How to Count Italian Numbers Beyond One Hundred

Now that you know how to count from one to one hundred in Italian, how do you count from one hundred and up? These numbers, while a bit more complex, are useful to know for higher-priced items (learn about how to talk about prices here), saying the year, and being able to talk about items in large quantities. While the pattern is straightforward, there are some differences to highlight. For example, there is no Italian equivalent for the English way of saying â€Å"eleven hundred† or   Ã¢â‚¬Å"twelve hundred.† Instead, you would say â€Å"millecento - 1100† or â€Å"milleduecento -1200.† Writing Numbers in Italian When you’re writing numbers in Italian, English and Italian have a few differences. First, the function of periods and commas is reversed. Therefore, the number 1.000 one thousand (or mille in Italian) and 1,5 one point five or one and five tenths. In Italian, that would be â€Å"uno virgola cinque.† The indefinite article is not used with â€Å"cento - hundred† and â€Å"mille - thousand,† but it is used with â€Å"milione - million.† cento favole - a hundred fablesmille notti - a thousand nightsun milione di dollari - a million dollars â€Å"Cento† has no plural form, but â€Å"mille† has the plural form â€Å"mila.† cento lire - 100 liraduecento lire - 200 liramille lire - 1000 liraduemila lire - 2000 liratremila euro - 3000 euros FUN FACT: Lira was the old form of currency in Italy. L. is the abbreviation for lira/lire. This is where the common expression â€Å"Non ho una lira - I don’t have any money† comes from in Italian. Milione (plural milioni) and miliardo (plural miliardi) require the preposition â€Å"di† when they occur directly before a noun. In Italia ci sono 57 milioni di abitanti. - In Italy, there are 57 million inhabitants.Il governo ha speso molti miliardi di dollari. - The government has spent many billions of dollars. Saying the Year You can also use these numbers to say the year.   Let’s use the year 1929 as an example. The number you’re going to start with will be the biggest. 1000 - mille Then, you’ll use 900 - novecento Finally, you’ll cover the last two numbers 29 - ventinove All of that together makes: millenovecento ventinove Here are some other years as examples: 2010 - duemila dieci2000 - duemila1995 - millenovecento novantacinque1984 - millenovecento ottanta quattro A few things to note: -- When you’re talking about years in the 21st century, you use â€Å"duemila† and NOT â€Å"due mille†, like in duemila quattro (2004).   Ã‚   -- If you want to just say ‘84 instead of 1984, you would say â€Å"l’ottantaquattro.† -- If you want to say â€Å"In 1984†, you would use the articulated preposition â€Å"nell’84,† or â€Å"durante l’84† before the numbers. Italian Numbers One Hundred and Greater 100 cento 1.000 mille 101 centouno 1.001 milleuno 150 centocinquanta 1.200 milleduecento 200 duecento 2.000 duemila 300 trecento 10.000 diecimila 400 quattrocento 15.000 quindicimila 500 cinquecento 100.000 centomila 600 seicento 1.000.000 un milione 700 settecento 2.000.000 due milioni 800 ottocento 1.000.000.000 un miliardo 900 novecento 2.000.000.000 due miliardi