Let us learn the cardinal numbers and counting in Italian. Here, we will learn how to count from 1 to 10 and beyond.
| uno, una | 1 | ventuno | 21 | duecento | 200 |
| due | 2 | ventidue | 22 | trecento | 300 |
| tre | 3 | ventitré | 23 | quattrocento | 400 |
| quattro | 4 | trenta | 30 | cinquecento | 500 |
| cinque | 5 | trentuno | 31 | seicento | 600 |
| sei | 6 | trentadue | 32 | settecento | 700 |
| sette | 7 | trentatré | 33 | ottocento | 800 |
| otto | 8 | quaranta | 40 | novecento | 900 |
| nove | 9 | quarantuno | 41 | mille | 1.000 |
| dieci | 10 | quarantadue | 42 | duemila | 2.000 |
| undici | 11 | cinquanta | 50 | tremila | 3.000 |
| dodici | 12 | cinquantuno | 51 | diecimila | 10.000 |
| tredici | 13 | cinquantadue | 52 | centomila | 100.000 |
| quattordici | 14 | sessanta | 60 | centomilauno | 100.001 |
| quindici | 15 | settanta | 70 | centomiladieci | 100.010 |
| sedici | 16 | ottanta | 80 | un milione | 1.000.000 |
| diciassette | 17 | novanta | 90 | due milioni | 2.000.000 |
| diciotto | 18 | cento | 100 | dieci milioni | 10.000.000 |
| diciannove | 19 | centouno | 101 | un miliardo | 1.000.000.000 |
| venti | 20 | centodue | 102 | due miliardi | 2.000.000.000 |
The Number “0”
The number “0” in Italian is “zero,” pronounced as “dze-ro.”
“Un” vs. “Uno”
Before a masculine noun, “uno” becomes “un,” e.g., “un cane” (a dog), “un gatto” (a cat). You will encounter a similar dropping of the final “o” with a few other words in Italian, such as “buono” (good) and “bello” (beautiful), e.g., “Questo ristorante è buono” (This restaurant is good), “Questo è un buon ristorante” (This is a good restaurant).
Tens
The cardinal numbers 21-99 in Italian are formed by contracting the combination of the tens (venti, trenta, quaranta, … etc.) and the units (uno, due, tre, … etc.). The following two changes apply, if necessary:
1. The vowel at the end of the tens is dropped if the unit starts with a vowel (“uno” and “otto”), e.g., “ventuno” (21), “trentotto” (38), “quarantuno” (41), “novantotto” (98), etc.
2. Numbers with “three” in their units are written with an acute accent on their endings, e.g., “ventitré” (23), “trentatré” (33), “ottantatré” (83), etc.
Hundreds
The multiples of hundred (200-900) are formed by combining (due, tre, … etc.) and “cento” to form (duecento, trecento, … etc.).
We use a comma to separate decimals and a period to separate thousands in Italian. For instance, the number 2.155,25 in Italian is equivalent to 2,155.25 in English.
Numbers of more than two digits in length can be concatenated or written separately. Unlike in English, the conjunction “and” is not used anywhere between units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc., e.g., “quattrocentocinquantuno”(451) can also be written “quattrocento cinquantuno.”
Thousands, Millions, & Beyond
The word for a thousand in Italian is “mille.” To refer to multiples of a thousand, we use “mila” instead, e.g., “tremila” (3.000), “cinquemila” (5.000), etc.
When describing items in millions or billions, one must add “di” after “milione(-i)” or “miliardo(-i),” e.g., “un milione di studenti)” (a million students), “due miliardi di abitanti” (two billion inhabitants).
Notice that, in Italian, we cannot use the English way of expressing years, as in “nineteen seventy-three” (1973); that is, saying “diciannove settantatré” is incorrect. The correct way is to say “mille novecento settantatré.”
Arithmetic Operations
The basic arithmetic operations in Italian are as follows:
| + | più | plus |
| – | meno | minus |
| × | per | times |
| ÷ | diviso (per) | divided by |
| = | fa, uguale (a) | equals |
Next: Subject Personal Pronouns
Other lessons in Level I:
