Italian Numbers: Counting from 1 to 100+ in Italian

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What do you need to know when the waiter hands you the bill in Rome, or when you’re asking what time the last train leaves from Florence? Italian numbers, of course!

In this article, we cover the numbers from 0 to 1 billion, their pronunciations and spellings, and some tips on how to remember them. In short, all you need for your upcoming trip and more!

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The Basics: Italian Numbers 0-10

Let’s start with the numbers from 0 to 10 — arguably the most important ones. Why? Because they’ll come up all the time. For example, in English, you’ll need to know “two” to say “twenty-two.” It’s the same in Italian.

So it makes sense to learn 1-10 in Italian very well before moving forward with the rest:

Number	Italian	Audio
0	Zero
1	Uno
2	Due
3	Tre
4	Quattro
5	Cinque
6	Sei
7	Sette
8	Otto
9	Nove
10	Dieci

Italian Numbers 11-20

Now that you’ve got the basics down, let’s tackle 11 to 20.

Number	Italian	Audio
11	Undici
12	Dodici
13	Tredici
14	Quattordici
15	Quindici
16	Sedici
17	Diciassette
18	Diciotto
19	Diciannove
20	Venti

Notice a pattern? Most of these numbers end or start with -dici (which comes from “dieci, meaning “ten”).

Pay attention to the spellings here, as the double consonants may sometimes be confusing. For instance, sedici (16) has one ‘d’ while diciassette (17) has two ‘s’s and ‘t’s.

If you need to brush up on your Italian pronunciation, this is a good moment to do so. Italian spelling is fairly consistent, so it often gives you a good clue to pronunciation. In diciassette, for example, you can hear both the doubled s and the doubled t.

Italian Numbers 21-99

Once you hit 21, forming numbers becomes much easier. You simply combine the tens (venti, trenta, quaranta, etc.) with the single digits we learned earlier.

Let’s start by learning the tens:

Number	Italian	Audio
20	Venti
30	Trenta
40	Quaranta
50	Cinquanta
60	Sessanta
70	Settanta
80	Ottanta
90	Novanta

Now, let’s combine them with the units (1-9). Here’s how it works:

• 21 – Ventuno (venti + uno)
• 22 – Ventidue (venti + due)
• 23 – Ventitré (venti + tre)
• 24 – Ventiquattro (venti + quattro)
• 25 – Venticinque (venti + cinque)
• 26 – Ventisei (venti + sei)
• 27 – Ventisette (venti + sette)
• 28 – Ventotto (venti + otto)
• 29 – Ventinove (venti + nove)

Remember, in Italian, these numbers are written as one word, not separately like in English.

There are a few other quirks to watch out for:

• Numbers ending in 1 or 8 drop the last vowel of the ten. So it’s ventuno, not ventiuno, and ventotto, not ventiotto.
• For 3, the ‘tre’ changes to ‘tré’ when it’s at the end of a number (ventitré, trentatré, etc.)

Here are some random numbers so you’ll understand better:

• 56 – cinquantasei
• 99 – novantanove
• 42 – quarantadue
• 89 – ottantanove
• 64 – sessantaquattro
• 35 – trentacinque

Want someone to guide you as you learn the Italian numbers 0-100? Fluent in 3 Months’ Italian native speaker Alice has a great video:

Italian Numbers 100 and Beyond

Cento is “hundred,” mille is “thousand,” milione is “million,” and miliardo is “billion” in Italian.

From 2,000 onward, mille changes to -mila: duemila, not duemille. Milione and miliardo are nouns, so they have plural forms (milioni and miliardi) and take di before another noun, as in un milione di euro.

Here’s how it works:

Number	Italian	Audio
100	Cento
200	Duecento
300	Trecento
400	Quattrocento
500	Cinquecento
600	Seicento
700	Settecento
800	Ottocento
900	Novecento
1,000	Mille
2,000	Duemila
3,000	Tremila
4,000	Quattromila
5,000	Cinquemila
6,000	Seimila
7,000	Settemila
8,000	Ottomila
9,000	Novemila
1,000,000	Un milione
2,000,000	Due milioni
1,000,000,000	Un miliardo
2,000,000,000	Due miliardi

Ready for a challenge? Let’s form some numbers between 100 and 1,000,000 to practice.

