mille
/ˈmil.le/masculine
The English word "thousand" is mille in Italian.
mille is the cardinal number for 1000. It is also used figuratively to mean "many" or "countless", similar to how English speakers might say "a thousand things to do".
Meaning: cardinal number 1000 (num)
Which one should you use?
Use mille when you are counting (the cardinal number 1000), but use millesimo if you want to say "1000th" (the ordinal number).
How does it change in a sentence?
As a cardinal number, mille is an invariable numeral, which means it does not change its form for gender or number. However, if you use the word as a noun to denote multiples of a thousand, the form changes to mila, such as in due mila.
How do you pronounce it?
mille is pronounced /ˈmil.le/. The stress is on the first of the two syllables.
Did you know?
- The word mille is a distant linguistic cousin to the English word 'mile', as both stem from the same ancient root for a thousand.
- It is a common Italian custom to say mille grazie instead of just 'thank you' to express an exaggerated, heartfelt gratitude.
- Italian uses the word mille in the expression mille lire to refer to the old currency. Even after the Euro was introduced, mille remained a common psychological benchmark for small prices in nostalgic conversation.
Examples in context
- Ha più di mille libri.He has more than a thousand books.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe a quantity of books with mille.Tatoeba #3378466 by Guybrush88, translation #3378254 by _undertoad
- Di nuovo, mille scuse.Again, a thousand apologies.This sentence shows the figurative use of mille to express apologies.Tatoeba #10314065 by Guybrush88, translation #619814 by ulyssemc1
- Ho scritto mille frasi!I wrote a thousand sentences!This sentence demonstrates how mille can be used to emphasize a large number of sentences.Tatoeba #1419263 by Guybrush88, translation #1419236 by alciono
- Ci sono dieci lieviti per mille grammi di farina.There are ten yeasts per thousand grams of flour.
- Ho ricevuto un migliaio di messaggi congratulatori.I received a thousand congratulatory messages.
- 47 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chiara and Alessandro are checking the price of a vintage item at a market.
- ChiaraQuanto costa questo vecchio orologio?How much does this old watch cost?
- AlessandroCosta esattamente mille euro.It costs exactly a thousand euros.
- ChiaraÈ troppo caro per me, Alessandro.It is too expensive for me, Alessandro.
- AlessandroHai ragione, è un prezzo alto.You are right, it is a high price.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thousand” translations and entries mille, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mille, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
