billones
bee-YOH-ness
📝 In Action
La distancia a esa estrella es de varios billones de kilómetros.
B2The distance to that star is several trillion kilometers.
El gobierno aprobó un presupuesto de dos billones de pesos.
B2The government approved a budget of two trillion pesos.
💡 Grammar Points
Using 'de' with large numbers
When you follow 'billones' with a specific thing (like people or dollars), you must put the word 'de' in between. For example: 'tres billones de dólares'.
❌ Common Pitfalls
The 'Billion' Trap
Mistake: "Using 'billones' to mean the English 'billions' (1,000,000,000)."
Correction: In Spanish, a 'billón' is a million millions (1 followed by 12 zeros). If you want to say the English 'billion' (9 zeros), say 'mil millones' (a thousand millions).
⭐ Usage Tips
Think 'Trillion'
To avoid confusion, always translate the Spanish word 'billón' as 'trillion' in your head. It's much bigger than the English word 'billion'!
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: billones
Question 1 of 2
If a scientist says a galaxy has 'dos billones' of stars, how many stars is that in English?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'billones' ever mean the English 'billions'?
Almost never. In the Spanish-speaking world (and most of Europe), a 'billón' is consistently a million millions. The English 'billion' (1,000,000,000) is called 'mil millones' or sometimes 'un millardo'.
Is 'billones' masculine or feminine?
It is masculine. You would say 'los billones' or 'dos billones'.