The numbers zero through twenty are the foundation of every other number you will ever need in Italian. Almost all the larger numbers are built by combining these — ventuno is venti + uno, trentaquattro is trenta + quattro, milleduecentocinque is mille + duecento + cinque. So this is a list to truly memorise, not just recognise: pronunciation, spelling, and the small handful of irregularities all matter.
Italian's first twenty numbers are mostly regular descendants of Latin (unus, duo, tres, quattuor, quinque…), but a few have phonological quirks worth flagging. The most important: uno inflects like the indefinite article, due and tre are invariable, tré in compounds takes a written accent, and diciassette and diciannove have unexpected double consonants.
The full table 0–20
| Figure | Italian | Stress | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | ZÈ-ro | /ˈdzɛro/ | Open è. Initial /dz/, not /z/. |
| 1 | uno (un / uno / una / un') | Ù-no | /ˈuno/ | Inflects: see below. |
| 2 | due | DÙ-e | /ˈdue/ | Invariable. |
| 3 | tre | TRÉ | /tre/ | Invariable. In compounds: -tré with acute accent. |
| 4 | quattro | QUÀT-tro | /ˈkwattro/ | Double t. Note 'qu' = /kw/. |
| 5 | cinque | CÌN-que | /ˈtʃinkwe/ | 'ci' = /tʃ/, 'que' = /kwe/. |
| 6 | sei | SÈ-i | /ˈsɛi/ | Open è. |
| 7 | sette | SÈT-te | /ˈsɛtte/ | Double t. Open è. |
| 8 | otto | ÒT-to | /ˈɔtto/ | Double t. Open ò. |
| 9 | nove | NÒ-ve | /ˈnɔve/ | Open ò. |
| 10 | dieci | DIÈ-ci | /ˈdjɛtʃi/ | 'ie' = /jɛ/, 'ci' = /tʃi/. |
| 11 | undici | ÙN-di-ci | /ˈunditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress. From Latin undecim. |
| 12 | dodici | DÒ-di-ci | /ˈdɔditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress. |
| 13 | tredici | TRÉ-di-ci | /ˈtreditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress. Closed é. |
| 14 | quattordici | quat-TÒR-di-ci | /kwatˈtɔrditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress (sdrucciola). Open ò. |
| 15 | quindici | QUÌN-di-ci | /ˈkwinditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress. |
| 16 | sedici | SÈ-di-ci | /ˈsɛditʃi/ | Antepenultimate stress. Open è. |
| 17 | diciassette | di-cias-SÈT-te | /ditʃasˈsɛtte/ | Double s. Penultimate stress. See below. |
| 18 | diciotto | di-CIÒT-to | /diˈtʃɔtto/ | Penultimate stress. Open ò. Double t. |
| 19 | diciannove | di-cian-NÒ-ve | /ditʃanˈnɔve/ | Double n. Penultimate stress. Open ò. |
| 20 | venti | VÉN-ti | /ˈventi/ | Closed é. Penultimate stress. |
Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. — The first ten cardinals, the foundation of the system.
Undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici, diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti.
Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. — The teens.
Uno: the inflecting number
Uno is the only cardinal that inflects. Its forms mirror the indefinite article (a, an), because they are historically the same word. The choice depends on the gender and the initial sound of the noun that follows.
| Form | Used before | Example |
|---|---|---|
| un | masculine noun starting with consonant (most cases) or vowel | un libro, un amico, un ragazzo |
| uno | masculine noun starting with z, gn, ps, x, y, or s+consonant | uno zaino, uno studente, uno psicologo, uno gnomo |
| una | feminine noun starting with consonant | una ragazza, una mela, una casa |
| un' | feminine noun starting with vowel (elided) | un'amica, un'ora, un'idea |
Vorrei un caffè e una pasta, per favore.
I'd like a coffee and a pastry, please. — un (m. before consonant) and una (f. before consonant).
C'è uno studente che cerca un'aula libera.
There's a student looking for a free classroom. — uno (m. before s+consonant) and un' (f. before vowel, elided with apostrophe).
Ho comprato un libro, una rivista e un'arancia.
I bought a book, a magazine, and an orange. — Three different forms in one sentence: un, una, un'.
When uno is not followed by a noun — when it's the standalone numeral — it stays as uno:
— Quanti ne vuoi? — Uno.
— How many do you want? — One. — Standalone uno, no following noun.
Sono nato il primo dicembre del millenovecentonovantuno.
I was born on December 1st, 1991. — Standalone -uno in the compound number for the year 1991: millenovecento + novantuno (note vowel elision: novanta + uno → novantuno).
Due and tre: invariable
Due and tre never change form, regardless of the gender of what they count.
Ho due fratelli e tre sorelle.
I have two brothers and three sisters. — Same form for masculine fratelli and feminine sorelle.
Servono tre uova e due cucchiai di farina.
You need three eggs and two spoonfuls of flour. — Same form regardless of gender.
