Ciao amici! Welcome to our lesson on numbers in Italian. Learning how to count is an essential part of mastering any language. Numbers are used for dates, times, quantities, and many other things. Today, we’ll go through the numbers in Italian, starting from zero and working our way up. So, let’s dive in and start counting!
Basic Numbers (0-10)
Let's start with the basics. The numbers from zero to ten in Italian are:
- Zero - zero
- One - uno
- Two - due
- Three - tre
- Four - quattro
- Five - cinque
- Six - sei
- Seven - sette
- Eight - otto
- Nine - nove
- Ten - dieci
These are the most important ones to memorize. Let's say them together slowly:
Zero, uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci.
Numbers 11-19
Now, let's move on to the numbers from eleven to nineteen. Notice the pattern:
- Eleven - undici
- Twelve - dodici
- Thirteen - tredici
- Fourteen - quattordici
- Fifteen - quindici
- Sixteen - sedici
- Seventeen - diciassette
- Eighteen - diciotto
- Nineteen - diciannove
Tens (20-90)
From here to one hundred, it’s pretty straightforward. We need a new word for each multiple of ten, and the ones in between use the base word for that set of ten plus the words for one through nine.
Twenty to ninety:
- Twenty - venti
- Thirty - trenta
- Forty - quaranta
- Fifty - cinquanta
- Sixty - sessanta
- Seventy - settanta
- Eighty - ottanta
- Ninety - novanta
When forming numbers like twenty-one or thirty-two, if the number after the base starts with a vowel, we drop the last vowel of the base number. For example:
- Twenty-one - ventuno (not ventiuno)
- Twenty-eight - ventotto (not ventiotto)
Let’s practice with a few examples:
- Twenty-two - ventidue
- Thirty-three - trentatré
- Forty-four - quarantaquattro
From One Hundred to One Thousand
For numbers between one hundred and one thousand, it gets even simpler.
Hundreds:
- One hundred - cento
- Two hundred - duecento
- Three hundred - trecento
- Four hundred - quattrocento
- Five hundred - cinquecento
- Six hundred - seicento
- Seven hundred - settecento
- Eight hundred - ottocento
- Nine hundred - novecento
Thousands:
- One thousand - mille
- Two thousand - duemila
- Three thousand - tremila
- Four thousand - quattromila
- Five thousand - cinquemila
Larger Numbers:
- One million - un milione
- Two million - due milioni
- One billion - un miliardo
Examples
Now let’s put it all together with some examples:
- One hundred thirty-four - cento trentaquattro
- Two hundred fifty-six - duecento cinquantasei
- Nine hundred ninety-nine - novecentonovantanove
- Three thousand seven hundred eighty-one - tremilasettecentottantuno
And there you have it! We’ve covered the numbers from zero to a billion in Italian. Numbers are a fundamental part of everyday language, and now you have the tools to use them confidently. Keep practicing, and soon counting in Italian will become second nature. Grazie for joining this lesson, and arrivederci!