Italian numbers: How to count and use them in everyday conversations

Learning Italian numbers helps you do much more than count to ten. Whether you’re ordering two cappuccinos, checking a train’s departure time, or telling someone when your birthday is, numbers make everyday conversations easier.

The good news? You don’t need to memorize every number individually. Once you’ve learned the basics, Italian counting follows patterns you can use to build bigger numbers. Combine them with a few basic Italian phrases, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice on Tandem and beyond.

To help, here’s how to count in Italian and put those numbers to work in real conversations.

Italian numbers from 0 to 10

Start with these first eleven numbers. You’ll use them on their own and as building blocks for many of the numbers that follow.

• 0 — zero: Pronounced roughly like DZEH-roh
• 1 — uno: Pronounced roughly like OO-noh
• 2 — due: Pronounced roughly like DOO-eh
• 3 — tre: Pronounced roughly like treh
• 4 — quattro: Pronounced roughly like KWAHT-troh
• 5 — cinque: Pronounced roughly like CHEEN-kweh
• 6 — sei: Pronounced roughly like say
• 7 — sette: Pronounced roughly like SEHT-teh
• 8 — otto: Pronounced roughly like OHT-toh
• 9 — nove: Pronounced roughly like NOH-veh
• 10 — dieci: Pronounced roughly like DYEH-chee

Practice saying them in order, then mix things up. Count backward, look at the last digit on your phone’s clock, or count a few things around your room. Recognizing sette outside a memorized sequence is a useful step toward understanding it in conversation.

Pronunciation tips for your first Italian numbers

Italian spelling gives you plenty of pronunciation clues once you know what to listen for.

In cinque, the initial c sounds like the “ch” in “cheese.” You’ll hear that same sound in dieci. Meanwhile, the qu in quattro sounds similar to the “qu” in “quick.”

Give double consonants a little extra time, too. In sette and otto, the double t is held slightly longer than a single t. Think of a brief pause before releasing the sound.

Listen carefully to the vowels in due: it has two syllables, roughly “DOO-eh.” Pronunciation guides can help you get started, but listening to an Italian speaker and repeating what you hear will give you a better feel for the sounds.

Italian numbers from 11 to 20

The numbers from eleven to nineteen take a little more practice because their patterns aren’t as straightforward as the numbers that come later.

• 11 — undici: Pronounced roughly like OON-dee-chee
• 12 — dodici: Pronounced roughly like DOH-dee-chee
• 13 — tredici: Pronounced roughly like TREH-dee-chee
• 14 — quattordici: Pronounced roughly like kwaht-TOR-dee-chee
• 15 — quindici: Pronounced roughly like KWEEN-dee-chee
• 16 — sedici: Pronounced roughly like SEH-dee-chee
• 17 — diciassette: Pronounced roughly like dee-chahs-SEHT-teh
• 18 — diciotto: Pronounced roughly like dee-CHOHT-toh
• 19 — diciannove: Pronounced roughly like dee-chahn-NOH-veh
• 20 — venti: Pronounced roughly like VEHN-tee

How to remember Italian numbers from 11 to 19

Notice how the numbers from eleven to sixteen end in -dici. From seventeen to nineteen, the dici- element moves to the beginning.

You’ll also recognize familiar Italian numbers within some of these words. Diciassette contains sette, diciotto contains otto, and diciannove contains nove.

Try practicing these numbers through ages, prices, or times rather than only counting in order:

• Mia sorella ha quindici anni. — My sister is fifteen years old.
• Il treno parte alle diciotto. — The train leaves at 6 p.m.
• Sono diciannove euro. — That’s nineteen euros.

Connecting each number to a situation gives you another way to remember it.

