Capítulo 03

Numbers, Money & Time

Enough to read a peso price, an appointment time, and the five-digit INM fee.

Numbers are everywhere in your process: the appointment time at the consulate, the peso fee at the INM-partner bank, the price of a taxi, the date on your FMM. Many of these will be spoken quickly and only once. This chapter is tuned for recognition — hearing a number correctly is more important than saying one flawlessly.

Zero to ten

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Eleven to twenty

11–15 have unique names. 16–19 follow a clear pattern (literally “ten-and-six”…) written as one word.

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Tens and combining them

From 20 on, numbers combine tens + y (“and”) + ones. 21–29 are written as one word (veintiuno, veintidós…) but from 30 onward it’s three separate words.

20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
21
25
31
45
68
99

Hundreds

This is where you start hearing prices. Note: 100 alone is cien, but followed by more it becomes ciento (ciento uno = 101). The hundreds 500, 700, and 900 don’t follow the predictable pattern — memorize those three.

100
101
200
300
400
500 (irregular)
600
700 (irregular)
800
900 (irregular)

Combining hundreds with the rest: just chain the pieces together, no y between hundreds and tens.

150
230
580
899

Thousands — critical for the INM fee

The current INM fee for the canje is around 5,900–6,000 pesos. You will hear a number in this range, spoken quickly, at a bank teller window. Practice recognizing it:

1,000
2,000
5,000
10,000

Pattern: just prepend the number to mil. No y, no agreement. Exception: un mil is never said — it’s always just mil for 1,000.

Combining them — you’ll hear these at banks, hotels, and for the INM fee:

1,500
2,300
5,900 (the INM fee ballpark)
6,050

Drill this one sentence until it’s automatic:

That’s what the bank teller will say. If you can hear that sentence and know you’re being asked for 5,900 pesos, you will not freeze at the window.

Peso prices in the wild

How much does it cost?
How much is it? (at a restaurant, taxi)
30 pesos — a taco, a bottle of water
150 — a modest restaurant meal
800 a night — a mid-range hotel
5,900 — the INM canje fee

Mexicans frequently drop the word pesos if context makes it obvious — a shop clerk saying and holding up your item means “200 pesos.”

Telling time

Pattern: + hour, with y for minutes after and menos for minutes before. 1 o’clock uses Es la (singular) instead of Son las.

What time is it?
It’s one o’clock
It’s two o’clock
3:30 (“three and a half”)
4:15
10:20
a quarter to five (4:45)

At appointments, you’ll hear a las + hour + de la mañana / de la tarde / de la noche:

Your appointment is at 9 AM
at 2 PM
at 8 PM

Days and months

Days and months are not capitalized in Spanish. Dates use the pattern el + [day number] + de + [month].

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Today is May 15th
January 1st (only the 1st uses primero)
December 31st
2026

Phone numbers

Mexican mobile numbers are 10 digits. Spanish speakers normally read them in pairs or short groups, not digit-by-digit as in English:

What’s your number?
My number is…
Can you repeat it for me?
Can you write it down for me?

When in doubt, ask them to write it. Hearing a ten-digit phone number through fast Spanish is hard even for experienced learners.

Making absolutely sure you heard right

Numbers are high-stakes — the wrong price, date, or amount is a real problem. These three phrases buy you a second pass:

Can you repeat it, please?
That’s [number] pesos?
Can you write it down?

Always confirm payments and appointment times by repeating them back. Nobody will be annoyed — they will be relieved you’re making sure.

Try it: two micro-exchanges

At the bank, paying the INM fee:

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Confirming an appointment time:

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If you can speak both of those aloud — and especially hear them — the most financially and procedurally risky numeric moments of your trip are covered.