Summing It Up… Expressions with Numbers in Mexican Spanish

Spanish like any other language is the product of its history and culture. Numbers are all around us and play a crucial role in our everyday lives; therefore, idioms with both cardinal and ordinal numerals which do not determine their meaning not only are commonly used in Mexican Spanish but also permeate everyday language making it efficient and economical on the one hand yet expressive and eloquent on the other. Most idiomatic expressions with numbers originated in Spain, came to be used by Latin American peoples and are still widespread in the region; others, on the contrary, are in use only in Mexico or other Latin American countries. The etymology of some colloquial phrases is clear, which makes them easy to understand, while others may be of unknown origin. Expressions with cardinal numerals appear to be more productive than those with ordinal numerals. In some cases, idioms with cardinal and ordinal numerals coincide in meaning since idiomatic expressions represent human actions and feelings; as a result, both types of phrases convey meanings related to emotions, opportunity and socio-economic circumstances.

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