Italian cardinal numbers are the numbers used for counting and expressing quantity.

Table of Contents

They answer the question:

“How many?”

Examples include:

Cardinal numbers are used in many everyday situations such as:

Learning cardinal numbers is the foundation for understanding Italian numbers.

Italian Cardinal Numbers 1–20

The first twenty numbers are important to memorize because they are used to build larger numbers.

You can also view the full number chart here:

Italian Cardinal Numbers 21–99

Italian numbers follow a predictable structure.

Examples:

21 = ventuno
24 = ventiquattro
37 = trentasette
48 = quarantotto
59 = cinquantanove

The general structure is:

ten + unit

In some cases, the final vowel of the tens number is dropped.

Example:

venti + uno = ventuno
venti + otto = ventotto

These combine with the numbers 1–9 to form larger numbers.

Examples:

42 = quarantadue
67 = sessantasette

Hundreds follow a simple pattern.

Examples:

100 = cento
200 = duecento
300 = trecento

These numbers combine with other numbers to create larger values.

Example:

245 = duecentoquarantacinque

Examples:

1,000 = mille
2,000 = duemila
10,000 = diecimila

When the number is greater than one thousand, mille becomes mila.

Example:

3,000 = tremila

Example sentences:

Ho tre libri.
(I have three books.)

Il prezzo è cinquanta euro.
(The price is fifty euros.)

Ci sono venti studenti nella classe.
(There are twenty students in the class.)

You can practice Italian numbers using the interactive tools below.

Example: 1234

Further reference: Treccani on numero.