Tome un número.
Take a number.
At a front desk, un número is the ticket that holds your place in line. The same word also means your phone number.
From ¿Y dónde está el policía? 33 1/3 · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "number" in Spanish
el número
nounmasculineplural: los númerosaccent on the ú
"Number" in Spanish is el número, with the stress on the first syllable: NOO-meh-roh. The same word covers a phone number, a house number and the ticket you take while you wait in line. To ask for someone's phone number, say ¿Cuál es tu número?
Hear "número" in a real movie scene
One polite order at a front desk. The video starts and stops on that line.
Everyday uses of número
Phones, addresses, lines and shoe shops.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el número de teléfono | phone number |
| ¿Cuál es tu número? | What's your number? |
| Se ha equivocado de número. | You've got the wrong number. |
| Vivo en el número cinco. | I live at number five. |
| Tome un número. | Take a number. |
| ¿Qué número calzas? | What size shoe do you wear? |
Tip: In a Spanish address the number follows the street name: Calle Mayor, 5, read as Calle Mayor, número cinco.
Grammar: el número, los números
Four points for numbers of every kind.
Masculine, with an accent
el número, los números. The accent on the first u stays in the plural too.The figure comes after
el número tres, la habitación número doce. English works the same way: number three.Asking for a number
Use cuál: ¿Cuál es tu número? The answer starts with Mi número es... and then the digits.Shoes take número
For shoe sizes Spanish says número: Calzo el 40. Clothing sizes are la talla.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
el número
the number
Número tres.
Number three.
Llama a ese número.
Call that number.
Mi número es cero, cinco, dos.
My number is zero, five, two.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗¿Qué es tu número?
✓¿Cuál es tu número?
Qué es asks what something means. To ask which number, Spanish uses cuál.
✗numero (meaning number)
✓número
Without the accent, numero is a verb form that means I number.
✗Mi talla de zapato es 40 (in a shoe shop in Spain)
✓Calzo el 40
Shoes come in números and clothes come in tallas.
Real conversation: swapping numbers
A short dialog on the last day of class. Tap to listen.
It's the last day of your language course, and your classmate Fernando wants to stay in touch.
¡Oye! ¿Tu móvil o tu correo?
Hey! Your cell or your email?
Vale, mi móvil.
Okay, my cell.
¡Genial! ¿Y el número?
Great! And the number?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last line.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 32 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Número is the first part of numerous. When things are numerous, you need a número to count them.
Questions about "number" in Spanish
How do you say number in Spanish?
El número, and in the plural los números. Stress the first syllable: NOO-meh-roh.
How do you say phone number in Spanish?
El número de teléfono, often shortened to el número. In Spain, ¿Me das tu móvil? also asks for someone's cell number.
How do you ask "what's your number?" in Spanish?
¿Cuál es tu número? With someone you address as usted, say ¿Cuál es su número?
Does número have an accent?
Yes, on the first u: número. It shows which syllable carries the stress.
