Portuguese numbers from 1 to 100 are essential for everyday communication, including telling time, shopping, giving phone numbers, and talking about ages. Learning them in groups makes the pattern easier to remember. Once you know the numbers from 1 to 20 and the tens, you can build most numbers up to 100 with a simple structure.
Key Facts
- 1 = um, 2 = dois, 3 = três, 4 = quatro, 5 = cinco
- 6 = seis, 7 = sete, 8 = oito, 9 = nove, 10 = dez
- 11 = onze, 12 = doze, 13 = treze, 14 = catorze or quatorze, 15 = quinze
- 20 = vinte, 30 = trinta, 40 = quarenta, 50 = cinquenta, 60 = sessenta
- To form 21 to 99, use ten + e + unit, such as vinte e um = 21 and quarenta e cinco = 45.
- 100 = cem when used alone, but cento is used before more numbers, such as cento e um = 101.
Vocabulary
- Número
- Número means number in Portuguese.
- Contar
- Contar means to count.
- Dezena
- Dezena means a group of ten or the tens place in a number.
- Unidade
- Unidade means a single unit or the ones place in a number.
- E
- E means and, and it is used to connect tens and ones in numbers like trinta e dois.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Leaving out e in numbers like vinte e três is wrong because Portuguese normally connects tens and ones with e.
- Writing dez e um for 11 is wrong because 11 has its own special word, onze.
- Using cem before extra numbers is wrong because Portuguese uses cento in numbers greater than 100, such as cento e dois.
- Confusing seis and sete is a common mistake because they are both short words, but seis means 6 and sete means 7.
Practice Questions
- 1 Write these numbers in Portuguese: 18, 24, 37, 59, and 86.
- 2 Convert these Portuguese numbers to digits: quinze, vinte e oito, quarenta e dois, setenta e seis, noventa e nove.
- 3 Explain why 31 is written as trinta e um instead of trinta um, and compare it with how English forms thirty-one.