Ordinal numbers

Vivo en el quinto piso

Such numbers as first, second and third are called ordinal.

In Spanish the most common ordinal numbers are the ones from 1 to 10. It’s them, we are going to talk about in this lesson.

1 — primero

2 — segundo

3 — tercero

4 — cuarto

5 — quinto

6 — sexto

7 — séptimo

8 — octavo

9 — noveno

10 — décimo

El primer día de la semana es lunes — The first day of the week is Monday

El segundo día de la semana es martes – The second day of the week is Tuesday

El tercer día de la semana es miércoles – The third day of the week is Wednesday

El cuarto día de la semana es jueves – The fourth day of the week is Thursday

These numbers are simple adjectives. They almost always come before nouns and change their form according to the noun they are related to.

La primera noche — The first night

Las primeras flores — The first flowers

Los primeros años — The first years

The numbers primero and tercero have a little peculiarity. They have reduced forms when they are placed before a masculine noun in singular form.

primer coche – first car

tercer lugar – third place

Don’t say: primero coche or tercero lugar

Their full forms are also widely used, but only when there is no noun after them.

Juan es el primero – Juan is the first one

El segundo día de la semana es martes y el tercero es miércoles — The second day of the week is Tuesday, and Wednesday is the third one

As in English, Spanish ordinal numbers also require a determined article.

Try it yourself:

the first love

the first snow

the first clients

the first words

the fifth element

the seventh year

my third job

the tenth floor

Addresses in Spain

Now you can say floor numbers.

piso – floor

¿En qué piso vives?

Vivo en el sexto piso

In commercial buildings the word planta is more common.

Adidas está en la tercera planta

In a Spanish elevator you will also need the ground floor.

la planta baja – the ground floor

This refers to any building.

Telling address and flat number

3o 2a

4o izda.

2o B

This is how most flat numbers in Spain look like. If you are standing in front of an intercom, it might be challenging to figure out what button to press.

The flat number like 2o 1a consists of two digits. The first one is for the floor (segundo piso), the second one is for the door (primera puerta).

2o 1a – segundo primera

The first ordinal number takes a masculine ending, because it refers to the word piso. The second number has a feminine ending, referring to puerta.

3o 2a – tercero segunda

4o 4a – cuarto cuarta

Try it yourself:

1o 1a

1o 2a

4o 1a

2o 3a

5o 4a

Sometimes to specify the door, a letter, instead of a number, can be used.

2o A – segundo A

6o B – sexto B

The third option you can come across is dcha. and izda, which are shorthands for “derecha” and “izquierda”.

4o izda. – cuarto izquierda

3o dcha. – tercero derecha

By the way, the intercom in Spanish is “telefonillo”.

el telefonillo – the intercom

Every entrance in a building has its own address number, making the address unique.

C/ Abades 47, 1o 4a — Abades street 47, first floor fourth door

C/ Victoria 12, 4o A — Victoria street 12, fourth floor A

C/ stands for “calle”.

Now you are familiar with the Spanish address tradition and have less chance to loose yourself in Spanish-speaking urban environments.