Cardinal Numbers

Level 1

Italian cardinal numbers are mostly invariable, meaning they don't change based on gender or number. However, 'uno' and 'mille' have special rules you need to follow.

How It Works

Cardinal numbers (i numeri cardinali) are essential for daily life in Italy. Here is how they work:

Basic Numbers: 0 (zero), 1 (uno), 2 (due), 3 (tre), 4 (quattro), 5 (cinque), 6 (sei), 7 (sette), 8 (otto), 9 (nove), 10 (dieci).
Spelling Traps: Pay attention to 17 (diciassette) and 19 (diciannove), which double the 's' and 'n' respectively.
The Rule of 'Uno': When used as an adjective before a noun, 1 follows the same rules as the indefinite article (e.g., un libro, una penna). However, when counting (1, 2, 3...) or used alone for a masculine noun, it is uno (for a feminine noun it is una, as in ne ho una). Before masculine nouns, compound numbers like ventuno often undergo truncation: ventun anni.
Vowel Dropping: Tens (20, 30, 40...) drop their final vowel when combined with 1 (uno) or 8 (otto): venti + uno = ventuno; trenta + otto = trentotto.
Accents: Compound numbers ending in 3 must have an accent: ventitré, trentatré.
Hundreds and Thousands: Cento (100) is invariable (duecento, trecento). Mille (1,000) is singular, but the plural form is -mila (duemila, tremila).
Millions and Billions: Un milione (1,000,000) and un miliardo (1,000,000,000) are nouns. They require an article, have regular plurals (due milioni), and use di before a noun: un milione di euro.
Punctuation: Italian uses a period for thousands and a comma for decimals: 1.500,50 (one thousand five hundred point five zero).
Dates: Italian uses cardinal numbers for all days except the first: il due marzo, but il primo maggio.

Examples (5)

Ho due gatti e tre cani.
I have two cats and three dogs.
Word by Word: I have two cats and three dogs.
Most numbers like 'due' and 'tre' are invariable and simply precede the noun.
C'è un ragazzo e una ragazza.
There is one boy and one girl.
Word by Word: There is a boy and a girl.
The number 'uno' changes its form to match the gender of the noun, just like an indefinite article.
Ho ventuno anni.
I am twenty-one years old.
Word by Word: I have twenty-one years.
Notice how 'venti' drops the 'i' before 'uno' to become 'ventuno'.
Costa duemila euro.
It costs two thousand euros.
Word by Word: It costs two-thousand euro.
The plural of 'mille' (thousand) is '-mila'.
Oggi è il ventitré ottobre.
Today is October 23rd.
Word by Word: Today is the twenty-three October.
Numbers ending in 'tre' require an accent when they are part of a larger number.

Common Mistakes

Using 'un mille' or 'un cento'.
Ho un cento euro.
Ho cento euro.
In Italian, you never use 'un' before 'cento' (100) or 'mille' (1000). You simply say the number.
Forgetting the preposition 'di' with millions or billions.
un milione persone
un milione di persone
Unlike smaller numbers, 'milione' and 'miliardo' are nouns and require the preposition 'di' before the object they quantify.
Using 'mille' for plural thousands.
due mille persone
duemila persone
While 'mille' is used for 1,000, the form changes to '-mila' for any number of thousands greater than one.

How It Connects

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Cardinal NumbersLevel 1

Learn This First

To use cardinal numbers effectively, you need to understand how the number 'one' changes based on gender (similar to indefinite articles), how to pair numbers with plural nouns, and how vowel dropping (elision) affects the spelling of compound numbers.

Elision
Elision occurs with certain numbers, such as 'venti' or 'trenta', when they are combined with 'uno' or 'otto' (e.g., ventuno, ventotto).
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Sources

Practice Cardinal Numbers in Bubblegum

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