Numbers in Portuguese: A Practical Guide to Counting, Prices, Dates and More
Updated: 6 days ago
When learning Portuguese, one of the most practical skills is mastering numbers.
Learning numbers in Portuguese is essential for everyday communication. Whether you're buying something, asking about a price, telling someone your age, making an appointment, reading a date, or simply understanding what someone is saying, you'll use numbers constantly in Portugal.
Learning numbers in Portuguese can be easy and even enjoyable! In this guide, we’ll take you through the basics, introduce you to some fun facts, and give you tips to boost your confidence in counting.
In this guide, you'll learn how to count in European Portuguese and how to use numbers, from the basic ones to larger numbers, prices, dates, times, and other useful everyday situations.
1. Why Learning Numbers is Essential
Numbers are more than just a basic part of the language; they’re a gateway to everyday interactions.
Picture this: you’re in Lisbon ordering “dois pastéis de nata” (two custard tarts) or buying tickets to visit a museum... Being able to count, understand prices, and handle dates can make your experience in Portugal much smoother.
You may also notice that numbers can sound different depending on the variety of Portuguese you hear.
In all of our blog posts, we focus on European Portuguese, as spoken in Portugal. However, when written, the numbers are essentially the same across the different varieties of Portuguese.
2. Portuguese Numbers 1–10
Let’s start simple: counting from 1 to 10.
These numbers form the foundation for everything else:
1 – Um/Uma (depending on gender)
2 – Dois/Duas (again, gender matters)
3 – Três
4 – Quatro
5 – Cinco
6 – Seis
7 – Sete
8 – Oito
9 – Nove
10 – Dez
The good news? Once you've got these down, you can already start forming bigger numbers!
3. Portuguese Numbers 11–19
When you move beyond 10, Portuguese numbers follow logical patterns. For example:
11 – Onze
12 – Doze
13 – Treze
14 – Catorze
15 – Quinze
From 16 to 19, you can see a clear connection with the word “dez” (ten):
16 – Dezasseis
17 – Dezassete
18 – Dezoito
19 – Dezanove
And now you’re ready to tackle the twenties, thirties, and beyond! (counting in Tens)
4. Portuguese Numbers 20–100
Once you understand the numbers from 1 to 19, learning how to count in tens is a breeze. In Portuguese, the multiples of ten have their own unique names, and the pattern is easy to follow:
20 – Vinte
21- vinte-e-um
30 – Trinta
32 - trinta-e-dois
40 – Quarenta
43 - quarenta-e-três
50 – Cinquenta
54 - cinquenta-e-quatro
60 – Sessenta
65 - sessenta-e-cinco
70 – Setenta
76 - setenta-e-seis
80 – Oitenta
87 - oitenta-e-sete
90 – Noventa
98 - noventa-e-oito
You can combine these tens with smaller numbers for the full range. For example, 21 is vinte e um, 32 is trinta e dois, and so on.
5. Fun Fact: Why Are Some Numbers Gendered?
One thing learners find quirky in Portuguese is the fact that some numbers are gendered.
This only happens with the numerals "one" and "two."
um / uma
dois / duas
Eu tenho vinte-e-um anos
O livro tem vinte-e-uma páginas. So, you say: um carro (one car) but uma maçã (one apple), and duas mesas (two tables) but dois livros (two books).
This gender agreement is a common feature in Romance languages, such as Portuguese.
6. Hundreds, Thousands and Millions: Big Numbers in Portuguese
When you move beyond 100, Portuguese numbers continue to follow clear patterns. Once you understand a few key numbers, you can combine them to talk about hundreds, thousands, and millions.
100 – Cem
1,000 – Mil
10,000 – Dez mil
100,000 – Cem mil
1,000,000 – Um milhão
Bonus tip: In Portuguese, you use a period (.) instead of a comma (,) to separate thousands. So, "1,000,000" would be written as "1.000.000."
Hundreds
Here are some of the most common hundreds:
100 – cem
200 – duzentos / duzentas
Eu tenho duzentos livros.
O livro tem duzentas páginas.
300 – trezentos / trezentas
400 – quatrocentos / quatrocentas
500 – quinhentos / quinhentas
600 – seiscentos / seiscentas
700 – setecentos / setecentas
800 – oitocentos / oitocentas
900 – novecentos / novecentas
Notice that cem is used for exactly 100, while cento is used when another number follows it, like 101, 102, 103...
100 – cem
101 – cento e um
150 – cento e cinquenta
200 – duzentos
201 – duzentos e um
255 – duzentos e cinquenta e cinco
Isto custa cem euros e vinte-e-cinco cêntimos - 100,25€
Isto custa cento-e-um euros e vinte-e-cinco cêntimos - 101,25€
Thousands
The word for 1,000 is mil
1.000 – mil
1.100 - mil e cem
1.200 - mil e duzentos
1.255 - mil, duzentos e cinquenta e cinco
2.000 – dois mil
2026 - Exemplo: Estamos no ano dois mil e vinte e seis
10.000 – dez mil
100.000 – cem mil
130.000 - cento e trinta mil
130.255 -cento e trinta mil, duzentos e cinquenta e cinco
200,000 – duzentos mil
Unlike cem, mil does not change for gender:
Millions
For millions, Portuguese uses milhão in the singular and milhões in the plural:
1.000.000 – um milhão
1.300.000 - um milhão trezentos mil
2.000.000 – dois milhões
3.000.000 – três milhões
When followed by another number, the same pattern continues:
1.001.000 – um milhão e mil
2.500.000 – dois milhões e quinhentos mil
7. Portuguese Number Pronunciation
Portuguese numbers may seem intimidating at first, because European Portuguese numbers can sound quite different from how they look when written, especially in natural, fast speech.
