Kilo Lingo
Italian grammar

CEFR A1-A2

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Test yourself (21 questions)

Italian Big Numbers: Cento, Mille, Milione and Prices

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

Past a hundred, Italian numbers are still one word, however long: milleduecento is 1,200. Three small rules carry you to a billion: never changes, turns into -mila, and is a noun that takes . If zero to ninety-nine are not solid yet, start with Italian numbers.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Does the number need di before the noun?

  1. a million euros

  2. a thousand euros

  3. three million people

The whole system on one screen

hundredsthousandsmillionsWhat do the colours mean?
NumberItalianRule
100no in front
200 never changes
1,000no in front
2,000plural -
1,200milleduecentoone word
1,000,000 a noun: ,
3,000,000 it has a plural
1,000,000,000 a billion, also a noun

Hundreds: cento never changes

is a hundred on its own, with no word for a: never . It takes no plural, so the multiples are single words ending in -cento.

NumberItalianExample
100 . - A hundred years.
101 . - 101 days.
120 . - 120 euros.
200 . - 200 people.
340trecentoquarantaTrecentoquaranta . - 340 euros.
999novecentonovantanovethe longest three-digit number

Before and you will see two spellings, one merged and one in full. Both are accepted:

NumberMergedIn full
108centottocentootto
180centottantacentoottanta

Thousands: mille, then -mila

works like , with no a in front. Its plural is the one irregular form in the system, -, glued onto the number before it.

2,000 is duemila, never duemille
NumberItalianExample
1,000 ! - Thanks a lot!
1,200milleduecentoMilleduecento . - 1,200 euros.
2,000 . - 2,000 people.
10,000diecimilaDiecimila . - 10,000 euros.
100,000 . - 100,000 inhabitants.

, a thousand thanks, is the everyday way to say thanks a lot.

A million and up: nouns that take di

and behave like numbers. and behave like nouns: they take , they have a plural, and they join the thing counted with .

NumberItalianWith a noun
1,000,000
3,000,000
1,000,000,000
  • . - A million people.
  • . - Three million euros.

An English billion is . Italian has bilione, but it is rare and ambiguous, so it is almost never the word you want.

Years: one long number

Years are said as one cardinal number, not split in pairs the English way:

YearItalianNot
1990millenovecentonovantanineteen ninety
2010duemiladiecitwenty ten
2026duemilaventiseitwenty twenty-six

In a year is : , I was born in 2000. In writing, digits are normal: 2026.

Writing numbers: the comma and the point

Italian swaps the English marks: a comma for decimals, a point (or a thin space) between the thousands.

WrittenSaidEnglish
3,5 virgola 3.5
1.0001,000
10.000diecimila10,000
2,50 € €2.50

So 1,000 on an Italian page is one, to three decimal places. On a price tag, 2,50 is two euros fifty and never two thousand five hundred.

Prices

never changes in the plural: , . Cents are , but in speech they usually go unsaid:

  • . - It costs two euros fifty.
  • ? - How much is it?
  • , . - Ten euros, thanks.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
no word for a
no word for a
duemillethe plural of is
duecenti has no plural
is a noun, so it takes
has a plural
bilione an English billion is a
nineteen-ninetymillenovecentonovantayears are one number
euros never changes
3.53,5decimal comma

What to do next

  1. Read every price you see today aloud in Italian.
  2. Say the year you were born and this year in full.
  3. Back to numbers and dates for ordinals and the date.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the number from its pieces.

  1. 200

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. 2,000

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. 1,200

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. 10,000

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Pick the right one

0/4

Does the number need di before the noun?

  1. a million euros

  2. a thousand euros

  3. three million people

  4. two hundred people

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake.

Matching

0/6

Match the Italian to the number.

Translation drill

0/3

Translate into English. Watch the comma and the point.

  1. Costa due euro e cinquanta.

  2. Sono nato nel duemila.

  3. Un milione di persone.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say 1,000 and 2,000 in Italian?
is a thousand, with no word for a in front: never . Its plural is -, glued onto the number: (2,000), tremila (3,000), diecimila (10,000). It is the one number with its own plural form.
Why is it euro?
Because is a noun, like dozen in English. It takes an article ( ), has a plural ( ) and joins the thing counted with : , a million euros; , three million people. and are plain numbers and need : .
How do you say a billion in Italian?
An English billion, a thousand million, is : , a billion people. Like , it is a noun and takes . Italian also has bilione, but it is rare and ambiguous (in the official usage it means a million million), so is the word you want.
How do you say years in Italian?
As one long cardinal number, never split in pairs the English way. 1990 is millenovecentonovanta, a thousand nine hundred ninety, and 2026 is duemilaventisei. In a year is : duemilaventisei, in 2026.
Do Italians use a comma or a point for decimals?
A comma for decimals and a point (or a thin space) between the thousands, the reverse of English. 3,5 is three point five, said virgola , and 1.000 is a thousand. On a price tag, 2,50 € is two euros fifty.