{"id":2573,"date":"2018-09-25T18:44:47","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T18:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2018-11-20T12:44:14","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T12:44:14","slug":"portuguese-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/portuguese-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"1s, 2s and 3s \u2013 Know Your Numbers in Portuguese"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Whether you’re trying to pay for your beer (cerveja<\/em>), arranging to meet your friends (amigos)<\/em>, make a date in your diary or figure out which bus (\u00f4nibus<\/em>) to catch, knowing your numbers in Portuguese is vital \u2013 especially if you are trying to get by in one of the ten (dez<\/em>) Portuguese-speaking countries in the world.<\/p>\n

Portuguese is spoken not only in Portugal, but also in other countries such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde. Whilst there are a few regional differences, counting in Portuguese doesn’t really vary much across the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Learning your numbers (n\u00fameros<\/em>) in Portuguese isn’t that difficult, especially if you already know basic counting in some of the other Romance languages \u2013 like Spanish<\/a> or French<\/a>. It’s based on the same principle and with a little practice, you’ll be well on your way to fluent counting, paying the right amount and always getting the right bus in Portuguese!<\/p>\n

Cardinal Numbers in Portuguese<\/h1>\n

First things first \u2013 what are cardinal numbers<\/strong>? Well, cardinal numbers are what we use to show a quantity \u2013 like one, two and three. They are what we would use to talk about how many coffees (caf\u00e9s<\/em>) you want, how many of you there are in your group, or to write down a phone number, for example.<\/p>\n

You would also use cardinal numbers to talk about prices and time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
English number<\/strong><\/td>\nPortuguese number<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
zero<\/td>\nzero<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
one<\/td>\num<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
two<\/td>\ndois<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
three<\/td>\ntr\u00eas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
four<\/td>\nquatro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
five<\/td>\ncinco<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
six<\/td>\nseis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
seven<\/td>\nsete<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
eight<\/td>\noito<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nine<\/td>\nnove<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ten<\/td>\ndez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

So, some examples would be:<\/p>\n

Eu tenho dois <\/strong>carros. (I have <\/em>two <\/em><\/strong>cars.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Eu quero oito <\/strong>quilos de farinha. (I want <\/em>eight <\/em><\/strong>kilos of flour.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ela tem sete <\/strong>gatos. (She has <\/em>seven <\/em><\/strong>cats.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Things do get a little more complicated, however. In Portuguese, every object has a gender \u2013 either masculine or feminine. So, just to make things a bit more interesting, there are slight changes made to um<\/strong> and dois <\/strong>(one and two) when the object (or person) that you are talking about is feminine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Number in English<\/strong><\/td>\nMasculine or Unknown<\/strong><\/td>\nFeminine<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
one<\/td>\num<\/td>\numa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
two<\/td>\ndois<\/td>\nduas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Eu tenho um <\/strong>irm\u00e3o. (I have <\/em>one <\/em><\/strong>brother<\/em> \/<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0a<\/em><\/strong> brother.<\/em>)
\n<\/span>[We also use um <\/strong>or uma <\/strong>when we would use the article\u00a0a(n)\u00a0<\/em>in English.]<\/p>\n

Ele s\u00f3 limpou uma <\/strong>mesa. (He only cleaned <\/em>one <\/em><\/strong>table.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ela comeu dois <\/strong>bolos. (She ate <\/em>two <\/em><\/strong>cakes.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

N\u00f3s temos duas <\/strong>casas. (We have <\/em>two <\/em><\/strong>houses.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

S\u00e3o duas<\/strong> horas. (It’s two<\/strong> o’clock.)<\/span>
\n[When we are talking about the time<\/strong>, we talk about hours <\/strong>(horas<\/em>) which is a feminine word. Therefore, we use the feminine version of one <\/strong>and two <\/strong>(uma <\/em><\/strong>and<\/em> duas<\/em><\/strong>) when we are telling the time.]<\/p>\n

