Learn how to count in Italian and how to use numbers in Italian in real life!
How to Count in Italian
When you start learning a new language, you will, of course, need to learn their numbers. The numbers in Italian are not hard to remember, and everything follows a very logical pattern. If you manage to learn how to count from one to ten, you will have an easy time learning further.
Whether you’re buying groceries, saying your age, or giving your phone number to someone, you will need to learn how to express yourself. The numbers are everywhere, and if you know the numbers in Italian, your journey will be a lot easier.
Just imagine you’re in the beautiful Rome and you have to exchange phone numbers with someone. It can be incredibly tough if you don’t at least know the basics. You can start here, and move to the more complicated things. Who knows, maybe in time, the numbers in Italian will become a big part of your life.
Indeed, Italian numbers are among the most useful basic Italian phrases.
They’re also among the 1000 most common Italian words.
The Numbers In Italian
Counting From Zero To Ten In Italian
Everything starts, of course, with ‘zero.’ The spelling is very similar to the English one, except the ‘Z’ is a very powerful sound. You will also use it in all sorts of mathematic operations, and also, whenever you give out your phone number.
‘Zero’ is also useful to know for whenever you want to express your feelings to someone. The Italians have this expression saying ‘Sei uno zero’ which literally means ‘you’re worthless.’ Of course, it’s not something you may use on a regular basis, but it’s something you may want to know, and a fun reason to learn the numbers in Italian.
The first ones you need to learn are the basics.
0 – Zero
1 – Uno
2 – Due
3 – Tre
4 – Quattro
5 – Cinque
6- Sei
7 – Sette
8 – Otto
9 – Nove
10 – Dieci
Counting From Eleven To Twenty In Italian
After ten, things start to get interesting, as you will need to start composing the numbers. There are two different patterns to follow, but it shouldn’t be hard to get a hold of them. From eleven to sixteen, you will have to put the number first, and then the word ‘dici.’ Starting with seventeen, just put ‘dici’ in front of the number.
11 – Undici
12 – Dodici
13 – Tredici
14 – Quattordici
15 – Quindici
16 – Sedici
17 – Diciasette
18 – Diciotto
19 – Diciannove
20 – Venti
Counting From Twenty-One to Thirty In Italian
After twenty, it starts getting easier. You will only need to how say the tens, and pair them together.
21 – Ventuno
22 – Ventidue
23 – Ventitre
24 – Ventiquattro
25 – Venticinque
26 – Ventisei
27 – Ventisette
28 – Ventiotto
29 – Ventinove
30 – Trenta
Counting From Thirty-One To Forty In Italian
And the same rule stands for thirty.
31 – Trentuno
32 – Trentadue
33 – Trentatre
34 – Trentaquattro
35 – Trentacinque
36 – Trentasei
37 – Trentasette
38 – Trentaotto
39 – Trentanove
40 – Quaranta
Counting From Forty-One to Fifty
If you pay attention to the pattern, starting with forty, all the tens will end in ‘-anta,’ so it’s going to be very easy to remember. Besides that, when someone says ‘Oggi entro negli -anta’ it means that ‘Today, I am forty.’ The numbers in Italian are very logical, so you won’t have a hard time learning them.
41 – Quarantuno
42 – Quarantadue
43 – Quarantatre
44 – Quarantaquattro
45 – Quarantacinque
46 – Quarantasei
47 – Quarantasette
48 – Quarantotto
49 – Quarantanove
50 – Cinquanta
Counting From Fifty-One to Sixty In Italian
51 – Cinquantuno
52 – Cinquantadue
53 – Cinquantatre
54 – Cinquantaquattro
55 – Cinquantacinque
56 – Cinquantasei
57 – Cinquantasette
58 – Cinquantotto
59 – Cinquantanove
60 – Sessanta
Counting From Sixty-One To Seventy In Italian
61 – Sessantuno
62 – Sessantadue
63 – Sessantatre
64 – Sessantaquattro
65 – Sessantacinque
66 – Sessantasei
67 – Sessantasette
68 – Sessantotto
69 – Sessantanove
70 – Settanta
Counting From Seventy-One to Eighty In Italian
71 – Settantuno
72 – Settantadue
73 – Settantatre
74 – Settantaquattro
75 – Settantacinque
76 – Settantasei
77 – Settantasette
78 – Settantotto
79 – Settantanove
80 – Ottanta
Counting From Eighty-One to Ninety In Italian
81 – Ottantuno
82 – Ottantadue
83 – Ottantatre
84 – Ottantaquattro
85 – Ottantacinque
86 – Ottantasei
87 – Ottantasette
88 – Ottantotto
89 – Ottantanove
90 – Novanta
Counting From Ninety-One To One Hundred In Italian
91 – Novantuno
92 – Novantadue
93 – Novantatre
94 – Novantaquattro
95 – Novantacinque
96 – Novantasei
97 – Novantasette
98 – Novantotto
99 – Novantanove
100 – Cento
When saying Italian numbers, there are two rules you need to keep in mind.
