Reference · module 3
Numbers and prices
Everything this module explains, on one page.
One to twenty
Count to twenty and understand prices.
- Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette, otto, nove, dieci. Every letter is pronounced, and ci sounds like chi: cinque is chinkwe.
- Undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici — then the order flips: diciassette, diciotto, diciannove, literally ten-seven, ten-eight, ten-nine. Twenty is venti.
- To ask the price: Quanto costa? for one thing, Quanto costano? for several, or simply Quant'è? — how much is it. The answer: costa dieci euro.
The mistake you are about to make
dieci-sei
sedici
Seventeen to nineteen are built from ten, so sixteen seems to follow. Up to sixteen each number is its own word.
Avere and age
Say what you have and how old you are.
- Avere means to have: io ho, tu hai, lui/lei ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno. The h is always silent: ho sounds like o.
- Age uses avere: ho vent'anni — I am twenty, literally I have twenty years. Quanti anni hai? — how old are you?
- There is is c'è, and there are is ci sono: c'è un bar qui — there is a bar here; ci sono due bar — there are two bars.
The mistake you are about to make
Sono vent'anni.
Ho vent'anni.
English I am twenty suggests essere. Italian uses avere for age: ho vent'anni.
Please and thank you
Ask politely and reply to thanks.
- Per favore means please when asking for something: un caffè, per favore. Grazie is thank you, and grazie mille — a thousand thanks — is thank you very much.
- Prego is a very busy word: you are welcome after grazie, here you are when handing something over, and please, come in when inviting someone.
- Scusi is excuse me to a stranger, scusa to a friend. Use it to get attention or to apologise for a small thing, like bumping into someone.
The mistake you are about to make
Scusa, signore!
Scusi, signore!
English excuse me has one form. To a stranger Italian uses scusi; scusa is for friends.