I can say large numbers and ordinals — cento, settecento, mille, primo, decimo — and say the date: lunedì 5 ottobre, il primo maggio.
Numbers from 100: written as one word
Numbers from 100: written as one word
Big numbers, ordinals, and dates let you give a price, a quantity, a floor, and a date.
Cento is “a hundred”, and it doesn't change: duecento, cinquecento, settecento.
Numbers are written as one word, with no spaces and no e (unlike English “one hundred and one”): centouno, centoventi, millecento, duecentocinquanta.
Mille is “a thousand”, but in the plural it's mila: duemila, tremila.
Before a noun, un milione takes di: un milione di euro.
The ordinals primo … decimo each have their own form. After that, take the number, drop its last vowel, and add -esimo: undici → undicesimo, dodici → dodicesimo, venti → ventesimo.
nono is spelled with one n: in Italian, a double letter makes a different word.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “mille e cento” → millecento.
• NOT “cento uno” → centouno.
• NOT “due mila” → duemila.
• NOT “un milione euro” → un milione di euro.
Numbers from 100
Written as one word, with no e between the parts.
| Number | Word |
|---|---|
| 100 | cento |
| 101 | centouno |
| 120 | centoventi |
| 200 | duecento |
| 1000 | mille |
| 1100 | millecento |
| 2000 | duemila |
| 1 000 000 | un milione |
Ordinal numbers
From undici on, take the number, drop the last vowel, and add -esimo.
| № | Ordinal |
|---|---|
| 1 | primo |
| 2 | secondo |
| 3 | terzo |
| 4 | quarto |
| 5 | quinto |
| 6 | sesto |
| 7 | settimo |
| 8 | ottavo |
| 9 | nono |
| 10 | decimo |
| 11 (undici) | undicesimo |
| 20 (venti) | ventesimo |
Lesson notes
Numbers from 100: written as one word
Big numbers, ordinals, and dates let you give a price, a quantity, a floor, and a date.
Cento is “a hundred”, and it doesn't change: duecento, cinquecento, settecento.
Numbers are written as one word, with no spaces and no e (unlike English “one hundred and one”): centouno, centoventi, millecento, duecentocinquanta.
Mille is “a thousand”, but in the plural it's mila: duemila, tremila.
Before a noun, un milione takes di: un milione di euro.
The ordinals primo … decimo each have their own form. After that, take the number, drop its last vowel, and add -esimo: undici → undicesimo, dodici → dodicesimo, venti → ventesimo.
nono is spelled with one n: in Italian, a double letter makes a different word.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “mille e cento” → millecento.
• NOT “cento uno” → centouno.
• NOT “due mila” → duemila.
• NOT “un milione euro” → un milione di euro.
The date: lunedì 5 ottobre 2026
Months are written in lowercase, unlike English: gennaio, maggio, ottobre.
The order in a date: day of the week → day of the month → month → year: lunedì 5 ottobre 2026 (Monday, October 5, 2026). The day comes first, so 5/10 is October 5. The year is written in figures; you'll learn to read it aloud later.
The day of the month is an ordinary cardinal number with the article il, not an ordinal as in English “May second”: il due maggio, il quindici agosto. Only the first of the month is ordinal: il primo maggio. With a day of the week before the number, there's no article: lunedì 5 ottobre, but il cinque ottobre.
“In which month” is a or in before the month: a maggio, in maggio — both are correct.
Quando sei nato? — Il 3 marzo (sono nato, “I was born”, is a set phrase; the rule comes later).
May 1 and August 15 (Ferragosto) are national holidays in Italy, and in August many stores and offices close for two or three weeks. So il primo maggio and il quindici agosto are worth remembering in the right form.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “il secondo maggio” → il due maggio.
• NOT “Maggio” → maggio (months are lowercase).
• NOT “Cinque ottobre” → Il cinque ottobre.