Cardinal Numbers in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese cardinal numbers tell you how many: zero, um, dois, três and so on. From 21 onward, tens and units are normally joined with e (“and”): vinte e um (21), trinta e dois (32). Before a noun, 1 and 2 can agree with its gender—um livro, uma mesa, dois livros, duas mesas—and exactly 100 is cem, not cento.

Overview

Cardinal numbers are the ordinary counting numbers used for prices, ages, addresses, quantities, phone numbers, and many other parts of daily life. They answer “how many?” rather than “which in a sequence?” This is an A1 topic because even a short conversation may require you to understand a room number, pay a bill, or say how many tickets you need.

The basic Portuguese system is regular once you know the individual numbers through 20 and the names of the tens. Unlike English, Portuguese places e between the tens and units: English “twenty-one” is Portuguese vinte e um, literally “twenty and one.” Portuguese also marks gender in a small but important part of the system. A noun is grammatically masculine or feminine, and the forms for 1 and 2 change to match it.

This article teaches the complete beginner system from 0 to 100. It also points out common differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese and briefly explains cento so that numbers just above 100 do not come as a surprise.

How It Works

The numbers from 0 to 20

The numbers through 15 need to be learned as individual words. The forms from 16 to 19 are historically combinations with ten, but their modern spelling varies by region.

Number	Portuguese	Number	Portuguese
0	zero	10	dez
1	um / uma	11	onze
2	dois / duas	12	doze
3	três	13	treze
4	quatro	14	catorze / quatorze
5	cinco	15	quinze
6	seis	16	dezasseis / dezesseis
7	sete	17	dezassete / dezessete
8	oito	18	dezoito
9	nove	19	dezanove / dezenove
		20	vinte

Both catorze and quatorze are standard. The other alternatives reflect the two major varieties: dezasseis, dezassete, and dezanove are usual in European Portuguese, while dezesseis, dezessete, and dezenove are usual in Brazilian Portuguese. Choose the set used in the variety you are learning, but learn to recognize both.

The tens from 20 to 100

Number	Portuguese	Number	Portuguese
20	vinte	60	sessenta
30	trinta	70	setenta
40	quarenta	80	oitenta
50	cinquenta	90	noventa
100	cem

Several spellings deserve attention. Portuguese quarenta has no u after the q, unlike quatro. It is cinquenta, not a spelling based directly on cinco. The forms sessenta and setenta are also easy to confuse when heard quickly.

Building numbers between the tens

For 21–99, place e between the tens and the unit:

• 21: vinte e um
• 24: vinte e quatro
• 35: trinta e cinco
• 48: quarenta e oito
• 67: sessenta e sete
• 99: noventa e nove

The conjunction e means “and.” English normally writes “twenty-one” with a hyphen and no “and”; Portuguese instead writes three separate words. Do not use a hyphen: vinte e três, not vinte-e-três. An exact multiple of ten has no added e: trinta, cinquenta, noventa.

Gender agreement with 1 and 2

A noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea) has grammatical gender in Portuguese. The number must match that gender when it contains 1 or 2.

Meaning	Masculine noun	Feminine noun
one	um livro	uma revista
two	dois livros	duas revistas
twenty-one	vinte e um livros	vinte e uma revistas
thirty-two	trinta e dois livros	trinta e duas revistas

Agreement follows the noun being counted, not the speaker’s gender. A woman still says dois cafés because café is masculine; a man still says duas águas because água is feminine. In a compound number, only the final 1 or 2 changes: quarenta e uma pessoas, noventa e duas páginas.

When counting without a noun, use um, dois, três. The form um can also be the indefinite article equivalent to English “a/an,” but context usually makes the meaning clear: um café can mean “one coffee” or “a coffee.” Stress or contrast can make the numerical meaning explicit.

Exactly 100: cem

Use cem for exactly 100:

• cem euros — one hundred euros
• cem pessoas — one hundred people
• cem por cento — one hundred percent

Use cento when another number follows 100:

• 101: cento e um
• 102: cento e dois
• 125: cento e vinte e cinco

For the A1 range, the rule to remember is simple: 100 by itself is cem. The form cento belongs to numbers above 100 and is introduced here only to clarify the contrast.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
Tenho um irmão.	I have one brother.	Masculine um with irmão
Tenho uma irmã.	I have one sister.	Feminine uma with irmã
Queremos dois cafés.	We want two coffees.	Masculine dois with cafés
Ela comprou duas camisolas.	She bought two sweaters.	Feminine duas with camisolas
O autocarro chega em quinze minutos.	The bus arrives in fifteen minutes.	A number from 0–20
O bilhete custa vinte e um euros.	The ticket costs twenty-one euros.	Tens + e + unit
Há vinte e uma pessoas na sala.	There are twenty-one people in the room.	Feminine agreement in a compound number
Preciso de trinta e dois cartões.	I need thirty-two cards.	Masculine agreement with 2
O quarto é o quarenta e oito.	The room is number forty-eight.	Identifying a room number
A minha avó tem setenta anos.	My grandmother is seventy years old.	Age uses ter (“to have”)
A turma tem noventa e duas alunas.	The class has ninety-two female students.	Feminine duas
Foram vendidos cem bilhetes.	One hundred tickets were sold.	Exactly 100
O desconto é de cem por cento.	The discount is one hundred percent.	Fixed cem por cento
O livro tem cento e uma páginas.	The book has one hundred and one pages.	Above 100: cento; feminine uma

