How to use the euro in Italian – with audio

On 08/06/2023 By fra-amici-italianIn Everyday LanguageLeave a comment

The Italian currency – the euro

In this post we learn how to use the euro in Italian – with authentic audio.

On January 1, 2002, the euro came into full use in Italy and in the other European countries in the eurozone. It replaced the Italian lira. For the first two months, both currencies were in use.

Euro for singular and plural

We use the same word euro for singular and plural euro amounts in Italian: un euro, dieci euro – one euro, ten euros.

Using the euro in Italian – with Audio

Here you can listen to the audio as you read and say these Italian euro amounts:

€0,50	cinquanta centesimi*
€1,50	un euro* e cinquanta
€4,40	quattro euro e quaranta
€10	dieci euro
€50	cinquanta euro
€100	cento euro
€120	centoventi euro
€550	cinquecentocinquanta euro This long one is in for fun! (You can think of it as three words: cinque-cento-cinquanta)
€875	ottocentosettantacinque euro Here’s another long one to try! (otto-cento-settanta-cinque)
€1 000 / €1.000	mille euro
€2 000 / €2.000	duemila euro

As you can see, you can easily read long words in Italian if you mentally split them up into shorter words or syllables. (The words help you to read the numerals.)

Here are some more key points about the euro in Italian:

Word stress

* The Italian word euro is stressed on the ‘e’ sound. Word stress is shown above with the underlined vowel e (as a reminder, for the first three euro amounts).

* The word stress in centesimi (euro cents) is also shown here, because it is on the third-last syllable, not the usual second-last syllable.

(This underlining to show word stress is a help for learners, but it is not part of normal Italian spelling.)

Euros and euro cents

Please note that, for an amount including euros and euro cents:

(1) a comma is used instead of a decimal point / period;

(2) the word e (and) is used before the number of centesimi (euro cents).

Here are two examples below, in Italian and English:

€1,50 un euro e cinquanta – one euro and fifty (instead of €1.50 one euro fifty in English).

€4,40 quattro euro e quaranta – four euros and forty (instead of €4.40 four euros forty in English).

Although this is the normal way we write these euro amounts in Italian, you will sometimes see prices written with the € sign after the amount (but separated with a space). Here are two examples: 10 € or 1,50 €.

Thousands of euros

In Italian, when we write mille euro (one thousand euros) in numerals, we use either a space or a decimal point / period: €1 000 or €1.000 (not a comma, as in English: €1,000).

Duemila euro (two thousand euros) in numerals is €2 000 or €2.000.

The singular word mille (thousand) changes to mila (thousands) for two or more thousands of euros, e.g., diecimila euro (ten thousand euros): €10 000 or €10.000.

You can revise your numbers by going to the posts:

Numbers 1-20 in Italian – with audio

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – with audio

Or you can increase your Italian vocabulary by going to the post about days of the week and expressions for today, tonight, tomorrow and yesterday. The post also includes the interesting origins of the names of the days.

Days of the week in Italian – with audio

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – with audio

On 08/06/202308/06/2023 By fra-amici-italianIn Everyday LanguageLeave a comment

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – starting with numbers 0-40

In this post we learn how to count to 100 and then to 1 000 in Italian by starting with numbers 0-40. Why?

Key patterns in numbers 30-40

We go up to 40 because the numbers from 40 to 100 follow the same two patterns as they do between 30 and 40.

Audio 0-40

0		zero
1		uno
2		due
3		tre
4		quattro
5		cinque
6		sei
7		sette
8		otto
9		nove
10		dieci
11		undici *
12		dodici
13		tredici
14		quattordici
15		quindici
16		sedici
17		diciassette
18		diciotto
19		diciannove
20		venti
21		ventuno
22		ventidue
23		ventitré **
24		ventiquattro
25		venticinque
26		ventisei
27		ventisette
28		ventotto
29		ventinove
30		trenta
31		trentuno
32		trentadue
33		trentatré **
34		trentaquattro
35		trentacinque
36		trentasei
37		trentasette
38		trentotto
39		trentanove
40		quaranta

Which syllable do we stress in Italian words?

