Meaning
billion
In a sentence
Nel mondo ci sono miliardi di persone.
There are billions of people in the world.
L'azienda ha perso un miliardo di euro.
The company lost a billion euros.
Non ho un miliardo, ho solo venti euro.
I don't have a billion, I only have twenty euros.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| miliardo | masculine · singular |
| miliardi | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- In Italian, miliardo = American billion (1,000,000,000), not million million. This is a major false friend for English speakers.
- Use un miliardo in the singular after 1; use due/tre miliardi in the plural. The noun agrees normally.
- Before a noun, use di: un miliardo di euro, miliardi di persone. Don’t place the noun directly after miliardo.