Italian Numbers
Learning how to count is one of the fundamental skills when learning a new language. Italian, like most languages, has two main types of numbers: cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.
- Cardinal numbers are used to count things and answer “how many?”, like “one”, “two”, “three”.
- Ordinal numbers, on the other hand, are used to indicate position or rank, like “first”, “second”, “third”.
In this article, I’ll focus on cardinal numbers, specifically the ones from 1 to 10. These basic numbers will form the foundation to count in Italian and make it easier to learn larger numbers as you progress.
Numbers in Italian
Uno
Uno is both a number and an indefinite article. It changes to un before masculine nouns and una before feminine nouns.
Un bicchiere, per favore.
One glass, please.
Due
Due remains the same regardless of the gender of the noun that follows.
Vorrei due caffè, grazie.
I’d like two coffees, thank you.
Tre
Abbiamo tre gatti a casa.
We have three cats at home.
Quattro
Ci sono quattro persone al tavolo.
There are four people at the table.
Cinque
Ho comprato cinque mele.
I bought five apples.
Sei
If you are already familiar with the verb essere in Italian, you might have noticed that sei can also mean “you are”, so context is crucial to distinguish between the two meanings.
Abbiamo sei sedie.
We have six chairs.
Sette
Sette giorni alla settimana.
Seven days in a week.
Otto
Otto ore di sonno sono ideali.
Eight hours of sleep are ideal.
Nove
Sono le nove di mattina.
It’s 9 a.m.
Dieci
Dieci minuti e sono pronta.
Ten minutes and I’m ready.
You Count!
However you mean this sentence, it is true. You’re learning new topics day by day, and now you can also count them!
Numbers are extremely useful to tell the time in Italian, to say the date, and, in general, to have an idea of quantities that surround you.
Going to the grocery shop will be easier, as well as buying tickets, or just arranging a date. Practice daily and you’ll be ready to count in Italian!
