Numbers are words or symbols quantity or sequential orders. In Italian, like in English, there are two main kinds of numbers:
cardinal numbers, which express quantity, like uno(one) or due(two)
ordinal numbers, which express order, like primo(first) or secondo(second)
Cardinal and ordinal numbers have different uses, and their respective numerals follow their own spelling rules. And there’s more to numbers than just these: we’ll also review other numerals like fractions and multiplicatives. This article is going to be all about numbers: no expressions nor calculus required, though, so keep reading without fear!
In Italian, cardinal numbers (numerali cardinali) are used to express quantity or to count:
Cristina ha due cani e quattro gatti.
Cristina has two dogs and four cats.
In addition to counting, cardinal numbers in Italian are used to express prices, dates and years, time, age, percentage, statistics, measurements, weight, and distance.
È nato il cinque gennaio 2010 (duemiladieci).
He was born on January, 5th, 2010.
In Italian, unlike in English, it’s not possible to split four digit numbers into two chunks when reading them out loud.
For instance, while in English you might read the year 2010 as “twenty-ten,” but in Italian you can only refer to it as duemiladieci.
When expressing dates in Italian, you use cardinal numerals for the days of the month: cinque is used in Italian, whereas the ordinal number “fifth”/”5th” is used in English. The only exception is the first day of the month, which requires the ordinal numeral primo:
Il primo maggio in Italia è la Festa dei Lavoratori.
May 1st in Italy is Workers’ Day.
Whereas in American English the month usually comes before the day, which is followed by the year, in Italian the sequence is always day/month/year. Compare:
Ci siamo conosciuti l’otto marzo 2015.
We met on March, 8, 2015.
This might be tricky when the date is expressed with numbers:
Ci siamo conosciuti l’8/3/2015.
We met on 3/8/2015.
Cardinal numbers are invariable — that is, they do not change form. There are, however, some exceptions:
When followed by a , the numeral uno(one) in with the noun, meaning it turns into una when followed by a feminine noun:
Ho solo una cugina.
I only have one (female) cousin.
In addition, the final vowel of uno is sometimes dropped, following the same rules that do:
Drop the o before a masculine noun starting with a vowel:
Ci sono venti studenti e un insegnante.
There are 20 students and one/a teacher.
Replace the “a” at the end of una before a feminine noun starting with a vowel with an apostrophe (’) and use it as a prefix:
In giardino c’è persino un’amaca.
In the garden there’s even a hammock.
The same cut-off occurs to numerals ending in -uno when followed by a masculine noun (although the rule here is not that strict and both forms are acceptable).
Ci sono ventun(o) bambini e ventuno bambine.
There are 21 boys and 21 girls.
mille(one thousand), whose plural form is -milla(thousands):
Questo costa mille euro; quello, invece, costa duemila euro.
This costs one thousand euros; that one, instead, costs two thousand euros.
Unlike in English, in Italian, mille(one thousand) and cento(one hundred) are never used with un in front of them:
100 = ❌ un cento → ✅ cento
1000 = ❌ un mille → ✅ mille
milione(million), miliardo(billion), bilione(trillion), etc. have plural forms and, when expressing a specific quantity, are preceded by another cardinal numeral.
La villa è stata venduta per tre milioni di euro.
(lit.) The villa has been sold for "three millions" euros.
When milione, miliardo, bilione, and so on, are followed by a noun (euro in our example), the preposition di(of) must be used.
Cardinal numbers are mostly used to describe the quantity of a noun and normally precede the noun:
In classe ci sono venti banchi.
There are 20 desks in the classroom.
When the numeral does not designate quantity but is rather used to number or label something, it follows the noun:
Aprite il libro a pagina venti.
Open the book at page twenty.
In some cases, cardinal numerals can function as nouns. Precisely:
when referring to historically relevant groups of people:
La spedizione dei Mille di Garibaldi ebbe un ruolo importante nella riunificazione d'Italia.
The expedition of Garibaldi’s Thousand played an important role in Italy’s reunification.
colloquially, when referring to currency:
Ecco i cinque che mi hai prestato ieri.
Here’s the five (euros) you lent me yesterday.
when talking about the number itself, as an entity:
Il dieci è il mio numero fortunato!
Ten is my lucky number!
Note that the definite article is used in Italian but not in English. Confused? Our article on uses of definite and indefinite articles will dispel any doubts.
when referring to specific time expressions (hour, day, or month):
Il dieci finalmente mi laureo.
On the tenth I will finally graduate.
when indicating measurement and size:
Il trentasei è troppo piccolo per me.
36 is too small for me.
when referring to school grades:
Un otto in matematica dà sempre soddisfazione.
An eight in math always gives satisfaction.
You won’t probably need to spell out numerals very often, but who knows when one needs to write a check, right? Here are some spelling rules for cardinal numerals:
Compound numerals are written in one word, like quarantaquattro(44). With milione miliardo, however, they are written separately, like due milioni(2,000,000).