And as we count higher\u2026<\/p>\n

Numbers in Portuguese \u2013 Eleven to Nineteen<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
English number<\/strong><\/td>\nPortuguese number<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
eleven<\/td>\nonze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
twelve<\/td>\ndoze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
thirteen<\/td>\ntreze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fourteen<\/td>\ncatorze (sometimes quatorze<\/em> in Brazil)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fifteen<\/td>\nquinze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sixteen<\/td>\ndezasseis (sometimes dezesseis<\/em> in Brazil)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
seventeen<\/td>\ndezassete (sometimes dezessete<\/em> in Brazil)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
eighteen<\/td>\ndezoito<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nineteen<\/td>\ndezanove (sometimes dezenove<\/em> in Brazil)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Notice that the numbers sixteen to nineteen work in a similar way as in English:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • six<\/strong>teen – dezasseis<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • seven<\/strong>teen – dezassete<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • eight<\/strong>een – dezoito<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • nine<\/strong>teen – dezanove<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Numbers in Portuguese \u2013 From Twenty to Ninety-Nine<\/h1>\n

    To make numbers above twenty, we just add the numbers together \u2013 just as in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    English number<\/strong><\/td>\nPortuguese number<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    twenty<\/td>\nvinte<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    twenty-one<\/td>\nvinte e um\/uma<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    twenty-two<\/td>\nvinte e dois\/duas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    thirty<\/td>\ntrinta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    thirty-three<\/td>\ntrinta e tr\u00eas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    thirty-four<\/td>\ntrinta e quatro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    forty<\/td>\nquarenta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    fifty<\/td>\ncinquenta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    sixty<\/td>\nsessenta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    seventy<\/td>\nsetenta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    eighty<\/td>\noitenta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    ninety<\/td>\nnoventa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Although it might not always sound like it, we always use an e<\/strong> between the -ty and the unit number.<\/p>\n

    Here are some more examples:<\/p>\n

    Pegue o \u00f4nibus vinte e sete.\u00a0<\/strong>(Take the <\/em>twenty-seven<\/em><\/strong> bus.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Custa cinquenta e cinco <\/strong>euros por pessoa. (It costs <\/em>fifty-five <\/em><\/strong>euros per person.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    It’s worth noting that as we go higher, the masculine\/feminine rule applies to any number ending in one <\/strong>or two<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Ela morou l\u00e1 por oitenta e dois <\/strong>anos. (She lived there for <\/em>eighty-two <\/em><\/strong>years.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Eu tenho vinte e duas <\/strong>bananas. (I have <\/em>twenty-two<\/em><\/strong> bananas.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Numbers in Portuguese \u2013 One Hundred and Over<\/h1>\n

    As we reach the dizzy heights of one hundred and over, things are pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    English number<\/strong><\/td>\nPortuguese number<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one hundred<\/td>\ncem (if the number is 100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    hundred<\/td>\ncento<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one hundred and one<\/td>\ncento e um\/uma<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one hundred and two<\/td>\ncento e dois\/duas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one hundred and fifty-seven<\/td>\ncento e cinquenta e sete<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    two hundred<\/td>\nduzentos\/duzentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    three hundred<\/td>\ntrezentos\/trezentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    four hundred<\/td>\nquatrocentos\/quatrocentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    five hundred<\/td>\nquinhentos\/quinhentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    six hundred<\/td>\nseiscentos\/seiscentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    seven hundred<\/td>\nsetecentos\/setecentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    eight hundred<\/td>\noitocentos\/oitocentas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    nine hundred<\/td>\nnovecentos\/novecentos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one thousand<\/td>\nmil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one thousand and one<\/td>\nmil e um\/uma<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    two thousand<\/td>\ndois\/duas mil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    three thousand<\/td>\ntr\u00eas mil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    six thousand, five hundred and seventy-two<\/td>\nseis mil, quinhentos e setenta e dois\/duas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    ten thousand<\/td>\ndez mil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one hundred thousand<\/td>\ncem mil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    four hundred thousand<\/td>\nquatrocentos mil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one million<\/td>\num milh\u00e3o<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    five million<\/td>\ncinco milh\u00f5es<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one billion<\/td>\nin Brazil:<\/em> um bilh\u00e3o (sometimes um bili\u00e3o<\/em>)
    \nin Portugal:<\/em>\u00a0mil milh\u00f5es<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    one trillion<\/td>\nin Brazil:<\/em> um trilh\u00e3o
    \nin Portugal:<\/em> um bilh\u00e3o (sometimes um bili\u00e3o<\/em>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    Eu tenho cento e uma <\/strong>coisas para fazer! (I have <\/em>a hundred and one<\/em><\/strong> things to do!)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    Cento e oitenta! <\/strong>(One hundred and eighty!<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Maria tem setecentos e trinta e seis <\/strong>amigos no Facebook. (Maria has <\/em>seven hundred and thirty-six <\/em><\/strong>friends on Facebook.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Os dinosauros viveram sessenta e seis milh\u00f5es<\/strong> de anos atr\u00e1s. (The dinosaurs lived <\/em>sixty-six million<\/em><\/strong> years ago.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    If we are talking about how to say years in Portuguese, we would say the full number exactly how it was written. So, whereas in English, I would say that:<\/p>\n