Italian numbers from 20 to 100

Once you reach twenty, Italian numbers become more predictable. First, learn the tens:

• 20 — venti: Pronounced roughly like VEHN-tee
• 30 — trenta: Pronounced roughly like TREHN-tah
• 40 — quaranta: Pronounced roughly like kwah-RAHN-tah
• 50 — cinquanta: Pronounced roughly like cheen-KWAHN-tah
• 60 — sessanta: Pronounced roughly like sehs-SAHN-tah
• 70 — settanta: Pronounced roughly like seht-TAHN-tah
• 80 — ottanta: Pronounced roughly like oht-TAHN-tah
• 90 — novanta: Pronounced roughly like noh-VAHN-tah
• 100 — cento: Pronounced roughly like CHEHN-toh

Pay particular attention to sessanta and settanta. They look and sound similar, so it helps to practice them side by side.

How to build numbers between the tens

To make most numbers between twenty and ninety-nine, join the tens and the units into one word. You don’t add an equivalent of “and.”

Here’s what that looks like from twenty-one to twenty-nine:

• 21 — ventuno: Pronounced roughly like vehn-TOO-noh
• 22 — ventidue: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-DOO-eh
• 23 — ventitré: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-TREH
• 24 — ventiquattro: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-KWAHT-troh
• 25 — venticinque: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-CHEEN-kweh
• 26 — ventisei: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-SAY
• 27 — ventisette: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-SEHT-teh
• 28 — ventotto: Pronounced roughly like vehn-TOHT-toh
• 29 — ventinove: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-NOH-veh

You can use the same pattern with the other tens:

• 35 — trentacinque: Pronounced roughly like trehn-tah-CHEEN-kweh
• 42 — quarantadue: Pronounced roughly like kwah-rahn-tah-DOO-eh
• 56 — cinquantasei: Pronounced roughly like cheen-kwahn-tah-SAY
• 67 — sessantasette: Pronounced roughly like sehs-sahn-tah-SEHT-teh
• 74 — settantaquattro: Pronounced roughly like seht-tahn-tah-KWAHT-troh
• 89 — ottantanove: Pronounced roughly like oht-tahn-tah-NOH-veh
• 95 — novantacinque: Pronounced roughly like noh-vahn-tah-CHEEN-kweh

Once you know the tens and the first nine numbers, you’ve already got most of the pieces you need.

Why some numbers lose a vowel

Before uno and otto, the tens lose their final vowel. That’s why twenty-one is ventuno, rather than ventiuno, and twenty-eight is ventotto, rather than ventiotto.

The same thing happens throughout the tens:

• 31 — trentuno: Pronounced roughly like trehn-TOO-noh
• 38 — trentotto: Pronounced roughly like trehn-TOHT-toh
• 41 — quarantuno: Pronounced roughly like kwah-rahn-TOO-noh
• 48 — quarantotto: Pronounced roughly like kwah-rahn-TOHT-toh
• 81 — ottantuno: Pronounced roughly like oht-tahn-TOO-noh
• 88 — ottantotto: Pronounced roughly like oht-tahn-TOHT-toh

Say these combinations aloud as you practice. Getting used to their rhythm can make the spelling easier to remember.

When numbers ending in tre need an accent

The number three is written tre, without an accent. However, compound numbers ending in -tré take an acute accent on the final é.

• 23 — ventitré: Pronounced roughly like vehn-tee-TREH
• 33 — trentatré: Pronounced roughly like trehn-tah-TREH
• 43 — quarantatré: Pronounced roughly like kwah-rahn-tah-TREH
• 63 — sessantatré: Pronounced roughly like sehs-sahn-tah-TREH
• 93 — novantatré: Pronounced roughly like noh-vahn-tah-TREH

The accent marks the stress on the final syllable. It’s a small detail, but it matters when you’re writing these numbers out.

Italian numbers from 100 to 1,000 and beyond

Bigger Italian numbers might look intimidating because several parts are often joined into one long word. Break them into smaller pieces, though, and you’ll recognize the numbers you’ve already learned.

