By Katie Harris
Italian years are a little bit crazy.
Let’s say you want to tell someone when you were born. Assuming you were born in the last century, you’d start with: “nineteen”... diciannove…
Right?
Actually no, but don’t worry, that’s a common mistake nearly everyone makes at first.
I certainly did! And even when you know how to say them, it can feel like you’re doing complex algebra in your head before you get the words out.
Luckily, there’s a simpler way, so here you’ll learn how to say years in Italian correctly (and smoothly!) when you need them.
How to say years in Italian
To say years in Italian, we say the full number. For example:
1986 – mille novecento ottantasei* (my birth year 🎂)
Literally translated, this is “thousand nine hundred eighty six”. So in Italian, we say the year as if it were a normal number. Let’s break that down:
Mille – thousand
Novecento – nine hundred
Ottantasei – eighty six
Can you work out how to say your birth year based on these examples? Try it now, and by following the advice in the rest of the article, you’ll be able to check if you’re right.
Before we move on, it helps to have a solid grounding of Italian numbers, so if you need to start there, check out our lesson on how to count to 100 in Italian .
*Italians usually write numbers all together like this: millenovecentoottantasei, but we’ll split them up at first to help you read them more easily.
Thousands: mille and duemila
Unless you’re one of the giovani (young ones) to have been born in this millennium, you’ll probably start your birth year like this:
Mille – thousand
Here’s when some of the teachers from our Italian school were born:
Annaluna: 1983 – mille novecento ottantatre
Cristina: 1984 – mille novecento ottantaquattro
Marco: 19… – sorry, he said it’s a secret!
Let’s see a few more years with a quick Italian history lesson…
| Year | How to say it | What happened |
| 1861 | Mille ottocento sessantuno | The unification of Italy |
| 1946 | Mille novecento quarantasei | Women’s right to vote |
| 1968 | Mille novecento sessantotto | Protest movement for greater equality |
What if you’re a spring chicken, or you want to talk about something that happened this millennium? You’ll need to start the year like this:
Duemila – two thousand
Let’s practise with a few examples from recent Italian history:
| Year | How to say it | What happened |
| 2006 | Duemila sei | Italy won the FIFA world cup ⚽️ |
| 2013 | Duemila tredici | Berlusconi was sentenced over tax fraud |
| 2023 | Duemila ventitre | Botticelli painting worth €100m was found |
Pronunciation: mila vs. mille
As you’re practising, pay close attention to the spelling of these two words, because it reveals an important pronunciation tip:
1000 – mille
2000 – duemila
Notice how in the first example, mille, there’s a double L? This should be nice and long. It sounds like meel-leh.
In duemila we only have one, short L. And mila ends in –A! It sounds like meel-ah.
If you’re feeling confused over this difference, you’re not alone. I’ve been speaking Italian for 12 years and Matteo is Italian… and we’re still confused! It’s one of those little irregularities that’s best to simply memorise, without worrying about the logic.
How to say Italian dates smoothly
To get Italian years to roll off your tongue, start by memorising three that will come up often in conversation with Italians. For example:
-
Your year of birth
-
A year you visited (or moved to) Italy
-
The year you retired, got married, or other important life event
Keep testing yourself and saying them aloud until they feel automatic. From there, test yourself with new dates. These should be easier now, because you can start from the ones you already know and adapt them.
It also helps to practise years in the sentences you might say, for example:
Sono nata nel ______ – I was born in ______ (f)
Sono nato nel ______ – I was born in _______ (m)
Ho visitato l'Italia nel ____ – I visited Italy in_____
Details to say years like a true Italian
Keep in mind that when we say Italian years in a sentence, we normally use il (the):
Il duemilasei è stato un anno fantastico! – (the) 2006 was a fantastic year!
L’Italia è cambiata dopo il sessantotto – Italy changed after (the) ‘68
And you know how in English, we sometimes just say the last two digits for brevity? For example, “I graduated in ‘84”. Italians do that, too! For example:
Sono nato nel sessantaquattro – I was born in ‘64
Ho vissuto in Italia nel novantadue – I lived in Italy in ‘92
Questo vino è del novantasette – This wine is from ‘97
Next, what if you need to talk about a whole 10 year period?
How to talk about decades in Italian
Remember back when you wore platform shoes, or when google translate didn’t exist and you had to use a phrasebook? You can talk about decades in Italian by saying negli anni, literally “in the years”.
Negli anni Settanta – In the seventies
Negli anni Duemila – In the two thousands
Let’s see this in action:
Negli anni Ottanta google non esisteva – In the eighties google didn’t exist
I miei figli sono nati negli anni Novanta – My children were born in the nineties
Wondering why we say negli ? Find out more in this lesson on articulated prepositions in Italian – don’t worry, they’re not as scary as they sound.
