quanti anni hai?

Saying your age in Italian

Age is the first place most classes use numbers in a sentence, and it brings two surprises: Italian has years rather than being them, and the number in front of anni can change shape.

Updated 8 October 2026

ho … anni

avere, not essereHo quattordici anni. I am fourteen (I have fourteen years). Mia sorella ha nove anni. My sister is nine. Quanti anni hai? How old are you?
AgeNumberSaidNote
1unoho un announo becomes un before a masculine noun
8ottoho otto anni
11undiciho undici anni
12dodiciho dodici anni
18diciottoho diciotto annialso written diciott’anni
20ventiho vent’anniventi anni is also written
21ventunoho ventun annior ventuno anni
23ventitrého ventitré anni
28ventottoho ventotto anni
41quarantunoho quarantun anniTreccani’s own example: compie quarantun anni

The number before anni

anni begins with a vowel, so the number before it can lose its own last vowel. Treccani’s Enciclopedia dell’Italiano sets out the case of uno and its compounds: whole after the noun, shortenable before it, as in compie quarantun anni. For the other numbers ending in a vowel the apostrophe form is common in speech and writing: vent’anni, trent’anni, diciott’anni. The full forms are correct as well, which makes them the safer choice on a pupil’s first sheet.

uno on its own follows the indefinite article: un anno, un mese, una settimana. See the 1 to 10 page for the full set of forms.

Birthdays

  • Buon compleanno! Happy birthday!
  • Quando compi gli anni? When is your birthday? (literally, when do you complete the years?)
  • Compio gli anni il ventuno marzo. My birthday is on the 21st of March. Dates are on the dates page.

Practice

Ages run from 1 to about 100, so the 1 to 100 range on the worksheet generator covers them. A quick speaking task: each pupil writes a family member’s age as a figure, and the class says the sentence Mio nonno ha … anni.

Questions teachers ask

How do you say "I am 12" in Italian?

Ho dodici anni, literally "I have twelve years". Italian uses avere, to have, for age, so "I am twelve" said word for word with essere (sono dodici) is a classic learner mistake. The question is Quanti anni hai? to a friend, Quanti anni ha? formally.

Is it ventun anni or ventuno anni?

Both are correct. Treccani’s Enciclopedia dell’Italiano explains that a compound ending in uno stays whole when it follows the noun (Antonio Rossi, di anni quarantuno) and can be shortened when it comes before it (Antonio oggi compie quarantun anni).

Why vent’anni with an apostrophe?

Before a word starting with a vowel, a number ending in a vowel often loses it, marked with an apostrophe. Treccani’s entries give non ha ancora compiuto vent’anni, la guerra dei trent’anni and avere diciott’anni. The full forms, venti anni and diciotto anni, are also correct.

Sources