Counting in hundreds

One hundred is cento. For the other hundreds, put the appropriate number before it:

• 100 — cento: Pronounced roughly like CHEHN-toh
• 200 — duecento: Pronounced roughly like doo-eh-CHEHN-toh
• 300 — trecento: Pronounced roughly like treh-CHEHN-toh
• 400 — quattrocento: Pronounced roughly like kwaht-troh-CHEHN-toh
• 500 — cinquecento: Pronounced roughly like cheen-kweh-CHEHN-toh
• 600 — seicento: Pronounced roughly like say-CHEHN-toh
• 700 — settecento: Pronounced roughly like seht-teh-CHEHN-toh
• 800 — ottocento: Pronounced roughly like oht-toh-CHEHN-toh
• 900 — novecento: Pronounced roughly like noh-veh-CHEHN-toh

Then add the rest of the number directly after the hundreds, for example:

• 101 — centouno: Pronounced roughly like chehn-toh-OO-noh
• 108 — centotto: Pronounced roughly like chehn-TOHT-toh
• 125 — centoventicinque: Pronounced roughly like chehn-toh-vehn-tee-CHEEN-kweh
• 180 — centottanta: Pronounced roughly like chehn-toht-TAHN-tah
• 208 — duecentotto: Pronounced roughly like doo-eh-chehn-TOHT-toh
• 250 — duecentocinquanta: Pronounced roughly like doo-eh-chehn-toh-cheen-KWAHN-tah
• 280 — duecentottanta: Pronounced roughly like doo-eh-chehn-toht-TAHN-tah
• 347 — trecentoquarantasette: Pronounced roughly like treh-chehn-toh-kwah-rahn-tah-SEHT-teh
• 999 — novecentonovantanove: Pronounced roughly like noh-veh-chehn-toh-noh-vahn-tah-NOH-veh

You don’t have to master every variation immediately. Start by understanding how the parts fit together, then practice the combinations you’re likely to use.

Counting in thousands and beyond

The Italian word for one thousand is mille. For two thousand and above, it changes to mila. For even bigger amounts, you’ll use milione and miliardo.

• 1,000 — mille: Pronounced roughly like MEEL-leh
• 2,000 — duemila: Pronounced roughly like doo-eh-MEE-lah
• 3,000 — tremila: Pronounced roughly like treh-MEE-lah
• 5,000 — cinquemila: Pronounced roughly like cheen-kweh-MEE-lah
• 10,000 — diecimila: Pronounced roughly like dyeh-chee-MEE-lah
• 100,000 — centomila: Pronounced roughly like chehn-toh-MEE-lah
• 1,000,000 — un milione: Pronounced roughly like oon mee-LYOH-neh
• 2,000,000 — due milioni: Pronounced roughly like DOO-eh mee-LYOH-nee
• 1,000,000,000 — un miliardo: Pronounced roughly like oon mee-LYAR-doh
• 2,000,000,000 — due miliardi: Pronounced roughly like DOO-eh mee-LYAR-dee

Unlike mille, these words have regular singular and plural forms. When an exact number of millions or billions comes directly before a noun, use di: un milione di persone means “one million people.”

How to use Italian numbers in everyday conversations

Counting is a useful starting point, but numbers become much easier to remember when you use them to share information. Begin with a few Italian greetings, then try asking a question that brings numbers into the conversation.

Saying your age

In Italian, you use avere, meaning “to have,” to say how old you are. You’re literally saying that you “have” a certain number of years.

• Quanti anni hai? — How old are you?
• Ho ventotto anni. — I’m twenty-eight years old.
• Mio fratello ha trentadue anni. — My brother is thirty-two years old.

The verb changes depending on who you’re talking about: ho means “I have,” hai means “you have,” and ha means “he or she has.” Getting familiar with Italian verb conjugation will help you adapt these sentences to different people.

Talking about prices and paying

Numbers help you understand prices, ask questions, and check a bill.

• Quanto costa? — How much does it cost?
• Costa dodici euro. — It costs twelve euros.
• Sono cinque euro e cinquanta. — That’s five euros and fifty cents.
• Costa novanta centesimi. — It costs ninety cents.

