Ordinal numbers answer the question "in what order?" — first, second, third, and so on. In Spanish they behave like adjectives: they agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, and some of them even shorten before masculine singular nouns.
The first ten ordinals
These are the ones you absolutely need to know. Beyond 10th, Spanish speakers usually switch to cardinal numbers, so your time is best spent drilling these ten.
| Order | Spanish | Short form (masc.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | primero | primer |
| 2nd | segundo | — |
| 3rd | tercero | tercer |
| 4th | cuarto | — |
| 5th | quinto | — |
| 6th | sexto | — |
| 7th | séptimo | — |
| 8th | octavo | — |
| 9th | noveno | — |
| 10th | décimo | — |
Agreement in gender and number
Because ordinals are adjectives, they take four forms: masculine singular (-o), feminine singular (-a), masculine plural (-os), and feminine plural (-as).
| Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| primero | primera | primeros | primeras |
| segundo | segunda | segundos | segundas |
| décimo | décima | décimos | décimas |
Llegó en primera posición.
She arrived in first place.
Las primeras semanas fueron difíciles.
The first weeks were difficult.
The short forms: primer and tercer
Primero and tercero drop their final -o when they come directly before a masculine singular noun. This is the same pattern you see with uno shortening to un.
| Long form | Short form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| primero | primer | el primer día |
| tercero | tercer | el tercer piso |
The shortening only happens in the masculine singular. The feminine forms keep their full ending:
Es el primer libro de la serie.
It's the first book of the series.
Es la primera novela de la autora.
It's the author's first novel.
Vivimos en el tercer piso del edificio.
We live on the third floor of the building.
Position: usually before the noun
Unlike most Spanish adjectives, which prefer to sit after the noun, ordinals normally come before it, matching English word order.
La segunda oportunidad es la mejor.
The second chance is the best one.
They can appear after the noun for stylistic or historical reasons (Juan Pablo Segundo = John Paul II), but this is rare outside of titles, monarchs, and centuries.
Beyond the tenth: use cardinals
Ordinal numbers above 10th do exist in Spanish — undécimo (11th), duodécimo (12th), vigésimo (20th), and so on — but they sound stiff and bookish. In real speech, Spanish speakers use cardinal numbers instead, usually placed after the noun.
| Context | Natural Spanish | Literal English |
|---|---|---|
| 20th century | el siglo veinte | the century twenty |
| 15th floor | el piso quince | the floor fifteen |
| 21st anniversary | el aniversario veintiuno | the anniversary twenty-one |
| 100th birthday | el cumpleaños cien | the birthday one hundred |
Estamos en el siglo veintiuno.
We are in the twenty-first century.
Vivo en el piso dieciséis del edificio.
I live on the sixteenth floor of the building.
A note on abbreviations
Ordinals are often abbreviated with a superscript: 1º (primero), 1ª (primera), 2º (segundo), 3er (tercer). You'll see these on street signs, legal documents, and floor directories.
Oficina 3ª, piso 5º.
Office 3 (third), floor 5 (fifth).
A note on floors
In Latin America, the numbering of floors usually starts at the first floor above the ground — so el primer piso is what a US English speaker would call the second floor. The ground floor is called la planta baja (abbreviated PB).
| Latin America | US English |
|---|---|
| planta baja (PB) | first floor / ground floor |
| el primer piso | second floor |
| el segundo piso | third floor |
Subimos al tercer piso por el ascensor.
We went up to the third floor (= US 4th floor) by elevator.
This convention matters when reading addresses or directions — an elevator panel with PB, 1, 2, 3 is telling you there's a ground floor plus three numbered stories above it.
Ordinals are among the most useful adjectives you can learn early — practically every conversation about order, rank, or sequence uses them. For related counting forms, revisit the basic cardinal numbers.
Related Topics
- Cardinal Numbers 0–30A1 — Learning to count from zero to thirty, with attention to the unique forms and spelling
- Shortened Adjectives (Buen, Mal, Gran)A2 — Some adjectives drop their final vowel before a masculine singular noun