El número atrasado no es una edición limitada.

to be

Breakdown of El número atrasado no es una edición limitada.

• no: not
• el número atrasado: the back issue
• la edición limitada: the limited edition

Questions & Answers about El número atrasado no es una edición limitada.

What does número mean here? Is it literally a number?

Not exactly. In this kind of context, número often means an issue of a magazine, comic, newspaper, or similar publication.

So el número atrasado is not just the delayed number in a mathematical sense. It means something like a back issue or previous issue.

Why is it el número and not un número?

El is the definite article, so it means the. Spanish uses it when talking about a specific thing that is already known from the context.

So:

• el número = the issue
• un número = an issue

If the speaker is referring to one particular back issue, el número makes sense.

What does atrasado mean here?

Here atrasado means something like back, previous, or older and not current, especially in publishing.

In other contexts, atrasado can also mean:

• late
• delayed
• behind

But with número, it usually refers to a past issue rather than a current one.

Why does atrasado come after número?