Ordinal Numbers | Catalan Grammar

Ordinal numbers place something in a sequence: la primera pregunta, el sisè intent, la vint-i-tresena edició. In Catalan they behave like adjectives, so they normally agree in gender and number with the noun. This makes them structurally different from postposed cardinal labels such as pàgina vint-i-u, which remain invariable.

The first four ordinals are lexical items. From fifth onward, a productive suffix builds an open series—but established spelling, stress, conventional abbreviations, and the preference for cardinals in some labels still matter.

The first ten

Order	Masculine singular	Feminine singular
1st	primer	primera
2nd	segon	segona
3rd	tercer	tercera
4th	quart	quarta
5th	cinquè	cinquena
6th	sisè	sisena
7th	setè	setena
8th	vuitè	vuitena
9th	novè	novena
10th	desè	desena

Baixa a la tercera parada i entra al segon edifici de la dreta.

Get off at the third stop and enter the second building on the right.

És la sisena vegada que canvien la data de la reunió.

It's the sixth time they have changed the meeting date.

Primer and tercer are complete Catalan forms, not shortened versions of primero or tercero. They retain -r before masculine and feminine nouns: el primer dia, la primera setmana, el tercer avís, la tercera planta.

Four-form agreement

Ordinals have masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural forms:

Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Masculine plural	Feminine plural
primer	primera	primers	primeres
quart	quarta	quarts	quartes
setè	setena	setens	setenes
vintè	vintena	vintens	vintenes

The masculine singular suffix -è is stressed and bears a grave accent. The feminine -ena shifts the form to a penultimate-stress pattern and therefore has no written accent: quinzè → quinzena. Masculine plurals such as quinzens are stressed on the final syllable but need no accent under the ordinary rules for words ending in -ns.

Les primeres corredores ja han arribat, però els setens classificats encara són lluny.

The first female runners have arrived, but the competitors in seventh place are still far away.

Ordinals usually precede the noun: la quarta fila, el novè capítol. Postposition occurs in (formal) headings and traditional enumeration—article primer, capítol tercer—but learners should use the neutral prenominal order in ordinary prose.

El contracte ho especifica a l'article quart, apartat segon.

The contract specifies it in article four, section two. (formal enumeration)

Productive formation from fifth onward

From fifth onward, add the paradigm -è, -ena, -ens, -enes to the appropriate cardinal base. Some short forms show established stem spelling and must be learned:

Cardinal	Ordinal	Note
cinc	cinquè	qu preserves the hard consonant before e
nou	novè	established stem nov-
deu	desè	established stem des-
onze	onzè	final unstressed vowel is absent before the suffix
vint	vintè	productive regular form

Compound ordinals preserve the relevant spelling of the cardinal: vint-i-tresè, trenta-dosena, cent quaranta-vuitè. The hundreds use forms such as dos-centè and nou-centena. For the hyphen logic, see Hyphens in Compound Numbers.

Enguany celebrem la vint-i-cinquena edició del festival.

This year we are celebrating the twenty-fifth edition of the festival.

L'equip ha acabat cent quaranta-vuitè a la classificació mundial.

The team has finished 148th in the world ranking.

There are learned alternatives such as quint, sext, sèptim, octau, dècim, and vigèsim. They are standard in particular lexical or specialist contexts—musical intervals use forms such as quinta and octava—but the neutral general series is cinquè, sisè, setè, vuitè, desè, vintè. Productivity does not erase lexical convention.

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For ordinary rank, build the transparent series in -è/-ena: la setena posició. Learn the Latin-derived alternatives only with the specialist expression that licenses them, such as una octava musical.

Abbreviating ordinals

The recommended plain-text abbreviation is the figure followed by the final letter of the full singular form. A final period is optional, but a document should use one system consistently.

Full form	Abbreviation	With optional period
primer / primera	1r / 1a	1r. / 1a.
segon / segona	2n / 2a	2n. / 2a.
tercer / tercera	3r / 3a	3r. / 3a.
quart / quarta	4t / 4a	4t. / 4a.
cinquè / cinquena	5è / 5a	5è. / 5a.

Plural abbreviations use the last two letters: 1rs (primers), 1es (primeres), 2ns (segons), 2es (segones), 4ts (quarts), 5ns (cinquens), 5es (cinquenes). Superscript letters are also possible in typography, but then a point conventionally separates figure and superscript. English 1st/2nd and Spanish 1.º/2.ª are not Catalan abbreviations.

