NOTES
(by DuoItalian)
CARDINAL NUMBERS
Numbers that denote quantity (1, 2, 3, etc.) are often referred to as “cardinal numbers” or “natural numbers”. The first twenty in Italian are fairly unique and need to be memorized.
uno | one | undici | eleven |
due | two | dodici | twelve |
tre | three | tredici | thirteen |
quattro | four | quattordici | fourteen |
cinque | five | quindici | fifteen |
sei | six | sedici | sixteen |
sette | seven | diciassette | seventeen |
otto | eight | diciotto | eighteen |
nove | nine | diciannove | nineteen |
dieci | ten | venti | twenty |
There are a couple of exceptions to the basic conformity of the Italian cardinal numbers after this:
- When uno (one) and otto (eight) are added to numbers venti (twenty) through novanta (ninety), the final vowel is dropped.
- Any number ending with tre (three) must add an accent on the end such as: trentatré (thirty-three), settantatré (seventy-three), etc.
vent-uno | twenty-one | ventisei | twenty-six |
ventidue | twenty-two | ventisette | twenty-seven |
ventitré |
twenty-three | vent-otto | twenty-eight |
ventiquattro | twenty-four | ventinove | twenty-nine |
venticinque | twenty-five |
As seen below, cento (one hundred) does NOT change in the plural, but mille (one thousand) changes to mila and milione (one million) changes to milioni.
trenta | thirty | cento | one hundred |
quaranta | forty | trecento | three hundred |
cinquanta | fifty | mille | one thousand |
sessanta | sixty | duemila | two thousand |
settanta | seventy | un milione | one million |
ottanta | eighty | sei milioni |
six million |
novanta | ninety | un miliardo | one billion |
TIP: In Italian, a period is used instead of a comma in large numbers and writing them out in text can look somewhat confusing, as there is no spacing.
- English (36,918 = thirty-six thousand nine hundred eighteen)
- Italian (36.918 = trentaseimilanovecentodiciotto)
ORDINAL NUMBERS
As in English, the Italian ordinal numbers are used to indicate order.
primo | first | sesto | sixth |
secondo | second | settimo | seventh |
terzo | third | ottimo | eighth |
quarto | fourth | nono | ninth |
quinto | fifth | decimo | tenth |
In Italian however, they are treated as adjectives and must agree in gender with the noun they modify.
- Questo è nostra primo concerto. (This is our first concert.)
- Lei è la terza ragazza da sinistra. (She is the third girl from the left.)
Following decimo (tenth), the remaining ordinal numbers are formed by dropping the final vowel and adding -esimo. The only exceptions being numbers ending in -sei or -tre, which do NOT drop the final vowel.
- diciott –esimo (eighteenth)
- ventitre –esimo (twenty-third)
- quarantasei –esimo (forty-sixth)
AGE
The expression of someone’s age in Italian is formulated as a number of years the person “has”.
- Lei ha sedici anni. (She has sixteen years. → She is sixteen years old.)
MATH
Basic math in Italian is written out as follows:
- 10 x 9 = 90 (dieci per nove uguale novanta)
- 7 + 4 =11 (sette più quattro uguale undici)
- 16 / 2 = 8 (sedici diviso due uguale otto)
- 73 – 40 = 33 (settantatre meno quaranta uguale trentatre)
VIDEO
(from YouTube)
VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
numero | number |
uno | one |
prima | first |
due | two |
secondo | second |
tre | three |
terzo | third |
quattro | four |
quarto | fourth |
cinque | five |
quinta | fifth |
sei | six |
sesto | sixth |
sette | seven |
settimo | seventh |
otto | eight |
ottavo | eigth |
nove | nine |
nono | ninth |
dieci | ten |
decima | tenth |
undici | eleven |
dodici | twelve |
tredici | thirteen |
quattordici | fourteen |
quindici | fifteen |
sedici | sixteen |
diciassette | seventeen |
diciotto | eighteen |
diciannove | nineteen |
venti | twenty |
trenta | thirty |
trent' | thirty (preceding vowels) |
quaranta | forty |
quarant' | forty (preceding vowels) |
cinquanta | fifty |
sessanta | sixty |
sessant' | sixty (preceding vowels) |
settanta | seventy |
settant' | seventy (preceding vowels) |
ottanta | eighty |
novanta | ninety |
cento | one hundred |
mille | one thousand |
un milione | one million |
un miliardo | one billion |
ultimo | last |
zero | zero |
alcuno | some |
doppio | double |
molto | many |
pochi | few |
sufficiente | sufficient |
tanto | much |
abbastanza | enough |
meno | less |
metà | half |
più | more |
più grande | bigger |
I found that Duolingo did not give me enough practice for numbers, particularly those above the examples given in Duolingo. How do you say 65, 73, 8,428, $45.73 (or Euro), metric dimension, weight, etc. I’d like to see you supplement this area.
Ciao Richard!
Thank you for using the website. I will absolutely expand on those areas when I have time, thank you for the suggestions.
In the meantime, here are some brief answers for you. Thanks again!
65 = sessantacinque
73 = settantatré
8,428 = ottomila quattrocento ventotto
$45.73 = quarantacinque dollari e settantatré centesimi
When using the Euro format, the code EUR or the symbol € should be placed after the number (45.73 EUR -or- 45.73 €).
Regarding the Euro coin, one Euro (much like the American dollar) is made up of one hundred cents. Coins go from 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents to 1 and 2 Euros.
Visit the Travel Phrases page for some additional info on currency related terms.
Regarding metric dimension and weight, unfortunately all I have to date is here: Measurements