Numbers in everyday life

Numbers 0-100 and age in Italian

Numbers 0-20:

• 0 zero, 1 uno, 2 due, 3 tre, 4 quattro, 5 cinque
• 6 sei, 7 sette, 8 otto, 9 nove, 10 dieci
• 11 undici, 12 dodici, 13 tredici, 14 quattordici, 15 quindici
• 16 sedici, 17 diciassette, 18 diciotto, 19 diciannove, 20 venti

Numbers 21-100 — formation pattern: From 21 onwards, numbers follow a predictable pattern. The tens digit comes first, and for 1 and 8, the final vowel of the tens is dropped:

• 21 ventuno (not "ventiuno"), 28 ventotto (not "ventiotto")
• 22 ventidue, 23 ventitré (note the accent!), 25 venticinque
• 30 trenta, 40 quaranta, 50 cinquanta
• 60 sessanta, 70 settanta, 80 ottanta, 90 novanta, 100 cento

💬 Esempio: 43 = quaranta + tre = quarantatré

💬 Esempio: 71 = settanta + uno = settantuno (drop the -a)

💬 Esempio: 88 = ottanta + otto = ottantotto (drop the -a)

Asking and telling age: In Italian, you use the verb avere (to have) for age, not "essere" (to be):

• Quanti anni hai? → How old are you?
• Ho venticinque anni. → I am 25 years old. (literally: "I have 25 years")
• Ha trent'anni. → He/She is 30 years old.

Notice trent'anni — when a number ending in a vowel is followed by "anni," the vowel is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. This is called "elision" and it makes the phrase smoother to say.

Useful number expressions:

• il numero di telefono → phone number
• il codice postale → zip code
• l'indirizzo → the address