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Expand an abbreviation before choosing its letters. If the full form is cinquena, the singular abbreviation ends in a (5a); if it is plural cinquenes, it ends in es (5es).

Lliureu els formularis al 4t despatx de la 2a planta abans de les dotze.

Submit the forms at the fourth office on the second floor before twelve.

Roman numerals: position controls the reading

Roman numerals are usual with centuries, monarchs and popes, and sometimes volumes or recurring events. Their reading depends on syntax.

Before the noun, they are read as ordinals: el III Festival = el tercer Festival; la XXV Olimpíada = la vint-i-cinquena Olimpíada.
After a common noun, they are generally read as cardinals, though low numbers can also be ordinal: el segle XV = el segle quinze; el volum X = el volum deu or desè.
After a personal name, values below eleven are ordinarily read as ordinals, while higher values are usually cardinals: Enric VIII = Enric vuitè; Benet XIII = Benet tretze.

El III Congrés començarà al matí i clourà la vint-i-cinquena edició del cicle.

The Third Congress will begin in the morning and close the twenty-fifth edition of the series.

L'exposició compara manuscrits del segle IX amb edicions del segle XV.

The exhibition compares ninth-century manuscripts with editions from the fifteenth century. — The Roman numerals are normally read nou and quinze after segle, though novè is possible for IX.

Do not mechanically read every Roman numeral as an ordinal. In particular, segle XXI is normally segle vint-i-u, not segle vint-i-unè.

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Position predicts much of the Roman-numeral reading: before a common noun, ordinal (III Congrés); after it, usually cardinal (segle XV). Personal names add their own low-number convention.

Where Catalan prefers a cardinal

Postposed cardinals efficiently label pages, rooms, buses, chapters, laws, and other members of a numbered series: pàgina 21 (pàgina vint-i-u), habitació 32 (habitació trenta-dos), capítol 15 (capítol quinze). The form is invariable, so feminine pàgina does not produce vint-i-una in a label.

La taula és a la pàgina vint-i-u, però l'explicació continua al capítol vint-i-dos.

The table is on page 21, but the explanation continues in chapter 22.

Dates likewise use cardinals: el 23 de juny. Everyday rankings, floors, attempts, and ordered subsets naturally retain ordinals: la tercera planta, el cinquè intent, les dues primeres preguntes. The choice is lexical and conventional, not merely a question of whether an ordinal can be generated.

A realistic exchange

—A quin pis és l'assessoria? —Al 3r, segona porta. Agafa l'ascensor número dos.

—Which floor is the advisory office on? —On the third, second door. Take elevator number two.

Here 3r and segona indicate position, while número dos identifies an elevator by label. The numeral type follows the communicative job.

Correction exercise

Correct la 21ena edició, el segle vint-i-unè i la pàgina vint-i-una. Use a standard abbreviation or a fully spelled ordinal for the event, but cardinal labels for the century and page.

La 21a edició, el segle vint-i-u i la pàgina vint-i-u.

The 21st edition, the twenty-first century, and page 21. — Corrected conventional forms.

Common Mistakes

1. Failing to agree the ordinal.

❌ La corredora ha quedat cinquè.

Incorrect — the ordinal describing a feminine referent must be feminine.

✅ La corredora ha quedat cinquena.

The runner finished fifth.

2. Copying an English abbreviation.

❌ Viu al 3rd pis.

Incorrect — Catalan abbreviates tercer as 3r.

✅ Viu al 3r pis.

He lives on the third floor.

3. Dropping the accent from the masculine singular suffix.

❌ Aquest és el vinte aniversari de l'entitat.

Incorrect — vintè has final stress marked with è.

✅ Aquest és el vintè aniversari de l'entitat.

This is the organization's twentieth anniversary.

4. Forcing an ordinal into a conventional label.

❌ Consulta la pàgina trenta-unena.

Incorrect as an ordinary page label — use the invariable postposed cardinal.

✅ Consulta la pàgina trenta-u.

Consult page thirty-one.

Key Takeaways

Learn primer, segon, tercer, and quart; from fifth onward, build the regular four-form series in -è/-ena/-ens/-enes.
Make every true ordinal agree with its noun.
Preserve number hyphens in compounds: vint-i-tresè, trenta-dosena.
Abbreviate as 1r/1a, 2n/2a, 3r/3a, 4t/4a, 5è/5a; do not import English or Spanish endings.
Read Roman numerals according to position and convention, not with one universal rule.
Prefer invariable postposed cardinals for labels such as pàgina vint-i-u and for high centuries such as segle vint-i-u.

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