| Boundary | Hyphen? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tens → units | yes | quaranta-set |
| units → hundreds | yes | quatre-cents |
| hundreds → tens | no; space | quatre-cents trenta |
| thousands → remainder | no; space | mil quatre-cents |
| millions → remainder | no; space | dos milions quatre-cents mil |
Read D-U-C from left to right as possible adjacent categories. D-U gets a hyphen, as in seixanta-vuit. U-C gets a hyphen, as in sis-cents. The sequence C-D is not named by the mnemonic, so sis-cents trenta has a space.
La factura puja a sis-cents trenta-vuit euros.
The bill comes to 638 euros.
Its segmentation is sis-cents | trenta-vuit: a U-C hyphen inside the hundreds, a space at the C-D boundary, and a D-U hyphen inside the final two-digit group.
Tens and units
From thirty through ninety-nine, join a nonzero unit to the tens with one hyphen:
| Figure | Analysis | Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | trenta + un | trenta-un |
| 46 | quaranta + sis | quaranta-sis |
| 72 | setanta + dos | setanta-dos |
| 95 | noranta + cinc | noranta-cinc |
Han confirmat quaranta-sis assistents, però la sala en pot acollir setanta-dos.
Forty-six attendees have confirmed, but the room can hold seventy-two.
The twenties are a lexicalized subpattern: vint-i- + unit. The conjunction-like linker i sits between two hyphens: vint-i-u, vint-i-dos, vint-i-nou. Do not generalize i to the other tens: 32 is trenta-dos, not trenta-i-dos.
A la pàgina vint-i-u hi ha vint-i-una preguntes.
On page twenty-one there are twenty-one questions.
The spelling contrast also encodes grammar. In the label pàgina vint-i-u, the number is invariable and uses u. In the quantity vint-i-una preguntes, the final component agrees with the feminine noun. The two hyphens remain in both forms.
Hundreds: hyphen before cents/centes
The multiples from 200 to 900 join the unit to cents or centes:
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| dos-cents | dues-centes |
| tres-cents | tres-centes |
| cinc-cents | cinc-centes |
| nou-cents | nou-centes |
La biblioteca ha comprat cinc-cents llibres i tres-centes revistes.
The library has bought five hundred books and three hundred magazines.
Agreement changes the ending but not the hyphen. Exactly 100 is simply cent, and 101–199 begin with unhyphenated cent: cent un, cent dues, cent vint-i-cinc. There is no U-C boundary before this cent because it is not preceded by a multiplier.
S'hi han inscrit cent vuitanta-dues corredores.
One hundred eighty-two female runners have registered.
For 282, both relevant joints appear, but not next to each other: dues-centes vuitanta-dues. The space separates hundreds from tens.
L'informe recull dues-centes vuitanta-dues incidències.
The report records 282 incidents.
Building a long number step by step
Take 7,942. Segment it by magnitude before spelling it:
- 7,000 → set mil
- 900 → nou-cents
- 42 → quaranta-dos
- combine with spaces → set mil nou-cents quaranta-dos
El comptador marca set mil nou-cents quaranta-dos quilòmetres.
The odometer reads 7,942 kilometers.
Now take 241,536 feminine referents:
- 241,000 → dues-centes quaranta-una mil
- 536 → cinc-centes trenta-sis
- complete form → dues-centes quaranta-una mil cinc-centes trenta-sis
The form is long, but the rule has not changed. Hyphens appear only inside dues-centes, quaranta-una, cinc-centes, and trenta-sis. The magnitude boundary around mil takes spaces.
El catàleg conté dues-centes quaranta-una mil cinc-centes trenta-sis fitxes.
The catalog contains 241,536 records.
This productivity has limits. You may generate any arithmetically valid number by the rule, but you cannot freely invent new spelling conventions. English two hundred and five does not license an inserted i, and Spanish doscientos cinco does not license solid Catalan doscents.
Millions are noun boundaries
Milió and its plural milions are nouns, written as separate words. A round quantity takes de before what is counted: dos milions de visitants. When lower number groups continue the same figure, they follow with spaces: dos milions tres-cents mil quaranta. The hyphens still belong only to D-U-C joints inside each group.
El pressupost és de dos milions tres-cents quaranta-cinc mil sis-cents euros.
The budget is 2,345,600 euros.
Do not place commas between word groups in a fully spelled-out number. The spaces already reveal the hierarchy, and punctuation should not imitate English digit grouping.
Ordinals preserve the relevant pattern
Productive ordinals from fifth onward add ordinal endings to the cardinal base and keep its hyphens: vint-i-tresè, trenta-dosena, quaranta-cinquens. Hundreds likewise show the U-C boundary: dos-centè, nou-centena. The ordinal ending can require a written accent, as in masculine singular -è.
La Júlia ha acabat trenta-dosena i en Marc, vint-i-tresè.
Júlia finished thirty-second and Marc twenty-third.
The endings agree like adjectives, but the internal spelling stays visible. For the full paradigms and contexts where a cardinal is preferred, see ordinal numbers.
A realistic procurement record
Comanda 1847: dos-cents trenta-quatre sobres, vint-i-vuit carpetes i tres mil cinc-centes etiquetes.
Order 1847: 234 envelopes, 28 folders, and 3,500 labels.
This record uses figures for the order identifier because it is a label, but words for the item quantities. Editorial choice determines figures versus words; once words are chosen, D-U-C determines their internal spelling.
Correction exercise
Correct quatre cents vint i set entrades; mil-dos-cents-trenta quatre programes. Mark the two D-U-C joints in each relevant group before rewriting it.
Quatre-centes vint-i-set entrades; mil dos-cents trenta-quatre programes.
Four hundred twenty-seven tickets; 1,234 programs. — Corrected forms.
The first noun is feminine, hence quatre-centes. The second is masculine, hence dos-cents. Neither gender nor magnitude changes the location of the hyphens.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying Spanish solid spelling.
❌ Necessitem vintidos exemplars més.
Incorrect — Catalan writes vint-i-dos with two hyphens.
✅ Necessitem vint-i-dos exemplars més.
We need twenty-two more copies.
2. Extending the linker i beyond the twenties.
❌ La Maria ha fet trenta-i-un anys.
Incorrect — from thirty onward, join tens and units directly with one hyphen.
✅ La Maria ha fet trenta-un anys.
Maria has turned thirty-one.
3. Hyphenating every boundary.
❌ Hi ha mil-dos-cents-quaranta llocs.
Incorrect — use spaces after mil and between hundreds and tens.
✅ Hi ha mil dos-cents quaranta llocs.
There are 1,240 places.
4. Omitting the units–hundreds hyphen.
❌ L'aforament és de vuit cents seixanta persones.
Incorrect — the multiplier and cents form a U-C compound.
✅ L'aforament és de vuit-centes seixanta persones.
Capacity is 860 people.
Key Takeaways
- D-U-C means: hyphenate tens–units and units–hundreds.
- The twenties use the fixed frame vint-i-: vint-i-u, vint-i-dues.
- Use spaces at hundreds–tens, thousands, and millions boundaries.
- Agreement affects un/una, dos/dues, and cents/centes, not the placement of the hyphens.
- Productive ordinals preserve the number's internal hyphens: vint-i-tresè, dos-centena.
- Segment the number by magnitude before writing it; then apply the same two joints repeatedly.
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