Beyond 100

Do you remember those good old days before the euro’s arrival in Italy when you would pay a few thousand lire for admission to a museum or a cappuccino and biscotti? Tourists needed more than just the numbers up to 100 to get around. Lire are history, but learning numbers greater than 100 might still prove useful. Though they might seem unwieldy, after a bit of practice you’ll be rolling them off your tongue like a pro.

ITALIAN CARDINAL NUMBERS: 100 AND GREATER

100

cento

CHEN-toh

101

centouno/centuno

cheh-toh-OO-noh/chehn-TOO-noh

150

centocinquanta

cheh-toh-cheen-KWAHN-tah

200

duecento

doo-eh-CHEN-toh

300

trecento

treh-CHEN-toh

400

quattrocento

kwaht-troh-CHEN-toh

500

cinquecento

cheen-kweh-CHEN-toh

600

seicento

seh-ee-CHEN-toh

700

settecento

set-the-CHEN-toh

800

ottocento

oht-toh-CHEN-toh

900

novecento

noh-veh-CHEN-toh

1.000

mille

MEEL-leh

1.001

milleuno

meel-leh-OO-noh

1.200

milleduecento

meel-leh-doo-eh-CHEN-toh

2.000

duemila

doo-eh-MEE-lah

10.000

diecimila

dee-eh-chee-MEE-lah

15.000

quindicimila

kween-dee-chee-MEE-lah

100.000

centomila

chen-toh-mee-leh

1.000.000

un milione

OON mee-lee-OH-neh

2.000.000

due milioni

DOO-eh mee-lee-OH-neh

1.000.000.000

un miliardo

OON mee-lee-ARE-doh

You can place items in "order" with ordinal numbers. For instance, il primo is the first course on a menu and il secondo is the second course. Vittorio Emanuele III, who ruled the unified Italian nation from 1900 to 1946, was the third king with that name. Pope Paul V (1605-1621) was the fifth pope with the name Paul. When used with the numerical succession of kings, popes, and emperors, the ordinal numbers are capitalized:

Vittorio Emanuele Secondo (Vittorio Emanuele II)

Leone Nono (Leone IX)

Carlo Quinto (Carlo V)

diciottesimo secolo (eighteenth century)

ITALIAN ORDINAL NUMBERS

first

primo

second

secondo

third

terzo

fourth

quarto

fifth

quinto

sixth

sesto

seventh

settimo

eighth

ottavo

ninth

nono

tenth

decimo

eleventh

undicesimo

twelfth

dodicesimo

thirteenth

tredicesimo

fourteenth

quattordicesimo

fifteenth

quindicesimo

sixteenth

sedicesimo

seventeenth

diciassettesimo

eighteenth

diciottesimo

nineteenth

diciannovesimo

twentieth

ventesimo

twenty-first

ventunesimo

twenty-third

ventitreesimo

hundredth

centesimo

thousandth

millesimo

two thousandth

duemillesimo

three thousandth

tremillesimo

one millionth

milionesimo

Notice the regularity of ordinal numbers beginning with undicesimo—the suffix -esimo is added to the cardinal numbers by dropping the final vowel of the cardinal number. The one exception includes numbers ending in -tré. Those numbers drop their accent and are unchanged when -esimo is added. Since Italian ordinal numbers function as adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify: primo, prima, primi, prime.