Italian Language Lesson

Numbers - From 1 to 10,000,000 and Ordinal Numbers

Basic Numbers
Tens & Hundreds
Thousands & Beyond
Ordinal Numbers
Exercises

Basic Numbers 1-20

Italian numbers follow specific patterns that make them relatively easy to learn once you understand the basic structure. Let's start with numbers 1-20.

Numbers 1-10

1

uno

one

2

due

two

3

tre

three

4

quattro

four

5

cinque

five

6

sei

six

7

sette

seven

8

otto

eight

9

nove

nine

10

dieci

ten

Numbers 11-20

11

undici

eleven

12

dodici

twelve

13

tredici

thirteen

14

quattordici

fourteen

15

quindici

fifteen

16

sedici

sixteen

17

diciassette

seventeen

18

diciotto

eighteen

19

diciannove

nineteen

20

venti

twenty

Important Notes

  • Uno becomes un before masculine nouns: un libro (one book)
  • Uno becomes una before feminine nouns: una casa (one house)
  • Numbers 11-16 end in -dici
  • Numbers 17-19 start with dici-

Examples in Context

  • Ho due fratelli. (I have two brothers.)
  • Ci sono quindici studenti nella classe. (There are fifteen students in the class.)
  • Compro una mela. (I buy one apple.)
  • Arrivo tra venti minuti. (I'll arrive in twenty minutes.)

Tens, Hundreds and Compound Numbers

Tens (20-100)

Number Italian Pronunciation
20ventiVEN-tee
30trentaTREN-ta
40quarantakwa-RAN-ta
50cinquantachin-KWAN-ta
60sessantases-SAN-ta
70settantaset-TAN-ta
80ottantaot-TAN-ta
90novantano-VAN-ta
100centoCHEN-to

Compound Numbers (21-99)

Pattern: ten + unit (with some modifications)

Example: 21 = venti + uno = ventuno (the final vowel of venti is dropped)

Number Italian Number Italian Number Italian
21ventuno 41quarantuno 61sessantuno
22ventidue 42quarantadue 62sessantadue
23ventitré 43quarantatré 63sessantatré
28ventotto 48quarantotto 68sessantotto
35trentacinque 55cinquantacinque 75settantacinque
39trentanove 59cinquantanove 79settantanove
Important Rule: When adding uno (1) or otto (8) to tens, the final vowel of the ten is dropped:
  • venti + uno = ventuno (not ventiuno)
  • trenta + otto = trentotto (not trentaotto)

Hundreds (100-900)

Number Italian Pronunciation
100centoCHEN-to
200duecentodweh-CHEN-to
300trecentotreh-CHEN-to
400quattrocentokwat-troh-CHEN-to
500cinquecentochin-kweh-CHEN-to
600seicentosey-CHEN-to
700settecentoset-teh-CHEN-to
800ottocentoot-toh-CHEN-to
900novecentono-veh-CHEN-to
Tip: For numbers between 101-199, use "cento" + the number:

125 = centoventicinque

187 = centottantasette

Examples with Hundreds

  • La città ha duecentomila abitanti. (The city has two hundred thousand inhabitants.)
  • Ho pagato trecentocinquanta euro. (I paid three hundred fifty euros.)
  • Ci sono centoundici pagine nel libro. (There are one hundred eleven pages in the book.)

Thousands and Beyond

Thousands (1,000-1,000,000)

Number Italian Pronunciation
1,000milleMIL-leh
2,000duemiladweh-MEE-la
3,000tremilatreh-MEE-la
10,000diecimiladyeh-chee-MEE-la
100,000centomilachen-toh-MEE-la
1,000,000un milioneoon mee-LYOH-neh
2,000,000due milionidweh mee-LYOH-nee
10,000,000dieci milionidyeh-chee mee-LYOH-nee

Important Rules for Large Numbers

  • Mille (1000) is invariable - it doesn't change for plural
  • Milione (1,000,000) becomes milioni in plural
  • Use e (and) between hundreds and tens: 235 = duecentotrentacinque
  • No "e" between thousands and hundreds: 1,235 = milleduecentotrentacinque

Complex Number Examples

Number Italian Construction
1,234 milleduecentotrentaquattro mille + duecento + trentaquattro
15,678 quindicimilaseicentosettantotto quindicimila + seicento + settantotto
234,567 duecentotrentaquattromilacinquecentosessantasette duecentotrentaquattromila + cinquecento + sessantasette
1,500,000 un milione e cinquecentomila un milione + e + cinquecentomila
10,000,000 dieci milioni dieci + milioni
Attention: In Italian, we use periods (.) where English uses commas, and commas (,) where English uses periods for decimals:

1.000 (one thousand) - 1,5 (one point five)

Millions and Billions

Number Italian English Equivalent
1,000,000un milioneone million
1,000,000,000un miliardoone billion
1,000,000,000,000un bilioneone trillion

Real World Examples

  • Roma ha circa tre milioni di abitanti. (Rome has about three million inhabitants.)
  • Il biglietto costa venticinquemila lire. (The ticket costs twenty-five thousand lira.)
  • La distanza è centocinquanta chilometri. (The distance is one hundred fifty kilometers.)

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers indicate position or order in a sequence (first, second, third, etc.). In Italian, they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

First to Tenth

English Italian (masc.) Italian (fem.) Abbreviation
firstprimoprima1º / 1ª
secondsecondoseconda2º / 2ª
thirdterzoterza3º / 3ª
fourthquartoquarta4º / 4ª
fifthquintoquinta5º / 5ª
sixthsestosesta6º / 6ª
seventhsettimosettima7º / 7ª
eighthottavoottava8º / 8ª
ninthnononona9º / 9ª
tenthdecimodecima10º / 10ª

Eleventh and Beyond

English Italian (masc.) Italian (fem.)
eleventhundicesimoundicesima
twelfthdodicesimododicesima
thirteenthtredicesimotredicesima
twentiethventesimoventesima
twenty-firstventunesimoventunesima
thirtiethtrentesimotrentesima
hundredthcentesimocentesima
thousandthmillesimomillesima

Formation Rules

  • For numbers 1-10: unique forms (primo, secondo, etc.)
  • For numbers 11+: cardinal number + -esimo (drop final vowel)
  • Exceptions: ventesimo (20th), trentesimo (30th), etc.
  • Compound numbers: ventunesimo (21st), trentaduesimo (32nd)
Tip: To form most ordinal numbers beyond 10th, take the cardinal number, drop the final vowel, and add -esimo:

tredici → tredicesimo (13th)

ventuno → ventunesimo (21st)

centotrentadue → centotrentadueesimo (132nd)

Examples in Context

  • Abita al terzo piano. (He lives on the third floor.)
  • È la prima volta che visito l'Italia. (It's the first time I visit Italy.)
  • Oggi è il ventiquattresimo giorno. (Today is the twenty-fourth day.)
  • La seconda strada a destra. (The second street on the right.)

Special Uses of Ordinal Numbers

Context Example Translation
Centuries il ventesimo secolo the twentieth century
Royalty Luigi Quattordicesimo Louis the Fourteenth
Dates il primo maggio the first of May
Fractions un quarto one quarter

Interactive Exercises

Exercise 1: Basic Numbers 1-20

Write the Italian word for these numbers.

Exercise 2: Compound Numbers

Write the Italian equivalent of these compound numbers.

Exercise 3: Large Numbers

Write these large numbers in Italian.

Exercise 4: Ordinal Numbers

Write the Italian ordinal numbers.

Exercise 5: Translate to Italian

Translate these number-related phrases to Italian.