Notice that euro stays the same after different numbers: un euro, due euro, venti euro. The word centesimo does change, becoming centesimi in the plural.

Telling the time

To tell the time in Italian, use È l’una for one o’clock and Sono le… for the other hours.

• È l’una. — It’s one o’clock.
• Sono le due. — It’s two o’clock.
• Sono le tre e un quarto. — It’s quarter past three.
• Sono le quattro e mezza. — It’s half past four.
• Sono le cinque meno un quarto. — It’s quarter to five.

You’ll also encounter the twenty-four-hour clock, especially in timetables and schedules. For example, le diciassette e trenta means 17:30, or 5:30 p.m.

Saying dates and years

Italian dates usually follow day–month order. Use a cardinal number for most dates, but primo for the first day of the month.

• Il primo maggio — May first.
• Il due giugno — June second.
• Il venticinque aprile — April twenty-fifth.
• Il trentuno dicembre — December thirty-first.

To include the year, add it after the month:

• Il dieci ottobre duemilaventisei — October tenth, 2026.
• Il mio compleanno è il ventitré marzo. — My birthday is March twenty-third.

Sharing phone numbers

Phone numbers give you a practical reason to recognize numbers without hearing them in counting order.

You can ask:

• Qual è il tuo numero di telefono? — What’s your phone number?

When sharing a number, saying each digit individually is a clear option. For example, the sequence 347 could be read as tre, quattro, sette.

If someone speaks too quickly, try:

• Puoi ripetere più lentamente, per favore? — Can you repeat more slowly, please?

Ordering food and booking a table

Ordering is a simple way to put small numbers into practice.

• Un caffè, per favore. — One coffee, please.
• Due cappuccini, per favore. — Two cappuccinos, please.
• Tre cornetti, per favore. — Three Italian breakfast pastries, please.
• Un tavolo per quattro, per favore. — A table for four, please.

Although you learn “one” as uno, its form changes before nouns. You’ll hear un caffè, una pizza, and uno spritz, depending on the noun’s gender and opening sound. These forms follow the same patterns as the indefinite articles introduced in Italian grammar.

How to practice Italian numbers with a language exchange partner

You don’t need a complicated exercise to practice numbers. A short activity with a language exchange partner can help you connect the written forms to the sounds you’ll hear in conversation. Some fun options to try with your exchange partner include:

Play a number guessing game

Choose a number between one and one hundred and have your language exchange partner guess it. Give clues using più alto for “higher” and più basso for “lower,” then switch roles. Once that feels comfortable, expand the range or try guessing prices and quantities. Ask your language exchange partner to repeat any numbers you find difficult to distinguish.

Practice a café or restaurant conversation

Take turns being the customer and the person taking the order. Ask for different quantities, invent prices, and work out the total. You might order two coffees and three pastries, then ask Quanto costa tutto? — “How much does everything cost?”

This gives you practice using numbers alongside useful questions and vocabulary.

Exchange dates, times, and everyday details

Ask each other about birthdays, daily routines, or upcoming plans. You can also use fictional details if you’d rather keep personal information private.

Try questions such as:

• Quando è il tuo compleanno? — When’s your birthday?
• A che ora inizi a lavorare? — What time do you start work?
• Quanti caffè bevi al giorno? — How many coffees do you drink a day?

The answers give you a reason to listen carefully and keep the conversation going.

Try a quick listening challenge

Ask your language exchange partner to read five numbers aloud while you write them down. Compare your answers, then repeat any numbers you mixed up. Start with single digits and gradually introduce pairs such as thirteen and thirty, or sixty and seventy. Audio messages can be useful here because you can listen again before checking your answers.

Put your Italian numbers into conversation with Tandem

You don’t need to know every Italian number before you start using them. Begin with a coffee order, a birthday, or the time you’d like to meet. Each small exchange helps those number words feel more familiar. Finding opportunities to practice Italian with other speakers gives you a reason to use what you’ve learned. So, download Tandem and start practicing your Italian numbers today.