    \u201cI was born in nineteen, ninety-seven<\/strong>, and the year is two thousand and eighteen<\/strong>\u201d<\/span>,<\/p>\n

    In Portuguese, we would say:<\/p>\n

    \u201cEu nasci em mil novecentos e noventa e sete<\/strong>, e o ano \u00e9 dois mil e dezoito<\/strong>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Using the Word \u201cMeia\u201d in Brazilian Portuguese Numbers<\/h1>\n

    In Brazilian Portuguese numbers, the word meia<\/strong> can sometimes be used instead of seis<\/strong>. This is the case in Brazil, but not in Portugal (due to the difference in accents).<\/p>\n

    Meia <\/strong>usually means half<\/em>, but when you are listing numbers \u2013 for example, giving a phone number out or confirming a number, some people use meia <\/strong>to avoid confusion as\u00a0seis <\/strong>and tr\u00eas <\/strong>can sound similar at times.<\/p>\n

    The word meia <\/strong>comes from uma meia d\u00fazia <\/strong>\u2013 meaning half a dozen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Example:<\/p>\n

    Meu n\u00famero de telephone \u00ea sete – cinco – oito – dois – tr\u00eas \u2013 meia<\/strong>. (My phone number is seven \u2013 five \u2013 eight \u2013 two \u2013 three \u2013 six<\/strong>.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Points, Comas and All That Jazz<\/h1>\n

    When you are looking at Portuguese numbers, it can be a little confusing with regard to the decimal point. It’s not you though, there’s good reason: Portuguese uses points and comas differently to English.<\/p>\n

    Where we would put a point<\/em> in a number in English, in Portuguese we use a comma:<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    • 2.<\/strong>34 would be written 2,<\/strong><\/span>34 in Portuguese<\/li>\n
    • $5.<\/strong>99 would be written $5,<\/strong><\/span>99 in Portuguese<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The word for comma <\/em>in Portuguese is v\u00edrgula<\/strong>, so we would say:<\/p>\n

      Cinco v\u00edrgula nove <\/strong>for<\/span> five point nine<\/em><\/strong><\/span> or 5.9<\/span> \u2013 a particularly good ice-skating score.<\/p>\n

      R\u00e1dio Europa est\u00e1 em noventa e tr\u00eas v\u00edrgula oito<\/strong> MHz<\/span> for R\u00e1dio Europa is on <\/span><\/em>ninety-three point eight <\/em><\/strong>MHz (or 93.8MHz)<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      Likewise, where we would put a comma <\/em>in a number, in Portuguese we use a point<\/em>. So, 3,<\/strong>849 would be 3.<\/strong><\/span>849 in Portuguese. The word point<\/em>, however isn’t spoken, so three thousand, eight hundred and forty-nine<\/em><\/strong> would be tr\u00eas mil, oitocentos e quarenta e nove<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      Ordinal Numbers in Portuguese<\/h1>\n

      When we talk about ordinal<\/strong> numbers,\u00a0we are talking about an order or rank. By that, I mean that we are saying Twelfth <\/em>Night, Fifth <\/em>Avenue, Queen Elizabeth the Second<\/em> or \u201cYou are currently four hundred and twentieth<\/em> in the queue\u201d.<\/p>\n

      In Portuguese, we notate the ordinal numbers slightly differently to how we notate in English \u2013 mainly as we don’t use the -th in Portuguese.<\/p>\n

