Top 10 Ordinal Numbers in Spanish: Essential Travel Spanish

When traveling through Latin America, there’s some basic Spanish vocabulary you’re gonna need. One of these things is knowing your ordinal numbers in Spanish.

Follow along with the video for best results:

You may find yourself in a hotel, apartment building, office, restaurant, shopping center, or other building where someone tells you what floor you need to go to.

And they’re probably not going to slow down and explain it to you.

They’ll simply say something like:

“Está en el cuarto piso.”

And then they’ll go right back to whatever they were doing.

If you don’t know your ordinal numbers, you may be standing there wondering what they just said.

I’ve been there myself. As a native English speaker from the US, I’ve had those moments while traveling. That’s one of the reasons I teach the practical Spanish that can make your travels easier.

So let’s get you familiar with the ordinal numbers in Spanish, especially the ones you’re most likely to hear when talking about floors.

What Are Ordinal Numbers in Spanish?

First, let’s make an important distinction.

When you’re counting normally, you’re using cardinal numbers (números cardinales):

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

But ordinal numbers (números ordinales) tell you order:

First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth.

In Spanish, those ordinal numbers are:

• Primero — first
• Segundo — second
• Tercero — third
• Cuarto — fourth
• Quinto — fifth
• Sexto — sixth
• Séptimo — seventh
• Octavo — eighth
• Noveno — ninth
• Décimo — tenth

You don’t necessarily need to memorize dozens of ordinal numbers right away. For travel, getting comfortable with the first several will give you a useful foundation.

Ordinal Numbers in Spanish: First Through Tenth

Now let’s put them into a situation you’re actually likely to encounter.

If you’re staying in a hotel or entering a building, you may need to know which floor something is on.

For example:

Está en el primer piso.
It’s on the first floor.

Está en el segundo piso.
It’s on the second floor.

Está en el tercer piso.
It’s on the third floor.

Está en el cuarto piso.
It’s on the fourth floor.

Está en el quinto piso.
It’s on the fifth floor.

Está en el sexto piso.
It’s on the sixth floor.

Está en el séptimo piso.
It’s on the seventh floor.

Está en el octavo piso.
It’s on the eighth floor.

Está en el noveno piso.
It’s on the ninth floor.

Está en el décimo piso.
It’s on the tenth floor.

If you can recognize these phrases when someone says them quickly, you’ll be much less likely to get lost when navigating a building.

Why Primero Becomes Primer

Here’s where Spanish throws in a small detail that can initially seem confusing.

You might notice that I said:

primero = first

But I also said:

el primer piso = the first floor

So what happened to the “o”?

When primero comes before a masculine singular noun, it changes to primer.

That’s why you say:

el primer piso

rather than:

el primero piso

The same thing happens with tercero.

By itself:

tercero = third

But before a masculine singular noun:

el tercer piso = the third floor

So remember:

primero → primer
tercero → tercer

You may notice that these changes occur with ordinal numbers ending in -ro. You don’t need to overthink the grammar when you’re just starting out. The important thing is to recognize the phrase when you hear it.

If someone tells you:

“Está en el primer piso.”

You should immediately understand:

“It’s on the first floor.”

And if they say:

“Está en el tercer piso.”

You should recognize:

“It’s on the third floor.”

That’s the kind of practical recognition that matters when you’re traveling.

Why This Matters When You’re Traveling

This may seem like a small piece of Spanish, but these are exactly the kinds of details that can make your travels easier.

You don’t have to speak fluent Spanish to benefit from knowing fundamental words and phrases.

When you’re traveling in Latin America, people aren’t necessarily going to expect you to have a huge vocabulary or carry on a complicated conversation in Spanish. But basic information—like Spanish numbers, directions, locations, and floors—is something you’re likely to encounter repeatedly.

You might walk into a hotel and ask where your room is.

You might arrive at an office for an appointment.

You might be looking for an event in a large building.

You might need to find a restaurant or business on a particular floor.

And someone might simply tell you:

“Está en el cuarto piso.”

If you recognize cuarto and piso, you’ve just eliminated one more potential source of confusion.

That’s what I mean by learning Spanish that’s good enough for real life.

Practice Ordinal Numbers Spanish

Don’t just read through this list once and move on.

Say the ordinal numbers out loud:

Primero
Segundo
Tercero
Cuarto
Quinto
Sexto
Séptimo
Octavo
Noveno
Décimo

Then practice the phrases:

El primer piso.
El segundo piso.
El tercer piso.
El cuarto piso.
El quinto piso.
El sexto piso.
El séptimo piso.
El octavo piso.
El noveno piso.
El décimo piso.

The goal isn’t perfection.

The goal is recognition.

When someone tells you where something is, you want your brain to recognize the ordinal number without having to stop and translate every individual word.

That’s especially important when you’re traveling because native speakers may say these things quickly and casually. To them, saying “Está en el cuarto piso” is completely ordinary.

Your job as a beginner is to gradually make those ordinary phrases ordinary to you, too.

Learn the Spanish You’ll Actually Use

There are countless Spanish grammar rules, vocabulary lists, and complicated lessons you could spend your time studying.

But don’t overlook the simple stuff.

Knowing the ordinal numbers in Spanish can help you navigate hotels, buildings, offices, and other places more confidently. It’s foundational Spanish that can give you another little piece of independence while traveling.

And that’s really the point.

You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to speak perfect Spanish. You just need enough Spanish to handle the situations you’re actually going to encounter.

Learn the basics. Practice them. Use them when you travel. Then keep building from there.

And remember… You don’t have to be perfect, just be good enough.