The accent on -tré in compounds
Tre is the only single-digit cardinal that takes a written accent when it appears at the end of a compound number. The accent is the acute é, signalling that the final syllable is stressed and pronounced with a closed /e/.
| Compound | Stress | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ventitré (23) | ven-ti-TRÉ | Stress shifts to final syllable. Acute accent. |
| trentatré (33) | tren-ta-TRÉ | — |
| quarantatré (43) | — | — |
| cinquantatré (53) | — | — |
| sessantatré (63) | — | — |
| settantatré (73) | — | — |
| ottantatré (83) | — | — |
| novantatré (93) | — | — |
| centotré (103) | — | — |
Mio nonno ha ottantatré anni.
My grandfather is eighty-three. — ottantatré with the acute é, marking final-syllable stress.
Il numero della stanza è duecentoventitré.
The room number is two hundred twenty-three. — duecentoventitré: again, acute é at the end.
The standalone tre (just three on its own) is not written with an accent. The accent appears only when -tré sits at the end of a longer compound.
Pronunciation pitfalls
Italian numbers contain several sounds that English speakers don't immediately get right. Drilling these is worth your time.
Soft c: /tʃ/ in cinque, dieci, undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici
Whenever you see c before e or i in Italian, it is the soft c, pronounced like English ch in chair: /tʃ/. Not /s/, not /k/. So dieci is /ˈdjɛtʃi/, not /ˈdjɛsi/. Undici is /ˈunditʃi/, not /ˈundisi/.
Dieci ragazzi, undici libri, dodici sedie.
Ten kids, eleven books, twelve chairs. — Three soft-c numbers: dieci, undici, dodici.
The 'cia' digraph in diciassette and diciotto
When c appears before ia, io, iu, the i is silent — it is just there to signal that c is soft. So diciassette is di-CHA-sset-te, not di-chia-sette. The i between the c and the a makes the c soft and is otherwise silent.
Diciassette, diciotto, diciannove.
Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. — All three teens beginning with dici- (literally 'ten plus...') have the soft c via the silent i: di-CHAS-sette, di-CHOT-to, di-CHAN-nove.
Double consonants in diciassette and diciannove
These are real geminates — the consonant is held longer than a single one. Diciassette has a double s: di-cias-SET-te (with a longer /s/). Diciannove has a double n: di-cian-NO-ve (with a longer /n/). English doesn't have phonemic gemination, so this requires deliberate practice. The double consonant is audible — sette (seven) and sete (thirst) are different words distinguished only by the length of the /t/.
Sette anni di sete: l'estate è stata terribile.
Seven years of thirst: the summer was terrible. — sette (seven, double t, /sɛtte/) vs sete (thirst, single t, /ˈsete/). The minimal pair English speakers must learn to hear and produce.
The qu cluster: /kw/, not /k/
In Italian, qu is always /kw/ — both consonants are pronounced. So quattro is /ˈkwattro/, not /ˈkatro/. Cinque is /ˈtʃinkwe/, with the /w/ clearly heard.
Quattro caffè e cinque cornetti, per favore.
Four coffees and five croissants, please. — quattro = /kwattro/, cinque = /tʃinkwe/, both with audible /kw/.
Open vs closed e and o
Italian distinguishes /e/ (closed) from /ɛ/ (open) and /o/ (closed) from /ɔ/ (open). In zero, sei, sette, sedici, dieci, diciassette, the e is open /ɛ/. In tre, tredici, venti, the e is closed /e/. In otto, nove, diciotto, diciannove, the o is open /ɔ/. In uno, undici, dodici, the u and o are clean closed vowels. This distinction is consistent in standard Italian and partly relaxed in regional variants. Don't worry about getting it perfect at A1 — but listen for it.
Stress patterns
A subtle but important point: Italian numbers shift their stress in unexpected places, especially in the teens.
- Stress on the antepenultimate (third-from-last) syllable: UN-di-ci, DO-di-ci, TRÉ-di-ci, quat-TÒR-di-ci, QUIN-di-ci, SÈ-di-ci. Six of the teens are stressed three syllables back from the end (Italian parole sdrucciole).
- Stress on the penultimate (second-from-last): di-cias-SÈT-te, di-CIÒT-to, di-cian-NÒ-ve, VÉN-ti. The other four (parole piane).
- Final-syllable stress (rare for native words but normal for accented vowels): tre, ventitré, trentatré.
UN-di-ci, DO-di-ci, TRÉ-di-ci, quat-TÒR-di-ci, QUIN-di-ci, SÈ-di-ci, di-cias-SÈT-te, di-CIÒT-to, di-cian-NÒ-ve, VÉN-ti.
Eleven through twenty, with stress marked. — Six antepenultimate-stress (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), four penultimate-stress (17, 18, 19, 20).
A common English-speaker error is to put the stress on the same syllable for all the teens — to say un-DI-ci, do-DI-ci — by analogy with English e-LE-ven, twelve, thir-TEEN. In Italian, undici and dodici take stress earlier, on the un and do. Drill these slowly: UN-dici, DO-dici, TRÉ-dici, quat-TÒR-di-ci, QUIN-dici, SÈ-dici.
