Italian Nouns (I Nomi)

In Italian, every noun has a gender: it’s either masculine or feminine. There are no neutral nouns! Also, nouns change their endings when they become plural. It might seem tricky at first, but there’s a very logical pattern.

Gender of Nouns (Masculine vs. Feminine)

How do you know if a word is masculine or feminine? Usually, the ending tells you!

Masculine Nouns

Usually end in -O

• il ragazzo (the boy)
• il treno (the train)
• il libro (the book)

Exceptions (Masculine but don’t end in -O):

• Words ending in a consonant (usually foreign): il bar, lo sport, il computer
• Some words ending in -A (often Greek origin): il problema, il sistema, il papa

Feminine Nouns

Usually end in -A

• la ragazza (the girl)
• la casa (the house)
• la pizza (the pizza)

Exceptions (Feminine but don’t end in -A):

• Words ending in -TÀ or -TÙ: la città (city), la gioventù (youth)
• Words ending in -IONE: la stazione (station), la lezione (lesson)
• Some words ending in -O (often shortened): la foto (photography), la moto (motorcycle)

Nouns Ending in -E

These can be Masculine OR Feminine! You have to memorize them.

• Masculine: il cane (dog), il padre (father), il pesce (fish)
• Feminine: la chiave (key), la madre (mother), la notte (night)

Forming the Plural

The ending of the noun changes from singular to plural according to this simple scheme:

Gender	singular Ending	Plural Ending	Example
Masculine	-o	-i	ragazzo → ragazzi
Feminine	-a	-e	casa → case
Masc/Fem	-e	-i	cane → cani / chiave → chiavi

Summary Table

Singular	Plural	Gender
-o	-i	Masculine
-a	-e	Feminine
-e	-i	Masc/Fem

Spelling Rules for Plurals (The Specifics)

Sometimes we need to adjust the spelling to keep the sound correct.

Words ending in -CO and -GO

• If sound is HARD (usually masculine), add H:
  • il parco → i parchi
  • l’albergo → gli alberghi
• Exception: l’amico → gli amici (Soft sound)

Words ending in -CA and -GA

• ALWAYS add H to keep the hard K/G sound:
  • l’amica → le amiche
  • la collega → le colleghe

Words ending in -IO

• If the ‘I’ is stressed: lo zìo → gli zìi (Double I)
• If the ‘I’ is NOT stressed: il viaggio → i viaggi (Drop one I)

Invariable Nouns (No Change in Plural!)

Some nouns do not change in the plural. The article changes, but the word stays the same.

1. Words ending in a vowel with an accent:

   • la città → le città
   • il caffè → i caffè
   • l’università → le università

2. Words ending in a consonant (Foreign words):

   • il bar → i bar
   • il film → i film
   • il computer → i computer

3. Shortened words:

   • la foto (fotografia) → le foto
   • la moto (motocicletta) → le moto
   • la bici (bicicletta) → le bici

4. Words ending in -i (rare):

   • la crisi → le crisi
   • l’indagine → le indagini (Actually -e changes generally, but -i endings stay -i)
   • l’analisi → le analisi

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Changing foreign words in plural

• Wrong: Due cappuccini e due toasts
• Right: Due cappuccini e due toast

❌ Assuming all -a words are feminine

• Wrong: La problema
• Right: Il problema (It’s masculine!)

❌ Forgetting the H in -ca/-ga plurals

• Wrong: Le amice (Sound changes to ‘ch’ like cheese)
• Right: Le amiche (Keeps the ‘k’ sound)

Practice Exercises

Turn these singular nouns into plural (include the correct article if you can!):

1. il libro
2. la donna
3. il fiore (flower - masc.)
4. l’amico
5. l’amica
6. la città
7. il problema
8. lo studente
9. la chiave
10. il bar

Answers

1. i libri (-o → -i)
2. le donne (-a → -e)
3. i fiori (-e → -i)
4. gli amici (-o → -i, irregular sound)
5. le amiche (-a → -e, add h)
6. le città (invariable)
7. i problemi (-a masculine → -i)
8. gli studenti (-e → -i)
9. le chiavi (-e → -i)
10. i bar (invariable)

Keep practicing! Noun endings are the key to unlocking Italian grammar. 🔑