🇮🇹 Italian Numbers: Your Counting Adventure!
Imagine you’re at a magical Italian market, and the friendly vendor wants to teach you how to count so you can buy delicious gelato!
🎯 What You’ll Learn
Think of Italian numbers like learning a new song. Once you know the tune (the patterns), you can sing any number you want!
- 0-20: The special numbers (like the ABCs – you just memorize them!)
- 21-100: The pattern numbers (like building with LEGO blocks!)
- 100+: The big numbers (just add pieces together!)
- Ordinal numbers: First, second, third… (for races and lists!)
🔢 Cardinal Numbers 0-20: The Magic Twenty
These are your building blocks. Just like you learned to count in English, these are the special words you need to remember!
The First Ten (0-10)
| Number | Italian | Say It Like… |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | ZEH-roh |
| 1 | uno | OO-noh |
| 2 | due | DOO-eh |
| 3 | tre | TREH |
| 4 | quattro | KWAH-troh |
| 5 | cinque | CHEEN-kweh |
| 6 | sei | SAY |
| 7 | sette | SET-teh |
| 8 | otto | OH-toh |
| 9 | nove | NOH-veh |
| 10 | dieci | dee-EH-chee |
🎵 Memory Trick: “Uno, due, tre” sounds like a countdown before a race!
The Teen Numbers (11-20)
Here’s where it gets fun! These are like the “teenager” numbers – they’re a bit different, just like teenagers! 😄
| Number | Italian | Pattern Secret |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | undici | “one-ten” squished together |
| 12 | dodici | “two-ten” |
| 13 | tredici | “three-ten” |
| 14 | quattordici | “four-ten” |
| 15 | quindici | “five-ten” |
| 16 | sedici | “six-ten” |
| 17 | diciassette | “ten-seven” (flip!) |
| 18 | diciotto | “ten-eight” (flip!) |
| 19 | diciannove | “ten-nine” (flip!) |
| 20 | venti | VEN-tee |
🧙♂️ Magic Pattern: Numbers 11-16 put the small number FIRST. Numbers 17-19 put “dieci” (ten) FIRST!
Example in Real Life:
“Vorrei quindici fragole!” = “I would like fifteen strawberries!”
🧱 Cardinal Numbers 21-100: The LEGO System
Now the fun really begins! Italian numbers from 21-100 work like LEGO blocks – you snap pieces together!
The Tens (The Big Blocks)
| Number | Italian |
|---|---|
| 20 | venti |
| 30 | trenta |
| 40 | quaranta |
| 50 | cinquanta |
| 60 | sessanta |
| 70 | settanta |
| 80 | ottanta |
| 90 | novanta |
| 100 | cento |
🎯 Pattern Alert: After 20, they all end in -anta (except venti)!
How to Build Any Number (21-99)
graph TD A[Pick your TEN] --> B[Add your ONE] B --> C[Snap together!] C --> D[Example: 25 = venti + cinque = venticinque]
The Simple Rule: Just glue the ten and the one together!
| Building | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| venti + uno | ventuno | 21 |
| venti + due | ventidue | 22 |
| trenta + tre | trentatré | 33 |
| quaranta + quattro | quarantaquattro | 44 |
| cinquanta + cinque | cinquantacinque | 55 |
⚡ Special Spelling Rule!
When adding uno (1) or otto (8), the ten loses its last letter!
| Instead of… | We say… | Because… |
|---|---|---|
| venti + uno | ventuno | Drop the “i” |
| venti + otto | ventotto | Drop the “i” |
| trenta + uno | trentuno | Drop the “a” |
| trenta + otto | trentotto | Drop the “a” |
🎵 Why? Because saying “ventiuno” sounds weird! It flows better as “ventuno.”
Example:
“Ho trentadue anni.” = “I am thirty-two years old.”
🚀 Cardinal Numbers 100+: The Big League
You’re ready for the big numbers now! These are easier than you think!
The Hundreds
| Number | Italian |
|---|---|
| 100 | cento |
| 200 | duecento |
| 300 | trecento |
| 400 | quattrocento |
| 500 | cinquecento |
| 600 | seicento |
| 700 | settecento |
| 800 | ottocento |
| 900 | novecento |
🎯 Pattern: Just put the number in front of “cento”!
Building Big Numbers
graph TD A[HUNDREDS] --> B[+ TENS] B --> C[+ ONES] C --> D[245 = duecento + quaranta + cinque] D --> E[duecentoquarantacinque]
Examples:
| Number | Build It | Italian |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | cento + venti + cinque | centoventicinque |
| 342 | trecento + quaranta + due | trecentoquarantadue |
| 789 | settecento + ottanta + nove | settecentottantanove |
Thousands and Beyond!
| Number | Italian |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | mille |
| 2,000 | duemila |
| 10,000 | diecimila |
| 100,000 | centomila |
| 1,000,000 | un milione |
⚠️ Watch Out: “Mille” (1000) becomes “mila” when there’s more than one!
- 1,000 = mille
- 2,000 = duemila
- 5,000 = cinquemila
Example:
“Questa macchina costa quindicimila euro.” = “This car costs fifteen thousand euros.”
🏆 Ordinal Numbers: First, Second, Third…
Ordinal numbers tell you the position or order of things – like who wins the race!
The First Ten Ordinals
| Position | Italian (Masculine) | Italian (Feminine) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
🎯 Why Two Versions? Italian words match the gender of what they describe!
- Il primo giorno = The first day (masculine)
- La prima volta = The first time (feminine)
Ordinals After 10th
For 11th and beyond, there’s an easy pattern!
Recipe: Take the cardinal number → Drop the last vowel → Add -esimo
| Number | Cardinal | Drop Last Vowel | Add -esimo | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th | undici | undic- | undicesimo | undicesimo |
| 12th | dodici | dodic- | dodicesimo | dodicesimo |
| 20th | venti | vent- | ventesimo | ventesimo |
| 23rd | ventitre | ventitr- | ventitresimo | ventitreesimo |
| 100th | cento | cent- | centesimo | centesimo |
⚡ Exception: Numbers ending in -tre keep the “e”!
- 23rd = ventitresimo (keeps the e!)
Examples in Real Life:
“È il mio primo viaggio in Italia!” = “It’s my first trip to Italy!” “Abito al quinto piano.” = “I live on the fifth floor.” “È il ventunesimo secolo.” = “It’s the twenty-first century.”
🎮 Quick Practice Scenarios
At the Gelato Shop 🍨
Vendor: “Quanti gusti?” (How many flavors?) You: “Due, per favore!” (Two, please!)
Telling Your Age 🎂
Friend: “Quanti anni hai?” (How old are you?) You: “Ho venticinque anni!” (I’m twenty-five years old!)
Asking for the Bill 💰
You: “Il conto, per favore!” Waiter: “Sono quarantadue euro.” (That’s forty-two euros.)
Giving Your Address 🏠
You: “Abito in Via Roma, numero centotrentacinque.” (I live at 135 Roma Street.)
🌟 You Did It!
Now you can:
- ✅ Count from 0 to 20 (the special ones)
- ✅ Build any number from 21 to 100 (LEGO style!)
- ✅ Say big numbers in the hundreds and thousands
- ✅ Use first, second, third… for positions
Remember: Italian numbers are like a fun puzzle. Once you know the pieces, you can build ANY number you want!
🇮🇹 Bravo! You’re on your way to speaking Italian like a pro!