Italian Numbers 1 to 20

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Count to twenty, handle uno's two forms, say your age, and tell the time the Italian way.

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Uno to dieci

The first ten: uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci. Pronunciation traps: tre has a rolled r and no final vowel sound, cinque stresses the first syllable (CHEEN-kweh), and dieci is three syllables (dee-EH-chee). Uno shortens before masculine nouns like the article: un libro (one book), but counting aloud it stays uno.

Undici to venti

Eleven to sixteen fuse with -dici (ten): undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici. Then the pattern flips — the ten comes first: diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti. The tens run venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, sessanta, settanta, ottanta, novanta, cento — and compounds simply join: 21 is ventuno (one word), 28 is ventotto (the double t where vowels collide).

Age and time

Age uses avere: Ho vent'anni (I am 20), asked as Quanti anni hai? (informal) or Quanti anni ha? (formal). Note vent'anni — venti anni elides to one word. Time uses essere: Sono le tre (it is three o'clock — literally "they are the three", feminine plural for hours) but È l'una (it is one o'clock), È mezzogiorno (noon), È mezzanotte (midnight).

Money and quantities

Italy uses the euro — prices are read in full: €3,50 is tre euro e cinquanta. Ask with Quanto costa? (how much is it?) or Quanto costano? (plural). Counting objects needs no classifier: due caffè (two coffees), tre notti (three nights). Note invariable nouns like caffè, città, menù — stressed final vowel means the singular and plural are identical.

Number	Italian
1–5	uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque
6–10	sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci
11–15	undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici
16–20	sedici, diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti
How old are you?	Quanti anni hai? / Quanti anni ha?
I am 20 years old	Ho vent'anni

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