A collection of exactly fifty identical, brightly colored objects, such as red apples or blue spheres, arranged neatly on a plain background, illustrating the cardinal number fifty.

cincuenta

seen-KWEHN-tah

AdjectiveInvariableA1

fifty?cardinal number,50?digit

Also:fifties?referring to age or decade (often preceded by 'los/las')

📝 In Action

Necesito cincuenta minutos para terminar este trabajo.

I need fifty minutes to finish this work.

Mi padre tiene cincuenta años y sigue jugando al fútbol.

My father is fifty years old and still plays soccer.

La entrada al museo cuesta cincuenta pesos.

Admission to the museum costs fifty pesos.

Ella se graduó en el año cincuenta y dos.

She graduated in 'fifty-two (1952, etc.).

Word Connections

Common Collocations

cincuenta por ciento – fifty percent
los años cincuenta – the fifties (the decade)

💡 Grammar Points

Always Unchanging

Unlike the number 'uno' (which changes to 'un' or 'una'), 'cincuenta' always stays the same, whether you are counting masculine nouns (cincuenta libros) or feminine nouns (cincuenta mesas).

Writing Large Numbers

In Spanish, the numbers from 31 to 99 are usually written as three separate words (e.g., 'cincuenta y uno', 'fifty-one').

❌ Common Pitfalls

Adding an 's'

Mistake: "Using 'cincuentas' when counting things."

Correction: The number itself never takes an 's' when counting items. Only use 'las cincuentas' when referring to the decade or age range (e.g., 'She is in her fifties').

⭐ Usage Tips

Pronunciation Check

Make sure to clearly pronounce the 'c' sound (like an 's' in Latin America, or a 'th' in Spain) and the 'kwen' sound. It is not pronounced like 'cinco' (five).

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: cincuenta

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly uses 'cincuenta'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

cincuentañero(person in their fifties) - noun

cincuentavo(fiftieth (fractional)) - adjective

quincuagésimo(fiftieth (ordinal)) - adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I write 51, 52, 53, etc., in Spanish?

You write the number 50 and then add 'y' (and) plus the next digit. For example, 51 is 'cincuenta y uno', and 55 is 'cincuenta y cinco'.

If I want to say 'about fifty people', how do I phrase that?

You can use the phrase 'cerca de cincuenta personas' (close to fifty people) or 'unas cincuenta personas' (around fifty people).