- You need to drop the last vowel in tens when you’re pairing them with numbers starting with vowels, such as ‘uno’ and ‘otto.’ This is a general rule you need to use in Italian.
- Whenever you are pairing a ten with three, make sure to add an acute accent on the last vowel in ‘tre.’ An acute accent can be a sign telling the reader that he’s supposed to read that vowel, so without it, you may give a whole new meaning to your Italian numbers.
Italian Numbers Over One Hundred
After 100, things are much easier. All you need to do is add a number before ‘cento,’ and there you have it.
200 – Duecento
300 – Trecento
400 – Quattrocento
500 – Cinquecento
600 – Seicento
700 – Settecento
800 – Ottocento
900 – Novecento
Keep in mind that there are no hyphens or spaces between the numbers in Italian. For example, if you’re saying 356 you will write ‘trecentocinquantasei.’
When it comes to thousands, there is only one rule you need to keep in mind.
One thousand is simply ‘mille’. Starting with two thousands, ‘mille’ will become ‘mila,’ and it will look like this.
2000 – Duemila
3000 – Tremila
4000 – Quattromila
5000 – Cinquemila
6000 – Seimila
7000 – Settemila
8000 – Ottomila
9000 – Novemila
Starting with ten thousand, you will also add a space between the words. Such as
10,000 – Dieci mila
20,000 – Venti mila
30,000 – Trenta mila
40,000 – Quaranta mila
50,000 – Cinquanta mila
60,000 – Sessanta mila
70,000 – Settanta mila
80,000 – Ottanta mila
90,000 – Novanta mila
100,000 – Centa mila
And it goes like this, up until one million. If you want to say 45,300 you will say ‘quarantacinque mila e trecento.’
I know, it may seem a little hard, but with enough practice, you will definitely master it in no time! So far, these are the easy numbers in Italian, but from now, you can create even more complex numbers.
Moving on, we have one million and over. The rule is simple.
1.000.000 – Un milione
2.000.000 – Due milioni
1.000.000.000 – Un miliardo
3.000.000.000 – Tre miliardi
All you need to be careful about is changing the last vowel. When we say one million, in Italian it will be ‘une milione’ and it will change to ‘due milioni’ for two millions.
Even though this is simple, you need to keep in mind that there are a couple of difference from English. For example, in English, we can say 1100 as ‘eleven hundred.’ Italians don’t have the equivalent for it so 1100 will be ‘millecento.’
The second difference is the way Italians say hundreds, tens and thousands. They are ‘decine’ for tens, ‘centinaia’ for hundreds, and ‘migliaia’ for thousands.
Exchanging Phone Numbers In Italian
Thankfully, now you know the numbers in Italian, so you can start engaging in more social interactions.
To be fair, everyone needs to keep in contact by phone at some point, so you will need to be able to give out your phone number, and also understand other people’s phone numbers.
While in Italy, you will soon learn about ‘prefisso’ which is the area code or the international dialing code. If you want to call abroad, you will need to use it, and if you are giving you phone number to an Italian, make sure to include it, so he or she can reach you.
For example, we can say that ‘Il prefisso dell’Inghilterra e +44’ which means that ‘the UK dialing code is +44.’
Or, you can ask ‘Qual e il prefisso di Roma?’ meaning ‘What is Rome’s area code?’
What’s left do to now is actually give your phone number to someone.
You can simply say ‘Il mio numero di telefono è 111-33-33-555(“uno uno uno tre tre tre tre cinque cinque cinque” or “centoundici trentatre trentatre cinquecento e cinquantacinque”). It’s all about the version you are most comfortable with.
Shopping Using Numbers In Italian
In Italy, shopping is one of the most popular activities, so you will definitely go and visit the stores while you’re at it.
There’s nothing more beautiful than finding a ‘mercato’ and buying all the fruits and vegetables you can find.
These ‘little markets’ usually appear once a week and early in the morning, so you may need to ask a local about when you will find it.
In shopping, there are a few useful phrases you need to know. You will be able to say the prices using the number you learned, but you also need to know how to ask about the prices.
If you want to ask ‘what’s the price’ or ‘how much is it’ in Italian you will ask ‘quanto costa?’ or ‘quant’e’?
