cento anni
The English phrase "a hundred years" is translated into Italian as cento anni.
The phrase cento anni is used to describe a duration of time lasting one hundred years, but it is also commonly used to state the age of a person or an object.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of cento (one hundred) and anni (years).
Which one should you use?
While cento anni refers to exactly one hundred years, the informal phrase un centinaio d'anni can be used to mean "about a hundred years".
How does it change in a sentence?
The word anni is the plural form of anno (year).
Did you know?
- In Italy, the phrase cento anni is often used as a toast or a birthday wish to express a hope for a long and happy life.
- The word cento shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'hundred', as both stem from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱm̥tóm'.
- While cento anni refers to a century, the Italian word for a century, secolo, often carries a broader meaning of 'an era' or 'an age' in poetic contexts.
Examples in context
- Ha più di cento anni.It's more than a hundred years old.This sentence is useful for describing something that is more than cento anni old.Tatoeba #2470320 by Guybrush88, translation #2470142 by Hybrid
- Queste querce hanno più di cento anni.These oaks are over a hundred years old.This sentence is useful for describing the age of trees using cento anni.Tatoeba #9712515 by Guybrush88, translation #9458167 by DJ_Saidez
- Poche persone vivono fino a cento anni.Few people live to be a hundred years old.This sentence is useful for discussing human longevity in relation to cento anni.Tatoeba #5504092 by Guybrush88, translation #4577033 by CK
- La chiesa è stata costruita un secolo fa.The church was built a hundred years ago.
- Stiamo celebrando il centenario dell'azienda.We are celebrating the company's centenary.
- Eravamo amici da un centinaio d'anni.We were friends for about a hundred years.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Martina and Francesco are walking through an old historical park.
- MartinaGuarda questo monumento, Francesco.Look at this monument, Francesco.
- FrancescoSembra davvero antico.It looks really old.
- MartinaSì, ha esattamente cento anni.Yes, it is exactly a hundred years old.
- FrancescoIncredibile, Martina!Incredible, Martina!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cento, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
