Now that you know how to count to ten, let's continue up to twenty.
| Number | Italian |
|---|---|
| 11 | undici |
| 12 | dodici |
| 13 | tredici |
| 14 | quattordici |
| 15 | quindici |
| 16 | sedici |
| 17 | diciassette |
| 18 | diciotto |
| 19 | diciannove |
| 20 | venti |
The Patterns: "-dici" and "dici-"
If you look closely at the numbers from 11 to 19, you will notice two clear patterns based on dieci (ten):
- The numbers from 11 to 16 end in -dici.
- The numbers from 17 to 19 flip the structure and begin with dici-.
Finally, at 20, we get a completely new word: venti.
Just like the numbers from two to ten, these numbers are invariable—they never change their endings to match the noun they modify. You simply place the number directly before the plural noun.
Here are some examples of the numbers 11 to 16 in action:
| Marco is eleven years old. | Marco ha undici anni. |
| The year has twelve months. | L'anno ha dodici mesi. |
| There are fourteen students and one teacher. | Ci sono quattordici studenti e un insegnante. |
| There are fifteen or sixteen pens in this box. | Ci sono quindici o sedici penne in questa scatola. |
And here are the higher numbers up to venti (twenty):
| Your train has seventeen free seats. | Il tuo treno ha diciassette posti liberi. |
| The museum has eighteen rooms. | Il museo ha diciotto stanze. |
| The hotel has nineteen free rooms. | L'albergo ha diciannove stanze libere. |
| There are twenty students in this room. | Ci sono venti studenti in questa stanza. |
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