Spanish word

billón

Pronunciation

IPA/biˈʝon/

Meaning

  • masculine nountrillion

Example

La empresa perdió un billón de pesos.

The company lost a trillion pesos.

Illustration for billón (trillion)

More examples

Las visitas al sitio alcanzaron un billón.

Site visits reached one trillion.

Core concept

One followed by twelve zeros.

Common phrases

  • alcanzar un billón

    reach one trillion

  • un billón de visitas

    one trillion visits

Similar words

millón: The number equal to a thousand thousands (10^6), common in counts and prices.
mil millones: The number equal to a thousand millions (10^9), used in large national statistics and budgets.

Definition in Spanish

Número equivalente a 1 000 000 000 000 (doce cifras), denominado billón en la escala larga.

Word origin

Spanish billón is formed by adding the prefix bi- to millón and thus denotes a million multiplied by a million, that is 10^12.

Usage tips

  • In financial and news contexts Spanish texts frequently write the full number, use 'un millón de millones', or state '10^12' since short-scale readers may interpret 'billón' as 10^9.

Opposites

Word lists with this word