Please note that in Italian, we usually stress the second-last syllable of a word: uno (uno), due (due), quattro (quattro). (Of course, tre is a one-syllable word.)

* When we stress the third-last syllable, that vowel sound has been underlined to show you that the word stress is different: undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici, sedici. (This underlining to show word stress is a help for learners, but it is not part of normal Italian spelling.)

** For Italian numbers ending in the syllable tré (three), ventitré, trentatré, etc., the word stress is on the tré.

Audio 1-40

Here you can listen to all 40 numbers in Italian. You can repeat the numbers after the audio.

Now you can compare English and Italian numbers from 1 to 40. (The English prompts help you to quickly think of the corresponding numbers in Italian.)

How to count to 100 in Italian – counting in tens

With this table and audio you can count in tens from 10 to 100.

10-100 counting in tens

10		dieci
20		venti
30		trenta
40		quaranta
50		cinquanta
60		sessanta
70		settanta
80		ottanta
90		novanta
100		cento

Now you can listen to all 10 numbers (when counting in tens) from 10 to 100 in Italian. You can repeat the numbers after the audio.

Here you can compare English and Italian numbers from 10 to 100.

Key patterns in Italian numbers 30 to 100 based on the 30-40 patterns, ending in ‘a’ (trenta, quaranta)

Now that you know how to count to 40, and you know how to count in tens from 10 to 100, it’s very easy to count using all numbers from 1 to 100 in Italian because the numbers from 30 trenta to 100 cento all follow the same two patterns:

The vowel pattern: 31 trentuno and 38 trentotto

For 31 trentuno and 38 trentotto, we drop the ‘a’ of trenta and just use ‘trent’ followed by uno or otto, because uno and otto start with a vowel. The same applies to quarantuno and quarantotto, cinquantuno and cinquantotto, etc. (The uno and otto numbers are all in italics in the tables below.)

The consonant pattern: all other numerals

For all other numerals (that is, those starting with a consonant) 32, 34-37, 39, you simply add the numerals 2, 4-7, 9 to trenta: 32 trentadue, 33 trentatré, 34 trentaquattro, 35 trentacinque, 36 trentasei, 37 trentasette, 39 trentanove.

The same pattern applies to 42 quarantadue, 52 cinquantadue, 62 sessantadue, 72 settantadue, 82 ottantadue, 92 novantadue; 43 quarantatré, 53 cinquantatré, etc.

You can study the two patterns in the tables below:

30-60

30	trenta	40	quaranta	50	cinquanta
31	trentuno	41	quarantuno	51	cinquantuno
32	trentadue	42	quarantadue	52	cinquantadue
33	trentatré **	43	quarantatré	53	cinquantatré
34	trentaquattro	44	quarantaquattro	54	cinquantaquattro
35	trentacinque	45	quarantacinque	55	cinquantacinque
36	trentasei	46	quarantasei	56	cinquantasei
37	trentasette	47	quarantasette	57	cinquantasette
38	trentotto	48	quarantotto	58	cinquantotto
39	trentanove	49	quarantanove	59	cinquantanove
40	quaranta	50	cinquanta	60	sessanta

60-80

60	sessanta	70	settanta
61	sessantuno	71	settantuno
62	sessantadue	72	settantadue
63	sessantatré	73	settantatré
64	sessantaquattro	74	settantaquattro
65	sessantacinque	75	settantacinque
66	sessantasei	76	settantasei
67	sessantasette	77	settantasette
68	sessantotto	78	settantotto
69	sessantanove	79	settantanove
70	settanta	80	ottanta

80-100

80	ottanta	90	novanta
81	ottantuno	91	novantuno
82	ottantadue	92	novantadue
83	ottantatré	93	novantatré
84	ottantaquattro	94	novantaquattro
85	ottantacinque	95	novantacinque
86	ottantasei	96	novantasei
87	ottantasette	97	novantasette
88	ottantotto	98	novantotto
89	ottantanove	99	novantanove
90	novanta	100	cento

Similar patterns – but based on ‘venti’ (20), ending in ‘i’ – for Italian numbers 20-29

The vowel pattern: 21 ventuno and 28 ventotto

For 21 ventuno and 28 ventotto, we drop the ‘i’ of venti and just use ‘vent’ followed by uno or otto, because uno and otto start with a vowel.

