What are Ordinal Numbers?
Ordinal vs Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers are the basic counting numbers that indicate quantity and amounts. English cardinal numbers are zero, one, two, three…
Ordinal numbers indicate the order of items in a sequence and are used to rank things and organize information in a linear sequence. English ordinal numbers are first, second, third…
Most languages, including Italian, have different systems for creating ordinal and cardinal numbers. The extent to which these words vary depends on the language itself: some add a specific suffix, others use entirely separate words, and a few languages do not use distinct ordinal forms in the same way.
However, the conceptual distinction between quantity and sequence is a common feature across most languages, reflecting a basic cognitive and communicative need.
Italian Ordinal Numbers
Creating Italian ordinal numbers is straightforward once you understand the basic rules. However, before you move on, there are a couple of important things I need you to remember:
- Italian ordinal numbers are adjectives. This means that they agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.
- Although they follow a regular pattern to be formed, the first ten ordinal numbers are irregular and have their own structure that does not follow the general rule.
Before you learn Italian Ordinal Numbers, have a look at Italian Cardinal Numbers from 1 to 10.
Now, I will show you the first 10 numbers:
- Primo (first)
- Secondo (second)
- Terzo (third)
- Quarto (fourth)
- Quinto (fifth)
- Sesto (sixth)
- Settimo (seventh)
- Ottavo (eighth)
- Nono (ninth)
- Decimo (tenth)
As you can see, their structural behavior is not predictable because they are irregular.
My advice is that you learn them by heart. For numbers beyond ten, Italian ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix “-esimo” to the stem of the cardinal number.
Let me show you how:
- Undicesimo (eleventh)
- Dodicesimo (twelfth)
- Tredicesimo (thirteenth)
- Ventesimo (twentieth)
- Trentesimo (thirtieth)
- Centesimo (hundredth)
Notice that compound numbers are always written in a unique word.
Unlike English, the suffix -esimo is added to all other numbers, also those that are composed of the first 10 irregular numbers. For instance, where in English you say “thirty second”, in Italian you do not say trenta secondo, but you say trendaduesimo.
As I mentioned before, remember that Italian ordinal numbers are adjectives, therefore they agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun they are describing. The suffix adjusts depending on these factors, resulting in:
| English | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Primo | Prima | Primi | Prime |
| Second | Secondo | Seconda | Secondi | Seconde |
| Third | Terzo | Terza | Terzi | Terze |
| Tenth | Decimo | Decima | Decimi | Decime |
| Twelfth | Dodicesimo | Dodicesima | Dodicesimi | Dodicesime |
| Twentieth | Ventesimo | Ventesima | Ventesimi | Ventesime |
| Twenty-ninth | Ventinovesimo | Ventinovesima | Ventinovesimi | Ventinovesime |
| Forty-first | Quarantunesimo | Quarantunesima | Quarantunesimi | Quarantunesime |
| Hundredth | Centesimo | Centesima | Centesimi | Centesime |
How to use Italian Ordinal Numbers
If you ever went to an Italian restaurant, you might have noticed that Italian ordinal numbers are very commonly used. In fact, when you want to order food in an Italian restaurant, you have to pick a primo and secondo (first and second).
Other circumstances where you might need Italian ordinal numbers is in hotels or big buildings, where you have to walk through different floors. Piano terra is the ground floor, and then you will find primo piano, secondo piano, and so on.
While for general dates in Italian we use cardinal numbers – il quattro giugno (June the fourth) – the first day of each month is primo (indeed, first). Il primo settembre (September the first).
When mentioning bus or train routes and their stops, you also need Italian ordinal numbers. For example, “scendi alla quinta fermata” (get off at the fifth stop).
Do not confuse the feminine Italian ordinal number prima with the Italian adverb “prima” and do not confuse the masculine Italian ordinal number secondo with the Italian expression “secondo me“. They look the same, but they are used in different ways!