      This is how we would notate and say ordinal numbers in Portuguese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Notation in English<\/strong><\/td>\nNotation in Portuguese<\/strong><\/td>\nWritten in Portuguese<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      1st<\/sup><\/td>\n1\u00b0\/1\u00aa<\/td>\nprimeiro\/primeira<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      2nd<\/sup><\/td>\n2\u00b0\/2\u00aa<\/td>\nsegundo\/segunda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      3rd<\/sup><\/td>\n3\u00b0\/3\u00aa<\/td>\nterceiro\/terceira<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      4th<\/sup><\/td>\n4\u00b0\/4\u00aa<\/td>\nquarto\/quarta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      5th<\/sup><\/td>\n5\u00b0\/5\u00aa<\/td>\nquinto\/quinta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      6th<\/sup><\/td>\n6\u00b0\/6\u00aa<\/td>\nsexto\/sexta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      7th<\/sup><\/td>\n7\u00b0\/7\u00aa<\/td>\ns\u00e9timo\/s\u00e9tima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      8th<\/sup><\/td>\n8\u00b0\/8\u00aa<\/td>\noitavo\/oitava<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      9th<\/sup><\/td>\n9\u00b0\/9\u00aa<\/td>\nnono\/nona<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      10th<\/sup><\/td>\n10\u00b0\/10\u00aa<\/td>\nd\u00e9cimo\/d\u00e9cima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      11th<\/sup><\/td>\n11\u00b0\/11\u00aa<\/td>\nd\u00e9cimo primeiro\/d\u00e9cima primeira<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      12th<\/sup><\/td>\n12\u00b0\/12\u00aa<\/td>\nd\u00e9cimo segundo\/d\u00e9cima segunda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      20th<\/sup><\/td>\n20\u00b0\/20\u00aa<\/td>\nvig\u00e9simo\/vig\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      21st<\/sup><\/td>\n21\u00b0\/21\u00aa<\/td>\nvig\u00e9simo primeiro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      30th<\/sup><\/td>\n30\u00b0\/30\u00aa<\/td>\ntrig\u00e9simo\/trig\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      40th<\/sup><\/td>\n40\u00b0\/40\u00aa<\/td>\nquadrag\u00e9simo\/quadrag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      50th<\/sup><\/td>\n50\u00b0\/50\u00aa<\/td>\nquinquag\u00e9simo\/quinquag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      60th<\/sup><\/td>\n60\u00b0\/60\u00aa<\/td>\nsexag\u00e9simo\/sexag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      70th<\/sup><\/td>\n70\u00b0\/70\u00aa<\/td>\nseptuag\u00e9simo\/septuag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      80th<\/sup><\/td>\n80\u00b0\/80\u00aa<\/td>\noctag\u00e9simo\/octag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      90th<\/sup><\/td>\n90\u00b0\/90\u00aa<\/td>\nnonag\u00e9simo\/nonag\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      100th<\/sup><\/td>\n100\u00b0\/100\u00aa<\/td>\ncent\u00e9simo\/cent\u00e9sima<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      So, for example:<\/p>\n

      Eu vim em nono <\/strong>lugar. (I came in\u00a0<\/em>ninth <\/em><\/strong>place.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      John Rogan \u00e9 o segundo<\/strong> homen mais alto de todos os tempos. (John Rogan is the <\/em>second <\/em><\/strong>tallest man ever.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      Elon Musk \u00e9 a quadrag\u00e9sima quarta<\/strong> pessoa mais rica do mundo. (Elon Musk is the <\/em>fourty-fourth<\/em><\/strong> richest person in the world.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      Esta \u00e9 a cent\u00e9sima<\/strong> vez que te pedi! (This is the <\/em>hundredth<\/em><\/strong> time that I’ve asked you!<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      This works for fractions as well:<\/p>\n

      dois oitavos <\/strong>(two eighths<\/em><\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      Um<\/strong> quinto<\/strong> tem carregado. (One fifth <\/em><\/strong>has loaded.<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

      It is also worth noting that when we talk about the date <\/em>in Portuguese, cardinal numbers are used \u2013 not ordinal. So, when in English we say that:<\/p>\n

      Today is the <\/em>sixth<\/em><\/strong> of April<\/em><\/span>,<\/p>\n

      in Portuguese, we say:<\/p>\n

      Hoje \u00e9 o dia <\/em>seis<\/em><\/strong><\/span> de abril<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n

      So, there you have it: there’s now nothing that you don’t know about numbers in Portuguese \u2013 agora n\u00e3o h\u00e1 nada que voc\u00ea n\u00e3o saiba sobre os n\u00fameros em portugu\u00eas<\/em>!<\/p>\n

      Boa Sorte!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Challenge yourself with Clozemaster<\/h2>\n

      Test your skills and see what you’ve learned from this article by playing a selection of sentences with Portuguese numbers.<\/strong><\/p>\n