Numbers, prices and times

Hearing numbers precisely

Some numbers sound similar. Pay special attention to these pairs: dos🔊 and doce🔊, quince🔊 and cincuenta🔊, sesenta🔊 and setenta🔊.

From 31 onwards you first hear the tens, then y🔊 and the units: cuarenta y nueve🔊 is 49, setenta y cinco🔊 is 75.

Prices: ¿Cuánto cuesta?

You ask about the price with ¿Cuánto cuesta?🔊 or ¿Cuánto cuesta esto?🔊 The answer usually starts with Cuesta ...: Cuesta diez dólares.🔊 At the end, at the till, you ask ¿Cuánto es?🔊 – and hear, for example, Son veinte dólares.🔊

In Panama people pay with the US dollar. For amounts with cents, con🔊 joins the dollars and the cents: $2.50 is dos dólares con cincuenta🔊. The word centavos🔊 is usually left out. For exactly one dollar you say un dólar🔊 – before a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun., uno🔊 becomes un.

Clock times: ¿Qué hora es?

For one o'clock you say Es la una.🔊, for all other hours Son las ...: Son las dos.🔊 Then come the minutes: Son las tres y diez.🔊 Son las cuatro y cuarto.🔊 Son las cinco y media.🔊

After half past, you count back from the next hour: Son las seis menos cuarto.🔊 is 5:45.

When? – a las

If you want to know when something happens, you ask ¿A qué hora ...? In the answer, a las comes before the time: La clase es a las ocho.🔊 Trabajo a las nueve.🔊 El restaurante abre a las once.🔊 For one o'clock it is a la una🔊.

Listening tip

Listen for the signal words: after cuesta or son comes a price, after es la or son las the time, after a las the moment something happens. And in prices, con🔊 separates the dollars from the cents.