Two weird things Italians do when talking about years
Sometimes it’s not just the language barrier… cultural differences can leave you scratching your head, too! Look out for these next two when you’re talking about years in Italian.
Tell me how old you are (without telling me how old you are)
It’s often a bit awkward to ask people their age, so Italians have a sneaky solution! They ask this question:
Di che anno sei? – Literally “of what year are you?”
You should answer with sono del plus your birth year:
Sono del cinquantadue – I was born in ‘52 (lit. “I’m of the ‘52”)
Sono del settantanove – I was born in ‘79 (lit. “I’m of the ‘73”)
Alternatively, you can follow our teacher Marco’s lead and tell them it’s a segreto!
One last handy detail for history buffs
I once followed a history course in Italian and the professor kept saying 800. My listening skills weren’t great and I was VERY confused – I was picking out the name Napoleon, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t around in the mediaeval 800s!
Turns out the professor was talking about 1800. Italians often cut the mille for convenience. For example:
L’Inferno di Dante è del Trecento – Dante’s Inferno is from the 1300s
La Gioconda è del Cinquecento – The Mona Lisa is from the 1500s
It’s a bit weird at first, but you can nearly always tell from the context, especially if you know your history.
Years in Italian: Review
To say years in Italian, we say the full number. For example:
1986 – millenovecentoottantasei
1946 – millenovecentoquarantasei
2006 – duemilasei
Remember the pronunciation quirk between the two millennia:
1000 – mille has a double L and ends in –E
2000 – duemila has a single L and ends in –A
When we say Italian years in a sentence, they start with the word il (the):
Il duemilasei è stato un anno fantastico! – (the) 2006 was a fantastic year!
L’Italia è cambiata dopo il sessantotto – Italy changed after (the) ‘68
To talk about decades, say negli anni plus the decade:
Negli anni Settanta – In the seventies
Negli anni Duemila – In the two thousands
To learn to say Italian years smoothly, start by memorising three from your life that will come up often in conversation with Italians and gradually build from there.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”.
M: Before we get started, if you’re listening to this on your podcast app could you hit the subscribe or follow button? This way you’ll get notified when we release a new episode and you’ll help our podcast grow so that we can keep making free lessons like this. Grazie!
K: Now, onto saying years in Italian. You know when I say them a lot? When we play trivial pursuit on Saturday nights with our friends.
M: Yes, and you’re really unpredictable. You either know the random questions that no one has ever heard of, or you get the really easy, obvious ones wrong.
K: That’s why we really need to get some practice in so we can win. Listen to the conversation – how many years can you hear?
M: Bene, cominciamo con l’Italia!
K: 1946 le donne votano per la prima volta.
M: Calma, aspetta la domanda… Allora, calcio..
K: 2006, l’Italia vince i mondiali
M: Aspetta… politica. Nel ‘68…
K: Berlusconi è diventato primo ministro!
M: No!!! Il governo Berlusconi è iniziato negli anni Novanta. Katie… Devi studiare meglio.
K: Matteo said:
M: Bene, cominciamo con l’Italia! – Well, let’s start with Italy
Bene – Well
Cominciamo – We start
Con – With
L’Italia – Italy. In Italian we say “the Italy” (L apostrophe Italia. ).
M: L’Italia
K: Then I said:
M: 1946 le donne votano per la prima volta. – 1946 women vote for the first time
Millenovecentoquarantasei – nineteen forty six
Le donne – the women
Votano – they vote
Per – for
La – the
Prima – first
Volta – time
K: To say years in Italian, we say the full number. So to say nineteen forty six, we literally say thousand nine hundred forty six. It’s a mouthful! Let’s break it down.
M:
Mille – thousand
Nove – nine
cento – hundred
Quaranta – forty
Sei – six
K: Before we move on, it helps to have a solid grounding of Italian numbers, so if you need to start there, check out episode 108. M: So now that everyone already knows it, how would you say my birth year in Italian? Nineteen eighty two?
K: Literally: thousand nine hundred eighty two.
M: Millenovecentoottantadue (x2)
K: They’re long, and they do take some practice. But there are ways to learn them faster. We’ll talk about this shortly. Next, Matteo said:
M: Calma, aspetta la domanda… – Calm down, wait for the question. Literally:
Calma – calm
Aspetta – wait
La domanda – the question
M: Allora, calcio.. – So, football. That’s:
Allora – so
Calcio – football, or soccer in the US
K: Then I said:
M: 2006, l’Italia vince i mondiali – 2006, Italy wins the world cup
Duemilasei – Two thousand and six
Italia – Italy
Vince – wins
I mondiali – the world cup
K: This time you heard a year in the two thousands. Italians literally say “two thousand six”. Let’s break that down.
M:
Due – two
Mila – thousand
Sei – six
M: Duemilasei (x2)
K: There’s an interesting little difference between mille, thousand, and duemila, two thousand. In mille, thousand, there’s a double L which should be really nice and long: millllllle.
