How do you say twelfth in Spanish?

The ordinal form is duodécimo (masculine) or duodécima (feminine). In casual usage, many speakers simply say el número doce or el doce instead of the formal ordinal.

Docena means a dozen, or a group of twelve. It works just like the English word dozen: una docena de huevos (a dozen eggs).

Is doce used for midnight?

Midnight can be expressed as las doce de la noche, though medianoche is equally common. For noon, you can say las doce del mediodía or simply mediodía.

Spanish vocabulary · Beginner

How to Say 12 in Spanish: Doce

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Doce · number / adjective · DOH-seh

Doce is the Spanish word for twelve. It belongs to the set of unique number words from one to fifteen that do not follow the compound pattern used by sixteen through nineteen.

DOH-seh

Necesito doce huevos para la receta.

I need twelve eggs for the recipe.

12 in Spanish: Quick Reference

Below are the most common Spanish words for 12, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.

Spanish	English	Pronunciation	Region / Register
doce	12	DOH-seh	Default, widely understood
duodécimo/duodécima	12		universal (ordinal: twelfth)
docena	12		universal (a dozen)

How Native Speakers Use Doce

Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.

Telling time

Son las doce del mediodía.

It's twelve noon.

Doce is essential for telling time, especially noon and midnight.

Shopping

Deme una docena de rosas, por favor.

Give me a dozen roses, please.

Docena (dozen) is the related noun derived from doce.

Ages

Mi hijo tiene doce años y ya es más alto que yo.

My son is twelve years old and is already taller than me.

Using doce to express someone's age.

Avoid These Mistakes When Using Doce

Adding an accent mark

Incorrect: docé

Correct: doce

Doce has natural stress on the first syllable and does not carry a written accent. Adding one changes the pronunciation incorrectly.

Confusing doce with dos

Incorrect: Quiero dos meses de suscripción. (when meaning twelve)

Correct: Quiero doce meses de suscripción.

Dos means two, not twelve. Listen carefully to the ending: dos ends in -os, while doce ends in -ce.

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Common Questions About 12 in Spanish

How do you say twelfth in Spanish?: The ordinal form is duodécimo (masculine) or duodécima (feminine). In casual usage, many speakers simply say el número doce or el doce instead of the formal ordinal.
What is a docena?: Docena means a dozen, or a group of twelve. It works just like the English word dozen: una docena de huevos (a dozen eggs).
Is doce used for midnight?: Midnight can be expressed as las doce de la noche, though medianoche is equally common. For noon, you can say las doce del mediodía or simply mediodía.