Counting in everyday speech
Italians count with cardinals just as English speakers do — for stairs, sets in tennis, drink rounds, anything quantifiable.
— Quanti anni hai? — Diciassette.
— How old are you? — Seventeen. — Standalone diciassette as the answer.
Uno, due, tre… spingiamo!
One, two, three… push! — Counting in the abstract uses the bare uno, regardless of any noun in context.
Ho preso solo sei punti su dieci all'esame.
I only got six out of ten on the exam. — sei punti su dieci, the standard 'X out of Y' construction.
Il mio numero di telefono finisce in tre, sette, nove.
My phone number ends in three, seven, nine. — Phone numbers are read digit by digit.
Common Mistakes
These are the recurring slips.
❌ C'è uno libro sulla mia scrivania.
Wrong — uno is only the form before z, gn, ps, x, y, or s+consonant. Before a regular consonant like 'l', the form is un: un libro.
✅ C'è un libro sulla mia scrivania.
There's a book on my desk. — un libro: un before a normal consonant.
❌ Ho comprato uno aranciata.
Wrong — aranciata is feminine and starts with a vowel, so the form is un' with apostrophe: un'aranciata. (Also, 'I bought an orange juice' uses the indefinite article rather than the cardinal one — which is fine, since they're the same word in Italian.)
✅ Ho comprato un'aranciata.
I bought an orange juice. — un' (apostrophe) before a feminine vowel-initial noun.
❌ Mio fratello ha tré anni.
Wrong — standalone tre takes no accent. The accent appears only on -tré at the end of compound numbers (ventitré, trentatré).
✅ Mio fratello ha tre anni.
My brother is three. — tre, no accent, when it stands alone.
❌ Quattordici è un numero pari.
Spelling is fine — but English speakers often pronounce this with the wrong stress, as *quat-TOR-DI-ci* with stress on -di-. Correct stress: quat-TOR-di-ci, on the -tor-.
✅ Quattordici è un numero pari.
Fourteen is an even number. — Correct as written; the lesson is in the pronunciation: quat-TOR-di-ci.
❌ Diciasette persone hanno partecipato.
Wrong — diciassette has a double s: di-cias-SET-te. The single-s form is a misspelling that immediately marks a non-native speaker.
✅ Diciassette persone hanno partecipato.
Seventeen people took part. — diciassette with double s.
❌ Ha dicianove anni.
Wrong — diciannove has a double n: di-cian-NO-ve. The single-n form is a misspelling, parallel to the diciassette / diciasette confusion.
✅ Ha diciannove anni.
She's nineteen. — diciannove with double n.
Key takeaways
Twenty numbers, four small irregularities. Master the table at the top of this page. The four things that need careful attention: uno inflects (un/uno/una/un'), due and tre are invariable, -tré in compounds takes the acute accent, and diciassette / diciannove have unusual double consonants.
Pronunciation matters more than spelling. Soft c (/tʃ/) in dieci, cinque, undici; double consonants in quattro, sette, otto, diciassette, diciannove; open vs closed e/o.
Stress shifts in the teens. Antepenultimate for undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici; penultimate for diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, venti. Drill these slowly.
Uno's inflection mirrors the indefinite article. The same phonotactic rule (uno before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y) applies. Standalone, it stays as uno.
The next stage: once you have 0–20 down, Cardinal Numbers 21–100 shows you how the teens combine with the tens to give every cardinal up to one hundred — including the vowel-elision rule that makes venti + uno = ventuno (not ventiuno).
Now practice Italian
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Italian Numbers: OverviewA1 — An introduction to the Italian number system: cardinals (uno, due, tre), ordinals (primo, secondo, terzo), dates, time, measurements, fractions, and Italian's reversed punctuation conventions (decimal comma, thousands period).
- Cardinal Numbers 21–100A1 — How Italian builds the cardinals from twenty-one to one hundred: the tens (venti, trenta, quaranta…), the concatenation rule that fuses ten and unit into a single word, the vowel-elision rule (venti+uno = ventuno), and the acute accent on -tré in compound numbers.
- Cardinal Numbers 100+A2 — Italian large numbers: cento and its compounds (duecento, trecento), mille and its plural mila (duemila, tremila), milione and miliardo (which DO inflect), the one-word concatenation rule up to a million, year notation, and Italian's reversed punctuation conventions for big numbers.
- Italian Ordinal NumbersA1 — How to form and use Italian ordinals — primo through decimo, the productive -esimo suffix from undicesimo onward, full agreement in gender and number, and the special roles ordinals play in dates, centuries, popes, and rankings.
- Double Consonants (Geminates)A1 — Italian distinguishes single from double consonants by length, and the difference is phonemic — fato (fate) and fatto (done) are completely different words. The minimal pairs every learner must hear, why English speakers consistently under-pronounce them, and how to physically produce a longer consonant.