M: Mille (x2)
K: It also ends in the letter E, which is pronounced EH
M: Mille (x2)
K: When we say two thousand, duemila, you’d expect the last part of this word to be the same as mille, but it’s not! It only has one short L. And the last letter is –A. Mila, mila, mila, duemila.
M: Duemila (x2)
K: If you’re feeling confused over this difference, you’re not alone. I’ve been speaking Italian for 12 years and I’m still confused!
M: I’m Italian and I’M confused! I think it comes from Latin. That’s our excuse for all the irregular words.
K: It’s another one of those little quirks that are best to just memorise without worrying about the logic.
M: Yes definitely.
K: So now you know how to say dates from the last millennium, starting with thousand nine hundred: millenovecento and this millennium, starting with duemila. Next, Matteo said:
M: Aspetta… politica. – Wait… politics
M: Nel ‘68… In ‘68. Literally:
Nel – In the
Sessantotto – sixty eight
K: When Italians are talking about years in a sentence, they usually use “the”, so instead of ‘68, we say “the sixty eight”.
M: Il sessantotto (x2)
K: But in this case we said “in the”, which smushes together to give us nel. To learn more about this, check out episode 118.
M: And did you notice that this time I just used the last two digits? We can shorten years like this. I think you do this in English too, instead of saying 1968, you just say ‘68.
K: Yep, that’s right. I hear it a lot when Italians have this sneaky way of asking you how old you are without asking how old you are. They say di che anno sei? Literally “of what year you are”. Di che anno sei? (x2)
M: Ahhaha it’s true. You can answer with sono del (x2) and your birth year, for me it’s eighty two, ottantadue . Sono dell’ottantadue (x2).
K: For me it’s eighty six, sono dell’ottantasei (x2)
M: But Katie, stop distracting us. You said something silly next. You said that in nineteen sixty eight…
Berlusconi è diventato primo ministro – Berlusconi became prime minister. Literally:
Berlusconi – Berlusconi
È – Is
Diventato – Become
Primo ministro – Prime minister
K: Then you, rightly, said:
M: No!!! Il governo Berlusconi è iniziato… – No!! The Berlusconi government started…
Il governo – The government
Berlusconi – Berlusconi
È – it is
Iniziato – started
M: Negli anni Novanta – in the nineties.
Negli – in the
Anni – Years
Novanta – ninety
K: Here’s how we talk about decades in Italian. We say negli, literally “in the” anni years. If you’re unsure about why we say negli you can check out episode 118. Or simply memorise it without worrying! In the seventies, would be:
M: Negli anni Settanta
K: That funny sound in the middle is a little like a cross between an L and a Y. Glide the tongue forward across the roof of your mouth GLI, GLI. NEGLI. In the eighties
M: Negli anni Ottanta
K: In the two thousands
M: Negli anni Duemila
K: Then Matteo said:
M: Katie… Devi studiare meglio. – You need to study more
Devi – You must, you have to, you need to (for an obligation)
Studiare – To study
Meglio – Better
K: But it did feel as though Berlusconi had been around since the 60s! Let’s listen to the conversation again:
M: Bene, cominciamo con l’Italia!
K: 1946 le donne votano per la prima volta.
M: Calma, aspetta la domanda… Allora, calcio..
K: 2006, l’Italia vince i mondiali
M: Aspetta… politica. Nel ‘68…
K: Berlusconi è diventato primo ministro!
M: No!!! Il governo Berlusconi è iniziato negli anni Novanta. Katie… Devi studiare meglio.
K: Speaking of studying, even once you get the logic of how to say years in Italian, it can still feel like you have to do complex algebra in your head before you actually get the number out! So over on the blog you’ll find a review of everything you learned today and get some practical tips on how to learn them so that they roll off your tongue automatically.
M: And what DID happen in 1968 in Italy? You’ll find the answer over there too. Click the link in the description to find out more.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
Time to check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Below you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Years in Italian: Learn How to Say Them Right!
Vocabulary
Millenovecentoottantadue = 1982 (Matteo’s birth year)
Millenovecentoquarantasei = 1946 (women’s right to vote)
Mille = 1000
Duemila = 2000
Il duemilasei è stato un anno fantastico! = (the) 2006 was a fantastic year!
L’Italia è cambiata dopo il sessantotto = Italy changed after (the) ‘68
Negli anni Settanta = In the seventies
Negli anni Duemila = In the two thousands
Il governo Berlusconi è iniziato negli anni Novanta = The Berlusconi government started in the 90s
Di che anno sei? = “From what year are you from?” Sneaky way to ask someone’s age!
Flashcards: Years in Italian: Learn How to Say Them Right!
Remember the vocabulary from this lesson by downloading the flashcards.
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