The consonant pattern: all other numerals

For all other numerals (that is, those starting with a consonant) 22, 24-27, 29, you simply add the numerals 2, 4-7, 9 to venti: 22 ventidue, 23 ventitré, 24 ventiquattro, 25 venticinque, 26 ventisei, 27 ventisette, 29 ventinove.

How to count in hundreds up to 1 000: 100-1 000

To count in hundreds, all you do is add the numerals 2 due up to 9 nove before the word 100 cento to get to 900 novecento: 200 duecento, 300 trecento, etc.

The word mille 1 000 is one thousand (1,000).

100-1 000 counting in hundreds

100	cento
200	duecento
300	trecento
400	quattrocento
500	cinquecento
600	seicento
700	settecento
800	ottocento
900	novecento
1 000	mille

Using numbers and money

The Italian unit of currency is the euro. In the next post you can learn how to use the euro in Italian, and also how to use numbers higher than 100 and 1 000, so that you can handle money easily while you enjoy your holiday in Italy.

How to use the euro in Italian – with audio

You may also wish to look at Interesting patterns in numbers 1-20 in English and Italian in the previous numbers post:

Numbers 1-20 in Italian – with audio

Days of the week in Italian – with audio

On 02/06/202302/06/2023 By fra-amici-italianIn Everyday LanguageLeave a comment

Here are the days of the week in Italian, which are easy to learn, using the authentic audio below.

The Italian week starts on a Monday, lunedì.

Monday	1	lunedì
Tuesday	2	martedì
Wednesday	3	mercoledì
Thursday	4	giovedì
Friday	5	venerdì
Saturday	6	sabato
Sunday	7	domenica

In the days from lunedì to venerdì, the last syllable “dì” is stressed.

The word dì is a word meaning “day” (from the Latin dies). It is a less common synonym of the word giorno, the usual word we use for day: un giorno – a day / one day; due giorni – two days.

The days of the week do not have a capital letter unless they are the first word in a sentence.

Here you can listen to all seven days. You can repeat the days after the audio, which starts with the titles “Days of the week” – “I giorni della settimana.”

Now you can say the days along with the audio.

Here you can compare the days of the week in English and Italian.

Today, tonight, tomorrow and yesterday

Here are four other useful expressions we use frequently.

today	oggi
tonight / this evening	stasera
tomorrow	domani
yesterday	ieri

Now you can listen to and compare these expressions in English and Italian.

The origins of the days of the week in Italian – some fun facts

If you have a closer look at the days in Italian, you will notice that the names from Monday to Friday are similar to those of the moon and the planets, which were based on the names of Roman gods. Saturday and Sunday have religious significance in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but before the spread of Christianity in the west, the Latin names were based on the names of Roman gods – Saturn and the sun.

Monday	1	lunedì	la luna – the moon – think of lunar landscape and the lunar module in the 1969 landing on the moon Luna was an ancient Roman goddess of the moon. il giorno della Luna – the day of the Moon – in Latin: dies Lunae
Tuesday	2	martedì	Marte – Mars – god of war – the planet has an orange tinge, because of the iron oxide (rust), and so it represented blood il giorno di Marte – the day of Mars – in Latin: dies Martis
Wednesday	3	mercoledì	Mercurio – Mercury – the god of speed, eloquence and travel, and commerce, and the messenger of the gods il giorno di Mercurio – the day of Mercury – in Latin: dies Mercurii
Thursday	4	giovedì	Giove – Jove * – the Roman god of the sky, light, thunder and lightning – the greatest of the Roman gods – also patron of the Roman state il giorno di Giove – the day of Jove – in Latin: dies Iovis
Friday	5	venerdì	Venere – Venus – goddess of love and beauty il giorno di Venere – the day of Venus – in Latin: dies Veneris
Saturday	6	sabato	the Jewish sabbath (after the Jewish term “shabbat”) – il giorno di riposo – the day of rest – in Latin: sabbatum Before the spread of Christianity in the west, sabato was known as: il giorno di Saturno – the day of Saturn – Roman god of agriculture and of fun and feasting – in Latin: dies Saturni
Sunday	7	domenica	the Christian day of the Lord – il giorno del Signore – in Latin: Dominica / dies Domini Before the spread of Christianity in the west, domenica was known as: il giorno del Sole – the day of the Sun (which was then thought to be a planet) – Sol was an ancient Roman god of the sun – in Latin: dies Solis

