Tag: Everyday Language

How to use the euro in Italian – with audio

On 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 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 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

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 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.)

* 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.)

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