When you’re learning a new language, your focus should first be on mastering the words and phrases that you’re most likely to use in real life. A crucial bit of knowledge that sometimes gets forgotten is numbers, which can mean the difference between ordering two scoops of gelato and ordering twenty scoops (not that we’d judge either way). Let’s take a look at the basics of how counting in Italian works and the most important numbers for you to know.
Counting From Zero To Twenty In Italian
Counting in Italian is relatively straightforward and works in a similar way to Spanish or English counting. Here are the numbers from zero to twenty — press the play button to hear how they’re pronounced.
zero — zero
one — uno
two — due
three — tre
four — quattro
five — cinque
six — sei
seven — sette
eight — otto
nine — nove
ten — dieci
eleven — undici
twelve — dodici
thirteen — tredici
fourteen — quattordici
fifteen — quindici
sixteen — sedici
seventeen — diciassette
eighteen — diciotto
nineteen — diciannove
twenty — venti
The Rest Of The Tens
Now, let’s move on to the remaining foundational numbers, from which we can build every number between 21 and 100.
thirty — trenta
forty — quaranta
fifty — cinquanta
sixty — sessanta
seventy — settanta
eighty — ottanta
ninety — novanta
hundred — cento
Putting It All Together
The numbers in between the “tens” listed above are very simple to construct. Just like in English or Spanish, you just affix the digit between one and nine to the end of the tens number. For example, thirty-six in Italian is trentasei, which is just a combination of trenta (“thirty”) and sei (“six”). There’s no “and” or dash or space in between — just combine the numbers. That’s all there is to it! And the numbers continue like this all the way up to one hundred. Facile! (That means “easy!”)