Common Mistakes

Leaving out e in compound numbers

• Wrong: vinte um euros
• Right: vinte e um euros
• Why: Between 21 and 99, Portuguese normally connects a non-zero unit to the tens with e.

Copying English hyphenation

• Wrong: trinta-e-dois
• Right: trinta e dois
• Why: Portuguese writes the tens, conjunction, and unit as separate words.

Using masculine forms with feminine nouns

• Wrong: dois pessoas / vinte e um páginas
• Right: duas pessoas / vinte e uma páginas
• Why: The forms for 1 and 2 agree with the gender of the noun, even inside a larger number.

Using cento for exactly 100

• Wrong: cento euros
• Right: cem euros
• Why: Cem means exactly 100. Use cento only when the number continues, as in cento e três.

Mixing regional spellings in a learning task

• Awkward for one chosen standard: switching unpredictably between dezasseis and dezessete
• Consistent European Portuguese: dezasseis, dezassete, dezanove
• Consistent Brazilian Portuguese: dezesseis, dezessete, dezenove
• Why: Both sets are correct, but consistent spelling helps you follow the standard expected by your course, exam, or audience.

Misspelling the tens

• Wrong: quarenta e sinco; secenta
• Right: quarenta e cinco; sessenta
• Why: Some tens are not transparent combinations of the unit words. Learn quarenta, cinquenta, and sessenta as complete spellings.

Usage Notes

Numbers before nouns

Portuguese normally places a cardinal number before the noun: três dias, quarenta euros, cem alunos. With quantities other than one, the noun is normally plural. After um/uma, it is singular: uma hora but duas horas.

Prices and decimal notation

In writing, Portuguese normally uses a comma as the decimal separator: €2,50 or 2,50 €, depending on local formatting conventions. In speech, prices are often expressed naturally as euros and cents—for example, dois euros e cinquenta cêntimos in European Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese uses centavos with reais: dois reais e cinquenta centavos. Currency wording therefore depends on the country as well as the number.

Phone numbers, codes, and addresses

Digits in phone numbers and codes may be read one by one or in conventional groups. A zero in a sequence is zero. Because grouping habits differ by country and situation, listen to how a local speaker divides the number rather than assuming English grouping. Room and bus numbers can be read as ordinary cardinal numbers: o autocarro vinte e quatro, “bus 24.”

Pronunciation and listening

The written system is easier than fast speech. In particular, the e in vinte e um may sound weak, and European Portuguese often reduces unstressed vowels more strongly than Brazilian Portuguese. Do not conclude that the connector is grammatically absent just because it is hard to hear. Practice whole chunks such as trinta e dois rather than isolated words only.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master larger numbers yet, but the same core logic continues. Portuguese uses cento within 101–199 and adds e between appropriate parts: cento e dez (110), cento e vinte e três (123). Exact 200, 300, and so on use separate hundred forms, several of which agree in gender: duzentos livros but duzentas páginas. That wider agreement system belongs to a later lesson.

A useful expression is cem por cento (“one hundred percent”), which uses the exact-hundred form cem. This is the safest form for a beginner to learn; you may also encounter cento por cento in some varieties and contexts.

Cardinal numbers can sometimes identify items rather than count them: página vinte (“page twenty”), linha dez (“line ten”), or ano dois mil (“the year 2000”). In these labels, the number follows the noun and acts like an identifier. This differs from a counted quantity such as vinte páginas (“twenty pages”).

Finally, cardinal and ordinal numbers serve different jobs. Dois means “two,” while segundo means “second.” English sometimes uses a cardinal number in labels (“chapter two”), and Portuguese can do the same (capítulo dois), but true ranking and sequence require ordinal forms.

Practice Tips

1. Build the system in layers. First recall 0–20, then the exact tens, and only then combine them. Pick a random number such as 57 and say cinquenta e sete without translating word by word.
2. Pair numbers with gendered nouns. Alternate um livro/uma página, dois livros/duas páginas, then extend the pattern to vinte e um/uma and trinta e dois/duas.
3. Train your ear with real information. Listen for prices, ages, platform numbers, and addresses. Write down what you hear, then check both the number and the regional spelling used by the speaker.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Ordinal Numbers — learn forms such as primeiro and segundo for order and ranking rather than quantity.
• Next step: Time & Dates — apply cardinal numbers when telling the time, giving dates, and talking about schedules.