Italian Numbers, Dates, and Time: The Complete Guide
Cardinal and ordinal numbers, telling time the Italian way, months, days, and relative time expressions — all in one reference. These words are the skeleton of everyday Italian conversation.
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Numbers 11–19
The teens have irregular forms — learn these as a set.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| undici | num | eleven (11) |
| dodici | num | twelve (12) |
| tredici | num | thirteen (13) |
| quattordici | num | fourteen (14) |
| quindici | num | fifteen (15) |
| sedici | num | sixteen (16) |
| diciassette | num | seventeen (17) |
| diciotto | num | eighteen (18) |
| diciannove | num | nineteen (19) |
Tens 40–90
The round tens follow a regular pattern once you have these anchors.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| quaranta | num | forty (40) |
| cinquanta | num | fifty (50) |
| sessanta | num | sixty (60) |
| settanta | num | seventy (70) |
| ottanta | num | eighty (80) |
| novanta | num | ninety (90) |
| duemila | num | two thousand (2,000) |
| un milione | num | one million |
| un miliardo | num | one billion |
Ordinal numbers
Used for floors, rankings, centuries, and dates.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| quarto | ord | fourth (4th) |
| quinto | ord | fifth (5th) |
| sesto | ord | sixth (6th) |
| settimo | ord | seventh (7th) |
| ottavo | ord | eighth (8th) |
| nono | ord | ninth (9th) |
| decimo | ord | tenth (10th) |
Days of the week
Note: Italian days of the week are not capitalised.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| martedì | noun | Tuesday |
| mercoledì | noun | Wednesday |
| giovedì | noun | Thursday |
| sabato | noun | Saturday |
Months of the year
Italian month names are also not capitalised.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| gennaio | noun | January |
| febbraio | noun | February |
| marzo | noun | March |
| aprile | noun | April |
| maggio | noun | May |
| giugno | noun | June |
| luglio | noun | July |
| agosto | noun | August |
| settembre | noun | September |
| ottobre | noun | October |
| novembre | noun | November |
| dicembre | noun | December |
Telling the time
Italian uses the 24-hour clock formally and 12-hour informally. Le ore precedes the hour.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| mezzanotte | noun | midnight |
| mezzogiorno | noun | midday / noon |
| e un quarto | phrase | quarter past (e.g. le tre e un quarto = 3:15) |
| e mezza | phrase | half past (e.g. le quattro e mezza = 4:30) |
| meno un quarto | phrase | quarter to (e.g. le cinque meno un quarto = 4:45) |
| in punto | phrase | on the dot (e.g. alle tre in punto = exactly 3:00) |
| verso le | phrase | around / at about (e.g. verso le otto = around 8) |
| a che ora | phrase | at what time? |
Dates & special occasions
Words for talking about dates, birthdays, and holidays.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| data | noun | date |
| compleanno | noun | birthday |
| anniversario | noun | anniversary |
| festività | noun | holiday / public holiday |
Relative time expressions
Essential phrases for talking about when things happen relative to now.
| Italian | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| dopodomani | adv | the day after tomorrow |
| l'altro ieri | adv | the day before yesterday |
| la settimana scorsa | phrase | last week |
| la settimana prossima | phrase | next week |
| il mese scorso | phrase | last month |
| il mese prossimo | phrase | next month |
| l'anno scorso | phrase | last year |
| l'anno prossimo | phrase | next year |
| tra due giorni | phrase | in two days |
| tra una settimana | phrase | in one week |
| da tre giorni | phrase | for three days (ongoing) |
| per tre giorni | phrase | for three days (duration) |
Tips for learning numbers and time in Italian
Numbers are deceptively hard to automatise — you can know them in your head but freeze when someone says "sono le quattordici e mezza." Here's how to make them automatic:
- →Drill the teens (11–19) as a batch — they have unique forms that don't follow the pattern of 20+.
- →Practise telling time by switching your phone to Italian and reading the time out loud.
- →Learn months by connecting them to events: maggio is when Italian football season ends, agosto is holiday month.
- →Use spaced repetition for the relative time expressions — they're common in conversation but easy to confuse.
- →Say numbers out loud when you encounter them — on receipts, signs, addresses. Don't let them stay silent.
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