Math in Spanish: All the Spanish math terms you need

Mathematics is a universal language that goes beyond any linguistic or cultural barrier. However, if you are planning to visit, study, or work in a Spanish-speaking country, knowing some Spanish math vocabulary will be of great help to you.

In this article, we will explore some of the most common and key math terms in Spanish. We’ll cover the basic Spanish math terms, and we’ll also go through algebra terms, geometry terms, and finish up with other vocab related to math in Spanish.

So if you’re ready to become a Spanish math whiz, buckle up and let’s dive in!

Basic math terms in Spanish

When talking about the discipline of Mathematics, Spanish speakers use Matemática or Matemáticas. You can use either the plural form matemáticas or the singular form matemática; both are correct.

• Juan loves math. – A Juan le encantan las matemáticas.

• When I was in school, math was not my strong suit. – Cuando iba a la escuela, la matemática no era mi fuerte.

Let’s start with some basic math terms in Spanish.

English Math Terms	Spanish Math Terms
Number	El número
Even number	El número par
Odd number	El número impar
Prime number	El número primo
Ordinal number	El número ordinal
Pi (3.14159…)	El número Pi
Decimal number	El número decimal
The point	La coma
Operations	Las operaciones
The solution	La solución
Geometry	La geometría
Arithmetics	La aritmética
Algebra	El álgebra
Calculus	El cálculo
Greater than	Mayor que
Less than	Menor que
To count	Contar
To measure	Medir

• Ordinal numbers are used to indicate the position of order of something. – Los números ordinales se utilizan para indicar la posición y el orden de algo.

• A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that is only divisible by 1 and itself. – Un número primo es un número natural mayor que 1 que solo es divisible por 1 o por sí mismo.

Math symbols in Spanish

When talking about math operations, here’s our list of Spanish math symbols.

Math Symbols in English	Math Symbols in Spanish
+ plus	+ más
– minus	– menos
x  times	x por
÷ divided by	÷ dividido entre
% percent	% por ciento
√ square root	√ la raíz cuadrada
X2  X squared	X2  X al cuadrado
= equal	= igual
≠ unequal	≠ desigual
( ) parenthesis	( ) los paréntesis
{ } brackets	{ } las llaves
/ fraction slash	/ la barra de fracciones
< less than	< menor que
> greater than	> mayor que
≤ less than or equal to	≤ menor o igual a
≥ greater than or equal to	≥ mayor o igual a
° degrees	° los grados

Now that we’ve gone through some math terms in Spanish, let’s see them in action! Note that rather than saying “equals” in Spanish, we can just say “is” using the verb ser conjugated: es. In case you need a refresher, we’ll also recommend our fundamental post on numbers in Spanish.

• 2+2=4 – Dos más dos es cuatro.

• 5-2=3 – Cinco menos tres es igual a tres.

• 4×5=20 – Cuatro por cinco es igual a veinte.

• √9=3 – La raíz cuadrada de nueve es tres.

Algebra terms in Spanish

Now we get more specific, as we dive into the world of algebraic terms in Spanish!

Algebra Terms in English	Algebra Terms in Spanish
Addition	La suma
Subtraction	La resta
Multiplication	La multiplicación
Division	La división
Percentage	La porcentaje
Equation	El ecuación
Monomial	El monomio
Binomial	El binomio
Polynomial	El polinomio
Trinomial	El trinomio
Factoring	La factorización
Terms	Los términos
Variable	La variable
Constant	La constante
Exponent	La exponente
Functions	Las funciones
Cosine	El coseno
Sine	El seno
Logarithm	El logaritmo
Sequences	Las secuencias
Series	Las series
Binary	Binario
Graph	El gráfico
Matrix	La matriz
Vector	El vector

To illustrate, let’s see an example that mentions several of these Spanish algebra terms:

• A polynomial is a mathematical expression that consists of variables, constants, exponents, and mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. – Un polinomio es una expresión matemática que consta de variables, constantes, exponentes y operaciones matemáticas como suma, resta, multiplicación.

Geometry terms in Spanish

The following list will be helpful in dealing with geometry in Spanish.

Geometry Terms in English	Geometry Terms in Spanish
Geometric shapes	Las figuras geométricas
Square	El cuadrado
Rectancle	El rectángulo
Circle	El círculo
Triangle	El triángulo
Diamond	El rombo
Trapezoid	El trapecio
Pentagon	El pentágono
Hexagon	El hexágono
Dodecahedron	El dodecaedro
Parallelogram	El paralelogramo
Pyramid	La pirámide
Sphere	La esfera
Cone	El cono
Cylinder	El cilindro
Circumference	La circunferencia
Radius	El radio
Diameter	El diámetro
Perimeter	El perímetro
Area	El área
Surface	La superficie
Hypotenuse	La hipotenusa
Leg, Side	El cateto
Base	La base
Height	La altura
Angle	El ángulo
Right angle	El ángulo recto
Obtuse angle	El ángulo obtuso
Acute angle	El ángulo agudo
Reflexive angle	El ángulo reflexivo
Concave	Cóncavo
Convex	Convexo

• An acute angle is an angle that measures less than 90 degrees. – Un ángulo agudo es un ángulo que mide menos de 90 grados.

• The teacher asked the students to calculate the perimeter of a rectangular playground. – La maestra les pidió a los estudiantes calcular el perímetro de un parque rectangular.

Other Spanish math terms

Finally, we’ll cover some math terms in Spanish that are commonly used in different situations.

Other Math Terms in English	Other Math Terms in Spanish
Average	El promedio
Derivative	La derivada
Gradient	El gradiente
Integral	La integral
Interval	El intervalo
Principle	El principio
Probability	La probabilidad
The Pythagorean theorem	El teorema de Pitágoras
Quotient	El cociente
Result	El resultado
Rotation	La rotación
Segment	El segmento
Three-dimensional	Tridimensional
Two-dimensional	Bidimensional
Unit	La unidad
Value	El valor

• A segment in geometry is just a line that connects two points. – En geometría, un segmento es una línea que conecta dos puntos.

• The quotient is the result obtained when one number or quantity is divided by another. – El cociente es el resultado que se obtiene de dividir una cantidad por otra.

Conclusion

So far so good! In this post, we’ve covered a vast number of math terms in Spanish.

We started off with the most general math terms in Spanish, and worked our way through more specific ones for geometry and algebra. Between all of these Spanish math vocab lists, you should have all the terms you need to discuss las matemáticas!

Finally, we’ll leave you with links to a couple of related posts. Besides the post on counting in Spanish we mentioned earlier, our post on units of measurement in Spanish also has clear links to Spanish math terms. And if you’re heading back to school then you’ll be interested in our post on school supplies in Spanish!