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.
ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 1-100
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 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.
ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 100 AND GREATER
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-leh
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
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. Vittorio Emanuele III, who ruled the unified Italian nation from 1900 to 1946, was the third king with that name. Pope Paul V (1605-1621) was the fifth pope with the name Paul. When used with the numerical succession of kings, popes, and emperors, the ordinal numbers are capitalized:
Vittorio Emanuele Secondo (Vittorio Emanuele II)
Leone Nono (Leone IX)
Carlo Quinto (Carlo V)
diciottesimo secolo (eighteenth century)
ITALIAN ORDINAL NUMBERS
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
Notice 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.
ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 1-100
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 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.
ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 100 AND GREATER
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-leh
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
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. Vittorio Emanuele III, who ruled the unified Italian nation from 1900 to 1946, was the third king with that name. Pope Paul V (1605-1621) was the fifth pope with the name Paul. When used with the numerical succession of kings, popes, and emperors, the ordinal numbers are capitalized:
Vittorio Emanuele Secondo (Vittorio Emanuele II)
Leone Nono (Leone IX)
Carlo Quinto (Carlo V)
diciottesimo secolo (eighteenth century)
ITALIAN ORDINAL NUMBERS
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
Notice 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.