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billion and Spanish billón
In English
billion
a thousand million (1,000,000,000)
In Spanish
billón
millón de millones
Spanish "billón" means: trillion
Why they get mixed up On the traditional Spanish numeric scale, a "billón" is a million million (10¹²). English "billion" is only a thousand million (10⁹). The difference is a factor of a thousand, which can cause serious errors in financial or scientific contexts.
If you want to say...
- billionmil millones
- trillionbillón
- millionmillón
Examples
The company is worth a billion dollars.
La empresa vale mil millones de dólares.
There are billions of stars.
Hay miles de millones de estrellas.
The city has about eight billion dollars in debt.
La ciudad tiene unos ocho mil millones de dólares en deudas.
Earth is about four and a half billion years old.
La Tierra tiene unos cuatro mil quinientos millones de años.
Common mistakes in Spanish
Incorrect: Hay un billón de estrellas en la galaxia.
Correct: Hay mil millones de estrellas en la galaxia.
Un billón in Spanish is a trillion (10^12), not a billion.
Incorrect: La empresa vale dos billones de dólares.
Correct: La empresa vale dos mil millones de dólares.
For 10^9 in Spanish say mil millones.
Phrases you will hear
- a billion dollarsmil millones de dólares
- billions of starsmiles de millones de estrellas
- a trillionun billón
- millions and billionsmillones y miles de millones
- two billion peopledos mil millones de personas
- worth billionsvale miles de millones
In a conversation
- A:
The company is worth ten billion dollars.
La empresa vale diez mil millones de dólares.
- B:
Ten billion? That's ten thousand million.
¿Diez billion? Son diez mil millones.
- A:
Yes. A trillion would be a thousand billions.
Sí. Un trillion serían mil billions.
- B:
That's a huge number.
Es una cifra enorme.
Test yourself
"One billion" in English is...
To remember it
Billion = a thousand million. Spanish "billón" (a million million) = trillion.
Frequently asked questions
What does Spanish "billón" mean?
Spanish "billón" means "trillion". It looks like the English "billion", which is exactly why it gets confused, but "billion" means "a thousand million (1,000,000,000)".
Does English "billion" mean the same as Spanish "billón"?
On the traditional Spanish numeric scale, a "billón" is a million million (10¹²). English "billion" is only a thousand million (10⁹). The difference is a factor of a thousand, which can cause serious errors in financial or scientific contexts.