Italian ordinal numbers are used to describe the position of something in a sequence.

Table of Contents

They answer the question:

“Which one?”

Examples include:

Ordinal numbers are commonly used when talking about:

Italian Ordinal Numbers 1–20

Here are the most common Italian ordinal numbers.

How Italian Ordinal Numbers Are Formed

Many Italian ordinal numbers are formed by adding the ending:

-esimo

to the cardinal number.

Examples:

quattro → quarto
dieci → decimo
venti → ventesimo

For larger numbers, the final vowel of the cardinal number is often dropped before adding -esimo.

Example:

venti → ventesimo
trenta → trentesimo

Italian ordinal numbers behave like adjectives, so they change depending on gender and number.

Example with primo (first):

Example sentence:

È la prima volta.
(It is the first time.)

Ordinal numbers appear in many everyday expressions.

Examples:

il secondo piano
(the second floor)

la terza pagina
(the third page)

il decimo capitolo
(the tenth chapter)

Ordinal numbers are sometimes used when referring to the first day of the month.

Example:

1° gennaio

This represents:

primo gennaio

Most other dates use cardinal numbers instead of ordinal numbers.

Example:

4 marzo
15 agosto

For more information about Italian dates see:

You can practice Italian numbers using the tools below.

Example: 1234

Italian Numbers

/italian/italian-numbers

Italian Cardinal Numbers

/italian/italian-cardinal-numbers

Italian Dates

/italian/italian-dates

Times in Italian

/italian/times-in-italian

Further reference: Treccani on numero.