How to Count in Italian

Learn to count from One to 1 million in Italian

Italy numbers 1-5
De Agostini Picture Library / Getty Images

Numbers are a must-know when learning a language because they’re used in so many situations—figuring out what time it is, how much something costs, understanding the timeline that your tour guide is talking about, doing math, understanding recipes, and even interpreting the Wi-Fi password. Below are tables and examples that will help you learn to read and pronounce the numbers in Italian from one to 1 million.

Italian Cardinal Numbers From 1 to 100

Use the following table to memorize numbers from 1 to 100.

Numbers and Pronounciations

1

uno

OO-noh

2

due

DOO-eh

3

tre

TREH

4

quattro

KWAHT-troh

5

cinque

CHEEN-kweh

6

sei

SEH-ee

7

sette

SET-teh

8

otto

OHT-toh

9

nove

NOH-veh

10

dieci

dee-EH-chee

11

undici

OON-dee-chee

12

dodici

DOH-dee-chee

13

tredici

TREH-dee-chee

14

quattordici

kwaht-TOR-dee-chee

15

quindici

KWEEN-dee-chee

16

sedici

SEH-dee-chee

17

diciassette

dee-chahs-SET-teh

18

diciotto

dee-CHOHT-toh

19

diciannove

dee-chahn-NOH-veh

20

venti

VEN-tee

21

ventuno

ven-TOO-noh

22

ventidue

ven-tee-DOO-eh

23

ventitré

ven-tee-TREH

24

ventiquattro

ven-tee-KWAHT-troh

25

venticinque

ven-tee-CHEEN-kweh

26

ventisei

ven-tee-SEH-ee

27

ventisette

ven-tee-SET-teh

28

ventotto

ven-TOHT-toh

29

ventinove

ven-tee-NOH-veh

30

trenta

TREN-tah

40

quaranta

kwah-RAHN-tah

50

cinquanta

cheen-KWAHN-tah

60

sessanta

ses-SAHN-tah

70

settanta

set-TAHN-ta

80

ottanta

oht-TAHN-ta

90

novanta

noh-VAHN-tah

100

cento

CHEN-toh

The numbers venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, and so on drop the final vowel when combined with uno - 1 and otto - 8. Tre - 3 is written without an accent, but ventitré - 23, trentatré - 33, and so on are written with an acute accent. Once you know the base number, like venti - 20, you can add your numbers for 1-10 to create ventuno - 21, ventidue - 22, ventitré - 23, and so on. Some esempi (examples), with the Italian listed on the left and the English translation on the right, include:

  • Quanto costa la focaccia? ˃ How much does the focaccia cost?
  • Costa due euro e cinquanta centesimi. ˃ It costs 2,50 euro.
  • Fa caldo oggi! Quanti gradi ci sono? ˃ It’s hot today! What’s the temperature?
  • Trentuno gradi! ˃ 31 degrees!
  • Che ore sono? ˃ What time is it?
  • Sono le due e undici. ˃ It’s 2:11. 

Italian Cardinal Numbers of 100 and Greater

Before the euro's arrival in Italy, you could pay a few thousand lire for admission to a museum or for a cappuccino and biscotti. During that time, tourists needed to know more than just the numbers up to 100. Fortunately, lire are history, but learning numbers greater than 100 will still prove useful, particularly when talking about years or the prices for any couture items.

Number and Pronunciation

100

cento

CHEN-toh

101

centouno/centuno

cheh- toh-OO-noh/chehn-TOO-noh

150

centocinquanta

cheh-toh-cheen-KWAHN-tah

200

duecento

doo-eh-CHEN-toh

300

trecento

treh-CHEN-toh

400

quattrocento

kwaht-troh-CHEN-toh

500

cinquecento

cheen-kweh-CHEN-toh

600

seicento

seh-ee-CHEN-toh

700

settecento

set-the-CHEN-toh

800

ottocento

oht-toh-CHEN-toh

900

novecento

noh-veh-CHEN-toh

1.000

mille

MEEL-leh

1.001

milleuno

meel-leh-OO-noh

1.200

milleduecento

meel-leh-doo-eh-CHEN-toh

2.000

duemila

doo-eh-MEE-lah

10.000

diecimila

dee-eh-chee-MEE-lah

15.000

quindicimila

kween-dee-chee-MEE-lah

100.000

centomila

chen-toh-mee-lah

1.000.000

un milione

OON mee-lee-OH-neh

2.000.000

due milioni

DOO-eh mee-lee-OH-neh

1.000.000.000

un miliardo

OON mee-lee-ARE-doh

Some examples include:

  • 1492 ˃ millequattrocentonovantadue
  • 1962 ˃ millenovecentosessantadue
  • 1991 ˃ millenovecentonovantuno
  • 2000 ˃ duemila
  • 2016 ˃ duemila sedici

Italian Ordinal Numbers

You can place items in "order" with ordinal numbers. For instance, il primo is the first course on a menu and il secondo is the second course, so pay attention to articles.

English and Italian

first

primo

second

secondo

third

terzo

fourth

quarto

fifth

quinto

sixth

sesto

seventh

settimo

eighth

ottavo

ninth

nono

tenth

decimo

eleventh

undicesimo

twelfth

dodicesimo

thirteenth

tredicesimo

fourteenth

quattordicesimo

fifteenth

quindicesimo

sixteenth

sedicesimo

seventeenth

diciassettesimo

eighteenth

diciottesimo

nineteenth

diciannovesimo

twentieth

ventesimo

twenty-first

ventunesimo

twenty-third

ventitreesimo

hundredth

centesimo

thousandth

millesimo

two thousandth

duemillesimo

three thousandth

tremillesimo

one millionth

Milionesimo

When used with the numerical succession of kings, popes, and emperors, the ordinal numbers are capitalized. For example, Vittorio Emanuele III (Terzo), who ruled the unified Italian nation from 1900 to 1946, was the third king with that name.

Some other examples include:

  • Pope Paul Quinto ˃ Pope Paul V
  • Vittorio Emanuele Secondo ˃ Vittorio Emanuele II
  • Leone Nono ˃ Leone IX
  • Carlo Quinto ˃ Carlo V

Here are some examples of centuries:

  • Diciottesimo secolo ˃ 18th century
  • Diciannovesimo secolo ˃ 19th century
  • Bentesimo secolo ˃ 20h century

Note the regularity of ordinal numbers beginning with undicesimo. The suffix -esimo is added to the cardinal numbers by dropping the final vowel of the cardinal number.

The one exception includes numbers ending in -tré. Those numbers drop their accent and are unchanged when -esimo is added. Since Italian ordinal numbers function as adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify: primo, prima, primi, prime. Examples include:

  • Il primo ministro ˃ the prime minister
  • Il primo sindaco donna della storia di questa città ˃ the first female major in the history of this city
  • Prendiamo il primo treno che arriva! ˃ Let’s catch the first train coming!
  • La prima della fila è questa signora, io sono la seconda. ˃ The first in line ​is this lady, I’m the second one.
Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Hale, Cher. "How to Count in Italian." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/how-to-count-in-italian-4039800. Hale, Cher. (2023, April 5). How to Count in Italian. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-count-in-italian-4039800 Hale, Cher. "How to Count in Italian." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-count-in-italian-4039800 (accessed March 19, 2024).