diez
“diez” means “ten” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
ten
📝 In Action
Tengo diez años.
A1I am ten years old.
Hay diez libros en la mesa.
A1There are ten books on the table.
La reunión es a las diez.
A1The meeting is at ten o'clock.
ten
Also: A+, number 10
📝 In Action
Mi número favorito es el diez.
A1My favorite number is ten.
Saqué un diez en el examen de matemáticas.
A2I got a ten (an A+) on the math test.
Messi usaba el diez en su camiseta.
B1Messi wore the number ten on his jersey.
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🗣️ Practice in a Tongue Twister
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: diez
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'diez' to talk about the number as a concept or a thing?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'decem', which also meant 'ten'. You can see this root in English words like 'decimal', 'decade', and 'December' (which was originally the tenth month!).
First recorded: Around the 10th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it 'diez' but then 'dieciséis' for sixteen?
Great question! For numbers 16 through 19, Spanish combines words. 'Dieciséis' is a smooshed-together version of 'diez y seis' (ten and six). The 'z' in 'diez' changes to a 'c' to keep the right sound.
Is 'diez' ever plural, like 'dieces'?
Almost never when you're just counting. You'd say 'diez coches' (ten cars), not 'dieces'. You might only see 'dieces' if you're talking about multiple number 10s, like 'Saqué dos dieces en mis exámenes' ('I got two tens on my exams'), but this is less common.