Learn to Count in Italian

You might find cardinal (counting) numbers the most useful to know—you will need them to express time, record dates, do math, interpret recipe amounts, and, of course, count. In Italian, cardinal numbers are written as one word. Use the following table to memorize numbers from 1 to 100.

The numbers venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, and so on drop the final vowel when combined with uno and otto. Tre is written without an accent, but ventitré, trentatré, and so on are written with an accent.

Beyond 100

Do you remember those good old days before the euro's arrival in Italy when you would pay a few thousand lire for admission to a museum or a cappuccino and biscotti? Tourists needed more than just the numbers up to 100 to get around. Lire are history, but learning numbers greater than 100 might still prove useful. Though they might seem unwieldy, after a bit of practice you'll be rolling them off your tongue like a pro.