Welcome to our Italian grammar course for beginners! Today we`re going to talk about the Italian numbers.
Numbers are used daily for activities like telling time, giving your age, talking about prices, and discussing quantities. Numbers are crucial for expressing dates, scheduling appointments, and telling time accurately, in introducing yourself (age), exchanging contact details, or discussing family members. When shopping, knowing numbers helps you understand prices, ask for quantities, and handle transactions confidently. So, let`s begin.
You can listen to all phrases in Italian used in the article online by pressing the Play button:
Basic Numbers
Let`s start with the basic numbers from 1 to 20.
Uno (One) Due (Two) Tre (Three) Quattro (Four) Cinque (Five) Sei (Six) Sette (Seven) Otto (Eight) Nove (Nine) Dieci (Ten) Undici (Eleven) Dodici (Twelve) Tredici (Thirteen) Quattordici (Fourteen) Quindici (Fifteen) Sedici (Sixteen) Diciassette (Seventeen) Diciotto (Eighteen) Diciannove (Nineteen) Venti (Twenty)
Counting Beyond 20+
To count beyond 20, you`ll notice a pattern of combining the words for the tens (venti, trenta, quaranta, etc.) with the ones (uno, due, tre, etc.). For instance:
When counting objects, keep in mind that "uno" changes to "un" for masculine nouns and to "una" for feminine nouns:
Un libro (One book) Una penna (One pen) Due libri (Two books) Tre penne (Three pens)
Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers indicate the order of items, like first, second, third, etc. They often end in -esimo for masculine and -esima for feminine. For example:
Primo (First) Secondo (Second) Terzo (Third) Quarto (Fourth) Quinto (Fifth) Sesto (Sixth) Settimo (Seventh) Ottavo (Eighth) Nono (Ninth) Decimo (Tenth)
Useful Phrases
These phrases will help you understand how to use numbers in everyday conversation.
Ho vent`anni. (I am twenty years old.) Vivo al terzo piano. (I live on the third floor.) La tavola costa cinquanta euro. (The table costs fifty euros.) Il treno parte alle nove. (The train departs at nine.)
In essence, learning how to call numbers in Italian enhances your ability to interact, understand, and participate in various aspects of daily life and cultural activities in Italy or with Italian speakers. By delving into numbers and counting in Italian, you`ll confidently interact in daily scenarios, from shopping to telling time and introducing themselves with their age. Good luck!