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Numbers 0–20 and Your Age

Count to twenty and say your age — using avere, not essere.

  • 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

Age uses avere, not essere

Here's a genuine gift for Persian speakers: Farsi says age the same way Italian does — you 'have' years, you don't 'are' them. English speakers have to unlearn 'I am 25'; Persian speakers already think this way.

Quanti anni hai? — Ho ventisette anni.

How old are you? — I'm twenty-seven. (literally: I have 27 years)

Vocabulary in this lesson

  • quanti anni hai?

    how old are you?

    Quanti anni hai, Marco?

  • ho … anni

    I am … years old

    Ho trent'anni.

  • venti

    twenty

    Ho vent'anni.

Check yourself

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Which verb does Italian use to say your age?
How do you say 'I am 20 years old'?

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