Portuguese Numbers in Words
Spell any whole number in Portuguese, with cem vs cento, the connector e, and European vs Brazilian forms handled.
2,025 written out in Portuguese (European).
Key numbers in Portuguese
Portuguese writes exactly 100 as cem, but 101 as cento e um — the word shifts to cento the moment anything follows it. The connector e links hundreds to the rest and tens to units: 250 is duzentos e cinquenta, and 999 is novecentos e noventa e nove. Enter any integer to spell it out.
How Portuguese numbers are built
Portuguese reads a number in three layers — units (0–19), tens (20–99), and hundreds (100–999) — then repeats the pattern for the thousands. Unlike Spanish, Portuguese keeps the tens and units as separate words joined by e across the whole range: 21 is vinte e um, 45 is quarenta e cinco, 99 is noventa e nove.
The units 0–15 are fixed words (zero, um, dois … quinze), and 16–19 are single written words (dezasseis, dezassete, dezoito, dezanove in European Portuguese). From 20 up, you build every number by gluing the tens word to the unit with e.
cem vs cento, and where e goes
cem vs cento. Say cem only for exactly 100 and for round multiples such as cem mil (100,000). As soon as there is a remainder, it becomes cento: cento e um (101), cento e cinquenta (150), cento e noventa e nove (199).
The connector e. Portuguese uses e generously: between the hundreds and what follows (duzentos e cinquenta), and between the tens and the units (cinquenta e três). So 351 stacks two: trezentos e cinquenta e um. In the thousands, e appears before the final group only when the remainder is under 100 or a round hundred — mil e um, mil e quinhentos — but not otherwise: mil quinhentos e trinta e um (1,531).
European vs Brazilian. The forms differ for a handful of teens: European Portuguese writes dezasseis (16), dezassete (17), and dezanove (19), while Brazilian Portuguese writes dezesseis, dezessete, and dezenove. Use the toggle to switch; everything else in this range is identical.
- 1 Split into groups of three. Read from the right in groups of three digits: 543 is a single group; 2,345 splits into 2 (thousands) and 345.
- 2 Write the hundreds word. Use cem only for exactly 100; use cento for 101–199 (cento e um), and the -entos forms otherwise: 200 → duzentos, 500 → quinhentos, 900 → novecentos.
- 3 Join tens and units with e. From 20 up, link the tens to the unit with e: quarenta e cinco. Put an e after the hundreds too: duzentos e cinquenta.
- 4 Attach the thousands. 1000 is just mil (never “um mil”); 2000 is dois mil. Add e before the last group only when it is under 100 or a round hundred: mil e quinhentos, but mil quinhentos e trinta e um.
Portuguese number reference
European Portuguese forms shown; Brazilian differs only for 16, 17, and 19.
| Number | Portuguese | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | |
| 1 | um | |
| 2 | dois | |
| 3 | três | |
| 10 | dez | |
| 15 | quinze | |
| 16 | dezasseis | Brazilian: dezesseis |
| 17 | dezassete | Brazilian: dezessete |
| 19 | dezanove | Brazilian: dezenove |
| 20 | vinte | |
| 21 | vinte e um | Tens and units joined by e |
| 30 | trinta | |
| 40 | quarenta | |
| 50 | cinquenta | |
| 60 | sessenta | |
| 70 | setenta | |
| 80 | oitenta | |
| 90 | noventa | |
| 100 | cem | Exactly 100 only |
| 101 | cento e um | Shifts to cento with a remainder |
| 200 | duzentos | |
| 300 | trezentos | |
| 500 | quinhentos | |
| 900 | novecentos | |
| 1000 | mil | Never “um mil” |
Where the rules bite
Two genders for 1 and 2. This tool spells the standalone masculine forms um and dois. Before a feminine noun they become uma and duas — vinte e uma páginas, duzentas casas — and the hundreds agree too (duzentas, trezentas, quinhentas). Adjust the ending to match the noun that follows.
mil stays singular. One thousand is simply mil, never “um mil”. You only add a multiplier from two thousand up: dois mil, três mil, quinhentos mil. For 100,000 you say cem mil because the multiplier is a round hundred.
For the same idea in other languages, see the Spanish numbers writer or the French numbers writer.