* By Jove: Do you remember the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (upon which My Fair Lady was based)? Professor Henry Higgins is teaching Eliza Doolittle to speak proper English instead of cockney. Eventually, he exclaims: “By Jove, I think she’s got it!”

These fun facts about the Roman origins of the days may help you to remember the days of the week in Italian!

You can learn numbers in Italian with these posts:

Numbers 1-10 in Italian – with audio

Numbers 1-20 in Italian – with audio

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – with audio

You may enjoy this informative article by Margaret Clunies Ross

Emeritus Professor of English Language and Early English Literature, University of Sydney

https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170

Numbers 1-20 in Italian – with audio

On 01/06/202302/06/2023 By fra-amici-italianIn Everyday LanguageLeave a comment

In this post we learn to count from 1 to 20 in Italian – with authentic audio.

1		uno
2		due
3		tre
4		quattro
5		cinque
6		sei
7		sette
8		otto
9		nove
10		dieci
11		undici *
12		dodici
13		tredici
14		quattordici
15		quindici
16		sedici
17		diciassette
18		diciotto
19		diciannove
20		venti

Which syllable do we stress in Italian words?

Please note that in Italian, we usually stress the second-last syllable of a word: uno (uno), due (due), quattro (quattro). (Of course, tre is a one-syllable word.)

Here you can listen to all 20 numbers in Italian. You can repeat the numbers after the audio.

Here you can compare English and Italian numbers from 1 to 20. (The English prompts help you to quickly think of the corresponding numbers in Italian.)

Interesting patterns in numbers 1-20 in English and Italian

It’s interesting to see how numbers are formed in both languages.

English numbers between 13 and 19

Let’s start by looking at what we do in English. We use “teen”, based on the word “ten” (10), at the end of numbers 13 thirteen to 19 nineteen.

Before “teen”, we have the base numbers 4 and 6-9: 14 fourteen, 16 sixteen, 17 seventeen, 18 eighteen, 19 nineteen.

For numbers 13 thirteen and 15 fifteen, before “teen,” we use “thir” instead of “three,” and “fif” instead of “five.”

Italian numbers between 11 and 16

Similarly, in Italian we use a form of the base number plus “dici” (a shortened form of the word “dieci” 10) at the end of 11 undici to 16 sedici:

11 undici (un from uno)

12 dodici (do based on due)

13 tredici (tre, same as base number tre)

14 quattordici (based on quattro, but note that it’s quattor)

15 quindici (based on the second part of cinque)

16 sedici (based on the first part of sei).

Italian numbers from 17 to 19

We then use “dicia” or the shortened “dici” (based on the word “dieci” 10), as the first part of the numbers 17 diciassette, 18 diciotto, 19 diciannove, followed by the base numbers sette, otto and nove:

17 diciassette

18 diciotto (Since otto starts with a vowel, we drop the “a” in “dicia” in front of otto.)

19 diciannove.

(These forms probably developed over time because it’s easier to say 17-19 with the “dicia” or “dici” in front, than if the “dici’ were at the end!)

Next you can learn to count to 40, then 100 and 1 000 in Italian by going to the next post:

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – with audio

If you wish to focus on 1-10, you can go to this post:

Numbers 1-10 in Italian – with audio