Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
What Does Quince Mean in English?
Quince · number · KEEN-seh
The Spanish word 'quince' means 'fifteen' in English. It is one of the fundamental numbers in Spanish and appears constantly in time, dates, ages, and quantities. The word is especially significant culturally because of the 'quinceañera,' the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday, which marks a major milestone in Latin American tradition.
Quince is pronounced KEEN-seh. The 'qu' sounds like a hard 'k,' and the final 'e' is a short 'eh' sound. The stress falls on the first syllable.
Faltan quince minutos para que empiece la clase.
There are fifteen minutes until class starts.
How Native Speakers Use Quince
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Telling time
Son las tres y quince.
It's three fifteen.
Stating the time in a quarter-hour increment.
Birthday celebration
Mi sobrina celebra sus quince años este sábado.
My niece is celebrating her fifteenth birthday this Saturday.
Announcing a quinceañera celebration.
Counting
Hay quince estudiantes inscritos en el curso.
There are fifteen students enrolled in the course.
Counting the number of people in a class.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Quince
Confusing quince (number) with quince (fruit)
Incorrect: I ate a quince for dessert. (thinking it means fifteen)
Correct: In English, 'quince' is also a fruit (membrillo in Spanish), so context determines the meaning.
In English, 'quince' refers to a yellowish fruit, while in Spanish, 'quince' exclusively means the number fifteen — mixing the two can cause confusion.
Misspelling as quinse
Incorrect: Tengo quinse pesos.
Correct: Tengo quince pesos.
The correct spelling is 'quince' with a 'c,' not 'quinse' with an 's' — the 'c' before 'e' naturally creates the 's' sound in Latin American Spanish.
Lock in Quince (Fifteen) Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Quince used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using quince in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Faltan quince minutos para que empiece la clase. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Quince (Fifteen) in Spanish
- What is a quinceañera?
- A quinceañera is the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in Latin American culture, marking her transition from childhood to young womanhood with a party that often includes a formal dress, waltz, and religious ceremony.
- Is quince related to any other Spanish numbers?
- Quince stands alone as a unique word, but numbers sixteen through nineteen follow a compound pattern built on it: dieciséis (16), diecisiete (17), dieciocho (18), and diecinueve (19).
- Can quince be confused with the English fruit 'quince'?
- For English speakers learning Spanish, the overlap can be confusing — the fruit called 'quince' in English is 'membrillo' in Spanish, while the Spanish word 'quince' always means the number fifteen.