Writing out the year in ordinal numbers

Question

At the end of his prologue to La tía Tula, Miguel de Unamuno writes:

"En Salamanca, ciudad, el día de los deposorios de Nuestra Señora, del año de gracia milesimo novecentésimo y vigésimo"

Thus he has written 1920. So for 2014, would I write: el año dosmilésimo decimocuarto?

What really confuses me is the "two-thousand" part. Not sure if it should be "duomilésimo" or "dosmilésimo"

Is there a rule for saying "two-thousandth, three-thousandth, etc."?

Thanks!

Answer 1

In modern Spanish we use the cardinal numbers. (¡Gracias a Dios!)

Ahora es el año "dos mil catorce" 2014. Pronto será el dos mil quince, 2015.

The higher ordinal numbers are so difficult, they are seldom taught in Spanish classes if at all. Maybe in the fourth year and and post grad and for reference purposes only.

:) - ian-hill, Dec 23, 2014

I agree wholeheartedly. They are seldom seen; but in old text and legalese they still exist. No one talks that way any longer. - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Dec 23, 2014

;) - ray76, Dec 24, 2014

Agreed. I just think it is a fun challenge to try to preserve that way of writing. - Ycontrol77, Dec 24, 2014

Answer 2

2014 es igual a dosmilésimo decimocuarto