• 372 – trecentosettantadue
• 153 – centocinquantatré
• 100,000 – centomila
• 278 – duecentosettantotto
• 401 – quattrocentouno
• 1,845 – milleottocentoquarantacinque
• 5,309 – cinquemilatrecentonove
• 595 – cinquecentonovantacinque
• 632 – seicentotrentadue
• 747 – settecentoquarantasette

Our Italian native speaker Alice has you covered for bigger Italian numbers too:

Ordinal Numbers in Italian

Don’t let the word “ordinal” confuse you — these are simply numbers that indicate rank, like first, second, third, and so on. You might hear them in your daily life, such as when people say “first floor,” “third street,” etc.

Unlike cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers agree with the noun in both gender and number. Use -o or -a in the singular and -i or -e in the plural: il primo giorno, la prima volta, i primi giorni, le prime volte.

Rank	Italian	Audio
1st	primo/prima
2nd	secondo/seconda
3rd	terzo/terza
4th	quarto/quarta
5th	quinto/quinta
6th	sesto/sesta
7th	settimo/settima
8th	ottavo/ottava
9th	nono/nona
10th	decimo/decima

To form most ordinal numbers after 10th, drop the cardinal number’s final vowel and add -esimo (masculine) or -esima (feminine). Words ending in -tré and -sei keep their final vowel: ventitré becomes ventitreesimo, and ventisei becomes ventiseiesimo.

• 11th: undicesimo/undicesima
• 20th: ventesimo/ventesima
• 21st: ventunesimo/ventunesima

Want some examples of ordinal numbers with masculine and feminine nouns? Here are some you might hear in your daily life:

• Il primo giorno (“the first day”)
• La prima volta (“the first time”)
• Elisabetta II (read Elisabetta seconda; “Elizabeth II”)
• Il terzo posto (“the third place”)
• Il quarto capitolo (“the fourth chapter”)
• L’ottavo mese (“the eighth month”)

Practical Applications of Italian Numbers

Now that you’ve got the numbers down, let’s put them to use!

Telling the Time

You can use both the 12-hour and the 24-hour clock to tell time in Italian. When someone asks you che ora è or che ore sono (“what time is it”), reply with the number or form a full sentence using these templates:

• 1:00 – È l’una (“It’s 1 o’clock” — we used è as 1 is singular)
• 8:00 – Sono le otto (“It’s 8 o’clock” — we used sono as 8 is plural)
• 14:30 – Sono le quattordici e trenta (“It’s fourteen thirty”)
• 5:30 – Sono le cinque e mezza (“It’s half past five”)
• 09:15 – Sono le nove e un quarto (“It’s quarter past nine”)
• 09:15 – Sono le nove e quindici (“It’s nine fifteen”)
• 15:45 – Sono le quattro meno un quarto (“It’s quarter to four”)
• 15:45 – Sono le quindici e quarantacinque (“It’s fifteen forty-five”)

Dates, Years, and Ages

When talking about dates, use cardinal numbers for days (except for the first of the month, which is “primo”).

• May 5th – il cinque maggio
• July 1st – il primo luglio

For years, simply say the number:

• 1990 – millenovecentonovanta

To ask someone’s age, you can use the phrase Quanti anni hai? (“How old are you?”) Their answer will start with Ho followed by their age and anni. (“I am … years old.”)

Handling Money and Prices in Italy

When asking about prices, use Quanto costa? (“How much does it cost?”). Euro is the same in the singular and plural: un euro, due euro. You’ll often hear cents as centesimi, and a price such as €2.50 can be said due euro e cinquanta. In written Italian, that price normally uses a decimal comma: €2,50.

Emergency Telephone Numbers in Italy

Hopefully, you’ll never need these, but it’s always good to be prepared. Read 112 one digit at a time: uno uno due.

• 112 – European emergency number, free from fixed or mobile phones; use it for police, fire, or medical help
• 113 – State police
• 115 – Fire brigade
• 118 – Medical emergencies

Uno, Due, Tre: You’re Ready!

With a bit of practice, you’ll figure out how to count in Italian! Don’t forget to practice other daily-life topics in Italian such as shopping and making payments — they often go hand in hand with the numbers!

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