Being able to count is essential for fluency in any language. In this guide, you'll learn how to express all numbers in Italian, from zero to one billion. You’ll find that it's not as difficult as it may seem.
Next to each number, you'll find the written form in words and its English translation. You can click on each one to listen to the audio and learn the correct pronunciation.
0 – zero
1 – uno
2 – due
3 – tre
4 – quattro
5 – cinque
6 – sei
7 – sette
8 – otto
9 – nove
10 – dieci
Note that there are two ways to say one in Italian: uno for masculine nouns and una for feminine nouns. Italians use the same words to indicate one and a or an.
Examples:
Quanti ragazzi ci sono alla festa? Solo uno.
How many boys are at the party? Only one.
Quante ragazze ci sono alla festa? Solo una.
How many girls are at the party? Only one.
11 – undici
12 – dodici
13 – tredici
14 – quattordici
15 – quindici
16 – sedici
17 – diciassette
18 – diciotto
19 – diciannove
20 – venti
30 – trenta
40 – quaranta
50 – cinquanta
60 – sessanta
70 – settanta
80 – ottanta
90 – novanta
Two-digit numbers follow the same structure as in English: first, you say the tens, followed by the units.
Examples:
22 – ventidue
35 – trentacinque
47 – quarantasette
63 – sessantatré
When adding uno (one) or otto (eight) to a number ending in a zero (e.g., 20, 30, 40), drop the last vowel of the tens.
Examples:
21 – ventuno
31 – trentuno
41 – quarantuno
38 – trentotto
48 – quarantotto
58 – cinquantotto
The word for hundred is cento. To say two hundred, you say duecento. This pattern continues for other numbers.
Examples:
100 – cento
200 – duecento
300 – trecento
400 – quattrocento
500 – cinquecento
Examples with specific numbers:
101 – centouno
102 – centodue
154 – centocinquantaquattro
357 – trecentocinquantasette
The word for thousand is mille.
Examples:
1000 – mille
2000 – duemila
3000 – tremila
4000 – quattromila
Larger numbers:
100,000 – centomila
200,000 – duecentomila
300,000 – trecentomila
Two important terms to remember are milione (million) and miliardo (billion).
Examples:
Un milione
One million
Due milioni
Two million
Un miliardo
One billion
Due miliardi
Two billion
Ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) in Italian are similar to their English counterparts.
The first ten ordinal numbers don’t follow a simple rule; each one is unique, so you'll need to memorize them:
1° – primo
2° – secondo
3° – terzo
4° – quarto
5° – quinto
6° – sesto
7° – settimo
8° – ottavo
9° – nono
10° – decimo
For numbers above ten, add -esimo to the base number, but remove the last vowel unless the number ends in 'e' (e.g., tre for three).
Examples:
11 – undicesimo
12 – dodicesimo
13 – tredicesimo
Ordinal numbers also have gender, matching the noun they describe. To form the feminine version, simply change the -o ending to -a.
Examples:
Primo masculine becomes prima feminine – first
Secondo masculine becomes seconda feminine – second
Terzo masculine becomes terza feminine – third
Example sentences:
Sono arrivata seconda alla gara.
I came in second in the race.
Lui è stato il mio primo amore.
He was my first love.
In Italian, decimal numbers are written with a comma instead of a dot, and they are read as two separate numbers, with virgola (comma) in between.
Examples:
2,5 – due virgola cinque
0,5 – zero virgola cinque
22,4 – ventidue virgola quattro
When talking about prices, use e (and) instead of virgola.
Examples:
Il caffè costa uno e cinquanta.
The coffee costs one euro and fifty cents.
Il biglietto costa due e novantanove.
The ticket costs two euros and ninety-nine cents.
Ho comprato questo vestito per dieci euro e cinquanta.
I bought this dress for ten euros and fifty cents.
Ratios are expressed with the preposition su.
Examples:
Uno su tre
One out of three
Due su cinque
Two out of five
Tre su sei
Three out of six
Examples in sentences:
Uno studente su cinque non passa l'esame.
One student out of five does not pass the exam.
Un italiano su dieci è senza lavoro.
One Italian out of ten is unemployed.
Percentages are expressed with per cento after the number.
Examples:
Il tre per cento
Three percent
Il dieci percento
Ten percent
Il cinquanta percento
Fifty percent
Example sentence:
Il partito ha ricevuto il trenta percento dei voti.
The party received thirty percent of the votes.
Su questo vestito c'è uno sconto del venti percento.
There is a twenty percent discount on this dress.
Here’s how you express mathematical operations in Italian:
1 + 1 = 2
Uno più uno è uguale a due (One plus one equals two)
3 - 1 = 1
Tre meno uno è uguale a uno (Three minus one equals one)
4 x 5 = 20
Quattro per cinque è uguale a venti (Four times five equals twenty)
20 ÷ 2 = 10
Venti diviso due è uguale a dieci (Twenty divided by two equals ten)
You can also use fa instead of è uguale.
Example:
Uno più uno fa due
One plus one equals two