Numerals ending with -tre need a final accent: trentatré(33).
When it comes to punctuation, the trick is doing the opposite of what you would do in English. In Italian, indeed, commas are used to separate whole numbers from decimals, instead of the English period:
Costa EUR 3,50.
It costs EUR 3.50.
To separate thousands, on the other hand, you use a period (in place of the English comma):
Costa EUR 1.700.
It costs EUR 1,700.
As suggested by their name, ordinal numbers(numerali ordinali) express order, that is, the placement of someone/something in a sequence.
In Italian, ordinal numerals work like , and so they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
È la loro prima figlia.
She’s their first daughter.
Sii paziente: sono i suoi primi giorni nel nuovo ufficio.
Be patient: those are his first days in the new office.
The first ten ordinal numerals have a specific form they are (in order, of course!):
primo(first)
secondo(second)
terzo(third)
quarto(fourth)
quinto(fifth)
sesto(sixth)
settimo(seventh)
ottavo(eighth)
nono(ninth)
decimo(tenth)
Ordinals higher than those first ten ones are formed by adding the suffix -esimo to the cardinal numeral, which usually drops its final vowel. This is how 11 turns into 11th, for instance:
undici(eleven) → undic- → undicesimo(eleventh)
Ordinal numerals can be easily shortened:
primo→1°
prima→1ª
This same rule applies to any other ordinal numerals (tredicesimo → 13°; tredicesima → 13ª, for instance.) They are teeny-weeny, but the superscripts need to agree with the gender of the number: in our cases above, o and a.
Like cardinal numerals, ordinal numerals can function as nouns in specific instances, i.e. when the noun is omitted as being obvious:
Matteo domani inizia la prima!
Matteo will start the first grade (of primary school) tomorrow!
La prima è solo per partire
The first (gear) is only to drive off.
Ordinal numerals come generally before the noun, except with:
kings, queens, popes, etc:
La Regina Elisabetta II (= seconda) era molto amata.
Queen Elizabeth II was deeply loved.
for emphasis:
Alla fine del primo atto, gli attori erano già stanchi.
At the end of the first act, the actors were already tired.
L’atto primo è molto impegnativo per gli attori.
The first act is very challenging for the actors.
Our journey with numerals won’t be complete without a mention of the other kinds of numerals:
Fractions (numerali frazionari) are numerals representing part(s) of a whole. They are expressed by a cardinal numeral + an ordinal numeral, and they work as nouns:
Ho mangiato un terzo della torta.
I ate one third of the cake.
Mezzo(half) works a little differently since — in addition to noun — it can be:
an adjective, meaning “half of something whole”
Sara ha preso solo mezza pastiglia, come da indicazioni del medico
Sara only took half a tablet, as her doctor prescribed.
an , meaning "almost"
Avevo talmente paura che sono mezza svenuta.
I was so scared that I almost fainted.
a noun, meaning “half of something”
Elia ha un mese e mezzo.
Elia is one month and a half.
Multiplicative numerals (numerali moltiplicativi) indicate repetition, like doppio(double), triplo(triple), quadruplo(quadruple). With numbers higher than six, the expression cardinal numeral + volte(times) is used:
L’ho pagata sei volte più di te!
I paid for it six times more than you!
Collective numerals (numerali collettivi) designate several persons/things taken as a whole. The most common ones are:
paio(pair)
coppia(couple)
decina(set of ten)
dozzina(dozen)
ventina(about twenty)
trentina(about thirty)
centinaio(about a hundred)
migliaio(about a thousand)
Puoi prendere una dozzina di uova?
Can you take a dozen eggs?
Note that dozzina above is preceded by a cardinal numeral; collective numerals can, indeed, be preceded by a cardinal numeral, or used on their own:
Sono venute centinaia di persone.
Hundreds of people came.
Distributive numerals (numerali distributivi) are expressions that designate how people/things are numerically distributed, answering the questions like “how many times each?" or "how many at a time?" To name a few: uno a uno(one to one), due a due or due per volta(two by two), due (per) ognuno/ciascuno(two each), and so on, just twisting the numerals.
Siamo entrati due a due.
We entered two by two.
Here’s what you should remember about numbers in Italian, after reading this post!
Numerals are words and symbols that express numbers.
There are two main kinds of numerals: cardinal numerals and ordinal numerals
Cardinal numerals express quantity and are generally invariable. A few exceptions and numerals that require some extra attention are uno(one), mille(one thousand), milione(million), miliardo(billion).
Ordinal numerals express order and — being mostly adjectives — they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
Other members of the numeral family are fractions, multiplicative, collective, and distributive numerals.
Time to practice! We have prepared a whole set of activities for you to practice Italian numerals. Happy learning, a presto!