A common trick for mastering pronunciation is to listen to native speakers in real-life contexts, like ordering in restaurants or listening to sports commentary. Apps like Forvo can help with this by providing real native pronunciations.
8. Talking Money in Portuguese
Numbers and money go hand in hand, especially if you’re traveling or living in a Portuguese-speaking country. In Portugal, the currency is the Euro (Euro in Portuguese, plural euros). Here’s how you might ask about prices or talk about money:
Quanto custa? (How much does it cost?)
- Custa cinco euros. (It costs five euros.)
- Custa vinte cêntimos. (It costs twenty cents)
A camisola custa 12,30€ → doze euros e trinta
A água com gás custa 1,50€ → um euro e cinquenta / um euro e meio
Este livro custa 25€ → vinte e cinco euros
Tenho dez euros. (I have ten euros.)
When discussing money, you'll often hear prices rounded to full numbers or expressed with decimals, such as 1,50 (one euro and fifty cents) pronounced as um euro e cinquenta cêntimos.
Understanding how to say and handle amounts of money will greatly enhance your confidence in real-life interactions.
9. Tips for Learning and Remembering Portuguese Numbers
Learning numbers in Portuguese is much easier when you practise them regularly and connect them to situations you encounter in everyday life.
Instead of trying to memorise a long list of numbers at once, focus on recognising patterns and using numbers in context.
Here are a few creative ways to ensure you don’t forget your numbers:
Learn numbers in groups: Start with 1–10, then move on to 11–15, then 16-20, the tens (dez, vinte, trinta, quarenta, cinquenta...), and finally hundreds and thousands. Learning the patterns makes it easier to remember larger numbers.
Practise out loud: Say numbers aloud rather than only reading them. This helps you become more comfortable with Portuguese pronunciation and makes it easier to understand numbers when native speakers say them.
Use real-life situations: When shopping, check prices and say them in Portuguese. You can also practice with the time, dates, phone numbers, addresses, or numbers you see during your day.
Challenge yourself with random numbers: Pick a random number and try to say it in Portuguese. Start with numbers from 1 to 20, then gradually increase the range to 100, 1,000, and beyond.
Listen and repeat: Listening to native European Portuguese speakers is a useful way to become familiar with the rhythm and pronunciation of numbers. Repeat what you hear and try to say the number without looking at the written form.
Atenção: European Portuguese can sound quite different from the Portuguese you may hear in other varieties of the language.
Listening to numbers spoken by native European Portuguese speakers will help you become familiar with their natural pronunciation and rhythm.
10. Numbers in Dates and Time
Finally, numbers are also essential when talking about dates and time in Portuguese.
In Portugal, dates normally follow the day–month–year order, rather than the month–day–year order commonly used in American English.
For example:
April 1, 2024 → 1 de abril de 2024
April 5, 2025 → 5 de abril de 2025
January 12, 2026 → 12 de janeiro de 2026
October 25, 2027 → 25 de outubro de 2027
When saying the year, you can simply read the number as a whole:
2024 → dois mil e vinte e quatro
1999 → mil novecentos e noventa e nove
You can never break it in two, like 19.96 to speak about the year 1996.
11. Talking About Age in Portuguese
In Portuguese, you use the verb ter (to have) when talking about your age.
This is different from English, where we use “to be”.
For example:
Tenho 25 anos. – I am 25 years old.
Quantos anos tens? – How old are you?
Ele tem 40 anos. – He is 40 years old.
Ela tem 12 anos. – She is 12 years old.
A common mistake for English speakers is to translate “I am 25 years old” directly as “Sou 25 anos.” In Portuguese, you should say “Tenho 25 anos.”
You can also use ter when asking or talking about someone else's age:
Quantos anos tem o João? – How old is João?
O João tem 30 anos. – João is 30 years old.
A minha irmã tem 18 anos. – My sister is 18 years old.
When speaking naturally, anos is normally pronounced together with the number, so listening practice is especially useful when learning how to talk about age in European Portuguese.
3,2,1… Ready to Master Numbers in Portuguese?
Numbers are part of everyday life in Portugal. From understanding prices and telling the time to reading dates, giving your age, and following conversations, knowing how to use numbers in European Portuguese can make everyday communication much easier.
The key is to practice them in context. Start with the basics, pay attention to the patterns, and gradually use numbers in real-life situations. With regular practice, they’ll become much easier to recognise and use naturally.
And remember,
Learning Portuguese is about more than memorising individual words.
If you want to become more confident communicating in real situations in Portugal, online European Portuguese lessons can help you take the next step.
Give it a try by booking an Online Class.
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