You will probably get a response starting with ‘costa’ or ‘è’ or ‘viene’, as they are all synonyms to ‘it costs,’ or maybe a formal answer, such as ‘ le fragole costano due euro e dieci’ meaning that ‘the strawberries cost two euros and ten.’
By learning the numbers in Italian, you will have a very nice experience shopping in Italy!
Saying Your Age In Italian
When it comes to saying your age in Italian, things are a little different than English. For starters, Italians don’t say ‘I am 24 years old.’ They will say ‘I have 24 years, and this is the only correct way to say it.
You can simply tell your age by saying ‘Ho 24 anni.’ It’s very easy, and you only need to know the numbers. You can also say that you are older or younger than someone. “Ho due anni più/meno di te” means that “I have two years more/less than you.’
On the same topic, someone may ask you what year you were born in. It’s a common thing to ask, so it’s important to be able to talk about the year you were born in, or maybe about the year a specific event occurred.
Whether you will be talking about art, music or just when you met someone, these are things you need to know.
For starters, if you want to say what year we are in, you can simply say ‘siamo nel 2020’ meaning that ‘we’re in 2020.’
If we are talking about an earlier date, the Italians will say ‘Era il 2005” or “It was 2005.’
Do you know how we often refer to the sixties? Well, Italians do too, and they will say ‘gli anni sessanta’ for the sixties, and ‘gli anni ottanta’ for the eighties.
Do you want to know a few more Italian phrases? But of course. If you want to say that you were born in the 80’s, you can simply say ‘Sono nata negli anni ‘60.’ Or maybe you really love the 80’s music, and you may find yourself saying ‘Amo la musica anni ‘80.’
Keep in mind that Italians shorten the years too, so if you want to say 1984, you can simply go ahead and say ‘84’ or ‘l’ottantaquatro.’
If you’re reminiscing about when you met someone, you can say ‘ci siamo conosciuti nell’ottantaquattro’ meaning ‘we first met in ‘84.’
If you want to go back in time, you will need to learn to talk about centuries, and we will do that, by reviewing the ordinal Roman numbers.
XXI – Il ventunesimo secolo – The twenty-first century (2001-2100)
XX – Il ventesimo secolo – The twentieth century (1902 – 2000)
XIX – Il diciannovesimo secolo – The nineteenth century (1801 – 1900)
XVIII – Il diciottesimo secolo – The eighteenth century (1702-1800)
XVII – Il diciassettesimo secolo – The seventeenth century (1601-1700)
XVI – Il sedicesimo secolo – The sixteenth century (1501-1600)
So now, you can use the numbers in Italian to tell all your friends about a certain event that happened in the eighteenth century, and they will completely understand what you are talking about.
Math Operations In Italian
The simple Italian operations are simple, and it’s important that you know them. If you learn the Italian numbers, then these will be incredibly easy for you.
“+” – Piu
“-” – Meno
“x” – Per
“:” – Diviso
“=” – Uguale/Fa
So, if you want to make a simple operation, you can say “2 piu 2 uguale 4” meaning “2 plus 2 equals 4” or “6 diviso 3 fa 2” meaning “6 divided by 3 is 2.”
You don’t need to be a Math teacher to use them, but I’m sure these will be very helpful the next time you need to prove your argument.
Numbers in Italian are a little different compared to the English ones. They use the periods to mark the thousands, and the commas for decimals.
To give an example, it is as follows.
1.000 mile – One thousand, in English would be 1,000
1,4 uno virgola quattro – One point four, in English would be 1.5
Italian numbers in proverbs
Some common Italian proverbs involving numbers:
- Chi fa da sè fa per tre
It literally means:
“Someone who does for himself, does for three (people)”
It really means:
If you want something done well, do it yourself - Andare a fare quattro salti
It literally means:
“To go make four jumps”
It really means:
To go dance - Dare i numeri
It literally means:
“To give numbers” — Originally in reference to people who picked lottery numbers based on signs or superstition.
It really means:
To be crazy / raving /mentally imbalanced
For common Italian phrases that are not related to numbers, check out this collection of funny idioms, common Italian proverbs, and famous quotes.
Can you count in Italian?
As you practice, you will learn more and more about how Italians do it. They do have a specific way, but it’s also a very beautiful and interesting one.
It’s not hard to understand how numbers in Italian work, so you will have a very easy time composing bigger and bigger numbers.
You will be able to tell your Italian friends the year you were born in, or maybe the year you and your wife met.
For more, remember you can always join the course, Ripeti Con Me, where you can learn in no time how to speak Italian, and use it whenever you have the chance.
It’s amazing to commit to learning a new language, and it will definitely be a whole new experience the next time you visit Italy!
So what do you think? Are you ready to start learning the numbers in Italian?
