Beyond whole numbers, Spanish has a small but essential set of words for talking about parts (fractions), repetitions (multiples), and proportions (percentages). These show up constantly in recipes, shopping, sports, and the news.
Fractions: the common ones
For the fractions you use every day, Spanish has special forms that don't quite match the ordinal system.
| Fraction | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | medio / mitad | see below |
| 1/3 | un tercio | |
| 1/4 | un cuarto | |
| 1/5 | un quinto | |
| 1/6 | un sexto | |
| 1/8 | un octavo | |
| 1/10 | un décimo |
Medio vs mitad
These two words both mean "half" but they work very differently.
- medio is an adjective. It goes before a noun and agrees in gender: medio kilo, media hora.
- mitad is a noun. It needs an article and usually appears as la mitad de....
Espérame media hora, por favor.
Wait for me for half an hour, please.
La mitad de los estudiantes aprobaron el examen.
Half of the students passed the exam.
Numerators greater than one
When the numerator is more than 1, make the denominator plural and add an -s.
| Fraction | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 2/3 | dos tercios |
| 3/4 | tres cuartos |
| 4/5 | cuatro quintos |
| 7/10 | siete décimos |
Tres cuartos de la clase son mujeres.
Three quarters of the class are women.
Fractions beyond a tenth
For denominators larger than 10 (like 1/11, 1/25, 1/100), Spanish uses the suffix -avo attached to the cardinal number. These are called partitivos.
| Fraction | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 1/11 | un onceavo |
| 1/16 | un dieciseisavo |
| 1/20 | un veinteavo |
| 1/100 | un centésimo / un centavo |
In everyday Latin American speech, fractions this precise are uncommon — most people prefer to say una de cada veinte ("one out of every twenty") or use a percentage.
Solo uno de cada cien intentos fue exitoso.
Only one out of every hundred attempts was successful.
Multiples: doubles and triples
For saying something is "twice" or "three times" as much, Spanish uses a distinct set of words.
| Multiple | Spanish | Used as |
|---|---|---|
| double | doble | adj. / noun |
| triple | triple | adj. / noun |
| quadruple | cuádruple | adj. / noun |
| quintuple | quíntuple | adj. / noun |
These can function as adjectives (una porción doble) or as nouns (el doble de la cantidad).
Pidió una hamburguesa triple con queso.
He ordered a triple cheeseburger.
Talking about "times as much"
To compare quantities, Spanish uses el doble / el triple / el cuádruple + de.
To say "X times more/less," use the phrase X veces más / menos:
Esta ciudad es cinco veces más grande que mi pueblo.
This city is five times bigger than my town.
Percentages
Percentages are expressed with the phrase por ciento, always as two separate words. Importantly, the phrase takes a definite article (usually el) before it — something English leaves out.
| Number | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 10% | el diez por ciento |
| 25% | el veinticinco por ciento |
| 50% | el cincuenta por ciento |
| 100% | el cien por ciento (or el cien por cien) |
El treinta por ciento de los votantes eligió otro candidato.
Thirty percent of voters chose another candidate.
La tienda tiene un descuento del cincuenta por ciento.
The store has a fifty percent discount.
Decimal numbers
Spanish writes decimals with a comma, not a period (as discussed in Cardinal Numbers 100+). To read a decimal, say coma where the comma sits.
Tres coma catorce es una aproximación de pi.
Three point fourteen is an approximation of pi.
With a solid command of fractions, multiples, and percentages, you can now talk about nearly any quantitative idea. For whole-number arithmetic and measurements, head to math expressions and measurements, and for reviewing the ordinal forms that many fractions are built on, see Ordinal Numbers.
Related Topics
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — First through tenth and higher — with gender/number agreement and shortened forms
- Math Expressions and MeasurementsB1 — Basic arithmetic, measurements, prices, and quantities in Spanish