Portuguese Numbers 1 to 20

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Count to twenty, handle the two genders of one and two, say your age, and tell the time.

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Um to quinze

The first fifteen: um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, dez, onze, doze, treze, catorze (PT) / quatorze (BR), quinze. Note the first Brazil–Portugal spelling split at 14: Brazil writes quatorze, Portugal catorze — both pronounced roughly the same. Dois doubles as the everyday "a couple of": dois cafés.

One and two have genders

The numbers 1 and 2 agree with the noun: um livro (one book, masculine) but uma casa (one house, feminine); dois livros but duas casas. This is the only gender agreement in the whole number system — from três on, numbers never change. Counting objects needs nothing else: the number goes straight before the noun.

Sixteen to twenty, then the tens

From 16, Portuguese compounds with e (and): dezesseis, dezessete, dezoito, dezenove, vinte. The tens run vinte, trinta, quarenta, cinquenta, sessenta, setenta, oitenta, noventa, cem — and every compound keeps the e: 21 is vinte e um, 35 is trinta e cinco. One hundred is cem exactly, cento when counting on: cento e um (101).

Age, time and money

Age uses ter: Tenho vinte anos (I am 20), asked as Quantos anos você tem? Time uses ser: São três horas (it is three o'clock) — but É uma hora (it is one o'clock), singular for one. Money: Brazil's real (R$) and Portugal's euro — prices are read digit by digit or in full: dois e cinquenta for 2,50. Ask the price with Quanto custa? (how much is it?).

Number	Portuguese
1–5	um/uma, dois/duas, três, quatro, cinco
6–10	seis, sete, oito, nove, dez
11–15	onze, doze, treze, catorze/quatorze, quinze
16–20	dezesseis, dezessete, dezoito, dezenove, vinte
How old are you?	Quantos anos você tem?
I am 20 years old	Tenho vinte anos

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