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After learning the cardinal numbers in Portuguese, you’ll also find it useful to learn ordinal numbers: the numbers defining an object’s position in a series, such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on. These, as you will see below, are slightly more challenging than the cardinal numbers, firstly because you have to think about gender and plurality a lot more, and secondly because the words themselves can be a little awkward and are harder to remember. However, if you practice with an expert tutor, it shouldn’t take you too long to master this subject.
Suffixes
Just like articles and adjectives, ordinal numbers in Portuguese inflect for gender and plurality. For example, the word for “first,” primeiro, can be spelled four different ways, depending on the noun to which it refers:
The first day
O primeiro dia (masculine singular)
The first thing
A primeira coisa (feminine singular)
The first days
Os primeiros dias (masculine plural)
The first things
As primeiras coisas (feminine plural)
The system of suffixes is the same for all ordinal numbers in Portuguese—so, masculine singulars always end with -o, feminine singulars all end with -a, masculine plurals all end with -os, and feminine plurals all end with -as. In the next section, for convenience, we will use the masculine singular; to inflect for femininity or plurality, simply remove the -o at the end of the word and replace it with the appropriate suffix.
The Ordinal Numbers in Portuguese, from 1st to 1,000th
First
Primeiro
Second
Segundo
Third
Terceiro
Fourth
Quarto
Fifth
Quinto
Sixth
Sexto
Seventh
Sétimo
Eighth
Oitavo
Ninth
Nono
Tenth
Décimo
Eleventh
Décimo primeiro
Note: For compound ordinal numbers such as this, both (or all) words must be inflected for gender and plurality.
Twelfth
Décimo segundo
Thirteenth
Décimo terceiro
Fourteenth
Décimo quarto
Fifteenth
Décimo quinto
Sixteenth
Décimo sexto
Seventeenth
Décimo sétimo
Eighteenth
Décimo oitavo
Nineteenth
Décimo nono
Twentieth
Vigésimo
Twenty-first
Vigésimo primeiro
Thirtieth
Trigésimo
Fortieth
Quadragésimo
Fiftieth
Quinquagésimo
Sixtieth
Sexagésimo
Seventieth
Septuagésimo
Eightieth
Octogésimo
Ninetieth
Nonagésimo
Hundredth
Centésimo
Hundred first
Centésimo primeiro
Hundred tenth
Centésimo décimo
Hundred eleventh
Centésimo décimo primeiro
Two hundredth
Ducentésimo
Three hundredth
Trecentésimo
Four hundredth
Quadrigentésimo
Five hundredth
Quingentésimo
Six hundredth
Sexcentésimo
Seven hundredth
Setingentésimo
Eight hundredth
Octingentésimo
Nine hundredth
Nongentésimo
Thousandth
Milésimo
Mastering Numbers in Portuguese
The main challenge with learning numbers in Portuguese, whether cardinal or ordinal, is simply memorizing the vocabulary—there aren’t too many grammatical rules to learn. The best way of mastering this subject is to practice regularly with a tutor who can coach you on all the vocabulary and guide you through the subject at a pace tailored to your individual needs.