Numbers in Portuguese: 0 to a Million
How to count, read, write, and say numbers in Brazilian and European Portuguese. With pronunciation notes, plural agreement rules, and the small differences between regions.
Last updated May 20, 2026.
Numbers are one of the first things to learn because you use them every day: prices, addresses, ages, dates, phone numbers, room numbers. This guide covers everything from zero to a million, with the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese called out where they matter.
Zero to ten
| Number | Word | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | |
| 1 | um / uma | Masculine / feminine |
| 2 | dois / duas | Masculine / feminine |
| 3 | três | |
| 4 | quatro | |
| 5 | cinco | |
| 6 | seis | ”seish” in EU PT, “seys” in BR PT |
| 7 | sete | |
| 8 | oito | ”OY-too” in BR, “OY-tu” in EU |
| 9 | nove | |
| 10 | dez |
The gender agreement for 1 and 2 matters from day one. “Um livro” (one book, masculine). “Uma cadeira” (one chair, feminine). “Dois carros” (two cars). “Duas mesas” (two tables).
Eleven to nineteen
| Number | Word | Brazilian variant | European variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | onze | ||
| 12 | doze | ||
| 13 | treze | ||
| 14 | catorze | quatorze (also accepted) | |
| 15 | quinze | ||
| 16 | dezasseis | dezesseis | dezasseis |
| 17 | dezassete | dezessete | dezassete |
| 18 | dezoito | ||
| 19 | dezanove | dezenove | dezanove |
The double-S spellings are Brazilian; the single-A spellings are European. Both forms are understood everywhere.
Twenty to ninety-nine
The decades:
| Number | Word |
|---|---|
| 20 | vinte |
| 30 | trinta |
| 40 | quarenta |
| 50 | cinquenta |
| 60 | sessenta |
| 70 | setenta |
| 80 | oitenta |
| 90 | noventa |
Numbers between are formed with “e” (and). 21 = vinte e um. 47 = quarenta e sete. 99 = noventa e nove.
Remember gender agreement for 1 and 2: 21 books = vinte e um livros, 22 books = vinte e dois livros, 22 chairs = vinte e duas cadeiras.
Hundreds
| Number | Word | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | cem | exactly 100 |
| 101 | cento e um | over 100, use “cento” |
| 200 | duzentos / duzentas | agrees in gender |
| 300 | trezentos / trezentas | |
| 400 | quatrocentos / quatrocentas | |
| 500 | quinhentos / quinhentas | |
| 600 | seiscentos / seiscentas | |
| 700 | setecentos / setecentas | |
| 800 | oitocentos / oitocentas | |
| 900 | novecentos / novecentas |
Two things to notice:
- “Cem” is exactly 100. “Cento” is what you use when adding to 100 (cento e um, cento e cinquenta).
- 200 through 900 agree in gender with the noun. 500 books = quinhentos livros. 500 chairs = quinhentas cadeiras.
Thousands and beyond
| Number | Word |
|---|---|
| 1.000 | mil |
| 2.000 | dois mil |
| 10.000 | dez mil |
| 100.000 | cem mil |
| 1.000.000 | um milhão |
| 2.000.000 | dois milhões |
| 1.000.000.000 | um bilhão (BR) / mil milhões (EU) |
A few notes:
- Portuguese uses periods as thousands separators and commas as decimal separators: 1.250,5 (one thousand two hundred fifty point five).
- “Mil” never takes a leading “um” except for emphasis. 1.000 = mil, not “um mil.”
- “Milhão” is treated as a noun, so it gets “de” before what it counts: “um milhão de pessoas” (one million people).
- Brazilian Portuguese uses “bilhão” for 10^9. European Portuguese uses “mil milhões” (a thousand million), reserving “bilião” for 10^12 in the long-scale system.
Putting it together: reading a complex number
3.482
- 3.000 = três mil
- 482 = quatrocentos e oitenta e dois
- Combined: três mil, quatrocentos e oitenta e dois
127.560
- 127 mil = cento e vinte e sete mil
- 560 = quinhentos e sessenta
- Combined: cento e vinte e sete mil, quinhentos e sessenta
Ordinal numbers
For “first,” “second,” “third,” etc.:
| Position | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | primeiro | primeira |
| 2nd | segundo | segunda |
| 3rd | terceiro | terceira |
| 4th | quarto | quarta |
| 5th | quinto | quinta |
| 6th | sexto | sexta |
| 7th | sétimo | sétima |
| 8th | oitavo | oitava |
| 9th | nono | nona |
| 10th | décimo | décima |
Past 10th, ordinals get unwieldy and Portuguese speakers usually switch to cardinal numbers (use “the 23rd” rather than spelling out vigésimo terceiro). Days of the month do the same: “Hoje é dia vinte e três” (today is the 23rd), not “vigésimo terceiro.”
What to read next
- Hello in Portuguese: combine numbers with greetings (how old you are, your phone number).
- Days of the Week in Portuguese: the next vocabulary chunk.
- Portuguese Alphabet: pronunciation reference for new vocabulary.
- Beginner’s Guide to Learning Portuguese: how numbers fit into the first month.
Frequently asked
Are numbers the same in Brazilian and European Portuguese?
The words are the same. Pronunciation differs slightly because European Portuguese drops some unstressed vowels and pronounces final S as 'sh.' Numerals (1, 2, 3) are obviously identical, but spoken numbers reveal the dialect.
Do numbers agree in gender in Portuguese?
Most don't, but a handful do. Um/uma (one) and dois/duas (two) change for gender. The numbers from 200 to 900 also have masculine and feminine forms (duzentos/duzentas, trezentos/trezentas, etc.). Everything else stays the same regardless of what's being counted.
Why is 16 dezesseis in Brazilian but dezasseis in European?
It's one of the small spelling differences that survived the 2009 Orthographic Agreement. Brazilians write dezesseis, dezessete, and dezenove with double S; Portuguese write dezasseis, dezassete, and dezanove. Both forms are understood everywhere.
How do you write large numbers in Portuguese?
Portuguese uses periods as thousands separators and commas as decimal separators, the opposite of English. So 'one thousand two hundred and fifty point five' is written 1.250,5 in Portuguese (not 1,250.5).