Numbers 0–10
Numbers 0–10
The first ten numbers show up constantly — ages, prices, phone numbers, quantities — and they set up the pattern the rest of the number system builds on.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
uno Changes Shape Like an Article
uno, un, una, un'
one
As a standalone number, 'one' is uno. But when it comes right before a noun, it shortens the same way the indefinite article does: un ragazzo (one boy), una ragazza (one girl), un'amica (one female friend, before a vowel). You'll see this exact pattern again with the indefinite articles in a later lesson — uno is really the same word wearing two hats.
Age Uses 'To Have', Not 'To Be'
Ho vent'anni.
I am twenty years old.
Literally, this sentence says 'I have twenty years' — Italian expresses age with avere (to have), never essere (to be). Saying 'Sono vent'anni' to mean 'I am 20' is a direct but incorrect translation from English; native speakers always reach for avere here.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- zero
- English
- one
- English
- two
- English
- three
- English
- four
- English
- five
- English
- six
- English
- seven
- English
- eight
- English
- nine
- English
- ten
- English
- How old are you?