Nomi
Genere (gender)
All Italian nouns have a gender. Although there is no systematic way of determining the gender of nouns, there are some practical rules:
| maschile | femminile |
|---|---|
| nouns ending in -o | nouns ending in -a |
| nouns ending in -e | nouns ending in -e |
| nouns ending in a consonant |
- Nouns ending in -e may be masculine or feminine. However:
- nouns ending in -ore are always masculine
amore (love) motore (engine)
-
- nouns ending in -zione, -sione are always feminine
stazione (station) televisione (television)
-
- nouns ending in –trice, -essa are always feminine
pittrice (paintress) professoressa (professor f.)
-
- most nouns ending in -i, -ie, -ù are feminine
crisi (crisis) moglie (wife) gioventù (youth)
- Some nouns ending in -a are masculine (but plural ends in -i), for example:
| singolare | plurale |
|---|---|
| il papa (pope) | i papi |
| il panorama (view) | i panorami |
| il pigiama (pajamas) | i pigiami |
| il poeta (poet) | i poeti |
| il problema (problem) | i problemi |
| il programma (program) | i programmi |
| il sistema (system) | i sistemi |
| il clima (climate) | i climi |
| il tema (theme) | i temi |
- Some nouns ending in -a may be masculine or feminine depending on the person referred (but have different endings in the plural):
| maschile | femminile | maschile --> femminile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| singolare | -ga | -ga | il collega --> la collega (colleague) |
| plurale | -ghi | -ghe | i colleghi --> le colleghe |
| singolare | -ista | -ista | l’artista --> l’artista (artist) il turista --> la turista (tourist) |
| plurale | -isti | -iste | gli artisti --> le artiste i turisti --> le turiste |
- Abbreviated nouns retain the gender of the words from which they derive:
auto (from “automobile”): feminine bici (from “bicicletta”): feminine cinema (from “cinematografo”): masculine foto (from “fotografia”): feminine moto (from “motocicletta”): feminine
- Many nouns referring to people or animals have different endings for masculine and feminine forms:
| maschile | femminile | maschile --> femminile |
|---|---|---|
| -o | -a | amico --> amica ragazzo --> ragazza |
| -e | -a | cameriere (waiter) --> cameriera signore --> signora |
| -a | -essa | poeta (poet) --> poetessa |
| -e | -essa | studente (student) --> studentessa dottore (doctor) --> dottoressa principe (prince) --> principessa (princess) professore --> professoressa |
| -tore | -trice | attore (actor) --> attrice (actress) pittore --> pittrice (painter) scrittore --> scrittrice (writer) scultore --> scultrice (sculptor) |
- Some nouns have entirely different forms for the masculine and the feminine:
| maschile | femminile |
|---|---|
| fratello (brother) | sorella (sister) |
| marito (husband) | moglie (wife) |
| maschio (male) | femmina (female) |
| padre (father) | madre (mother) |
| uomo (man) (pl. uomini) | donna (woman) |
| re (king) | regina (queen) |
| eroe (hero) | eroina (heroine) |
Numero (number)
Most nouns become plural by changing the ending. The first chart shows the most common changes:
| singolare | plurale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| maschile | -o | -i | gatto --> gatti |
| femminile | -a | -e | macchina --> macchine |
| maschile/femminile | -e | -i | cane --> cani notte --> notti |
The following charts show other important rules:
- Nouns ending in -io
| singolare | plurale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| stressed -i- | -io | -ii | zio (uncle) --> zii |
| unstressed -i- | -io | -i | negozio (store) --> negozi |
- Nouns ending in –cia/-gia
| singolare | plurale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| stressed -i- | -cia | -cie | farmacia (pharmacy) --> farmacie |
| unstressed -i- | -cia | -ce | doccia (shower) --> docce |
| stressed -i- | -gia | -gie | bugia (lie) --> bugie |
| unstressed -i- | -gia | -ge | spiaggia (beach) --> spiagge |
- Nouns ending in -ca/-ga
| singolare | plurale | |
|---|---|---|
| -ca | -che | amica --> amiche |
| -ga | -ghe | targa (license plate) --> targhe |
- Nouns ending in -co/-go/-ologo
| singolare | plurale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The stress is right before -co* | -co | -chi | pacco (package) --> pacchi |
| The stress is two syllables before -co | -co | -ci | medico (doctor) --> medici |
| The stress is right before -go | -go | -ghi | albergo (hotel) --> alberghi |
| The stress is two syllables before -go | -ologo | -ologi | psicologo (psychologist) --> psicologi |
-
- * exceptions for names ending in –co:
amico → amici nemico (enemy) → nemici greco (Greek) → greci
- Some nouns change gender depending on the number: they are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural
| singolare maschile | plurale femminile |
|---|---|
| braccio (arm) | braccia |
| ciglio (eyelash) | ciglia |
| dito (finger) | dita |
| labbro (lip) | labbra |
| osso (bone) | ossa |
| paio (pair) | paia |
| uovo (egg) | uova |
| miglio (mile) | miglia |
- Nouns with the following endings do not change in the plural:
-
- an accented vowel: una città → due città
- a consonant: un computer → due computer
- -i: una tesi → due tesi
- -ie: una specie → due specie (exception: una moglie → due mogli)
- The following types of nouns are also invariable:
-
- abbreviations: una moto → due moto
- one–syllable nouns: un re → due re (king/kings)
- family names: i Gemmani, i Sartini, i Blum (the Gemmanis, the Sartinis, the Blums)
