Inklingo

How to Say "-th" in Spanish

The Spanish word for-this avaB2 level.

English → SpanishB2

ava

adjectiveB2
when referring to a fractional part of a whole
A colorful pie chart with one small slice being pulled away from the rest of the circle.

Examples

Le corresponde una onceava parte de la herencia.

He is entitled to an eleventh part of the inheritance.

Dividió el terreno en una doceava porción para cada hijo.

He divided the land into a twelfth portion for each child.

Solo me queda una dieceava de la pizza.

I only have one tenth of the pizza left.

The Fraction Rule

From the number 11 onwards, Spanish uses the ending '-ava' (feminine) or '-avo' (masculine) to name parts of a whole. It works just like adding '-th' in English (e.g., eleventh, twelfth).

Matching with 'Parte'

Since the word 'parte' (part) is feminine in Spanish, you will almost always see this ending used as 'ava' to match it: 'la onceava parte'.

Position vs. Fraction

Mistake:Using 'onceava' to mean 11th in a race (position).

Correction: Use 'undécima' for position (11th place) and 'onceava' for a slice (1/11th).

Spelling Confusion

Mistake:Writing 'aba' when you mean 'ava'.

Correction: Remember that 'habas' are beans (with an H and B), while '-ava' is for numbers.

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