Every Italian noun has a grammatical gender — masculine or feminine. This is not always logical (a chair, 'una sedia', is feminine; a book, 'un libro', is masculine). Every noun also has a number — singular (one thing) or plural (more than one). Both gender and number affect the form of the noun itself and the words that go with it (articles, adjectives).
| Ending | Usually... | Examples | Key Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | Masculine | il libro (book), il gatto (cat), il vino (wine) | la mano (hand), la radio, la foto, la dinamo |
| -a | Feminine | la casa (house), la porta (door), la pizza | il problema, il tema, il sistema, il programma, il poeta, il pilota, il panorama |
| -e | Either gender — must be learned | il fiore (m.), la lezione (f.), il giornale (m.), la notte (f.) | No simple rule — learn each word |
| -ista | Either — depends on person | il/la pianista, il/la turista, il/la artista | Gender depends on the person referred to |
| -tore/-sore | Masculine | il dottore, il professore, il pittore | Feminine form: -trice (la dottoressa, l'attrice) |
| Singular ending | Plural ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -o (masc.) | -i | libro → libri, gatto → gatti, amico → amici |
| -a (fem.) | -e | casa → case, porta → porte, amica → amiche |
| -e (masc. or fem.) | -i | fiore → fiori, lezione → lezioni, notte → notti |
| -co / -go (masc.) | -chi / -ghi (usually) | banco → banchi, lago → laghi — but medico → medici |
| -ca / -ga (fem.) | -che / -ghe | amica → amiche, collega → colleghe |
Some Italian nouns have the same form in both singular and plural. These are called invariable nouns. Categories include: (1) Nouns ending in an accented vowel: la città → le città, il caffè → i caffè, l'università → le università. (2) Foreign words (especially English borrowings): il film → i film, il computer → i computer, lo sport → gli sport. (3) Nouns ending in a consonant: il bar → i bar, l'autobus → gli autobus. (4) Abbreviations: la foto → le foto (short for fotografia), la radio → le radio, la moto → le moto.
Words ending in -a are usually feminine, but an important group of masculine exceptions come from Greek. These include words ending in -ma, -ta, -ista (when referring to males), and -ta (for some roles). Key masculine -a words: il problema (problem), il tema (theme/essay), il sistema (system), il programma (program), il panorama (panorama), il clima (climate), il dramma (drama), il poeta (poet), il pilota (pilot), il pianeta (planet). These take masculine articles: un problema, il problema, i problemi.
Because gender is not always predictable from the ending, it is best practice to always learn a new Italian noun together with its definite article: not just 'fiore' but 'il fiore', not just 'notte' but 'la notte'. This way you automatically know the gender and can form the plural correctly.
To preserve the hard sound: -ca → -che (amica → amiche), -ga → -ghe (collega → colleghe), -go → -ghi (lago → laghi, fungo → funghi). However, -co words are less predictable: words stressed on the third-to-last syllable often take -ci (medico → medici, tecnico → tecnici), while those stressed on the second-to-last often take -chi (banco → banchi, pacco → pacchi).
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Gender of -o Ending Nouns
10 questions
Gender of -a Ending Nouns
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Gender of -e Ending Nouns
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Identify Gender from the Article
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Choose the Correct Definite Article
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Gender: Mixed Vocabulary
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Gender of Professions
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Determine Gender from Context
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Context Sentences: Gender Agreement
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Gender Review 1
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Forming Plurals: -o → -i
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Forming Plurals: -a → -e
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Forming Plurals: -e → -i
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Singular to Plural: Article + Noun
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Plurals: Mixed Endings
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Identify the Correct Plural
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Singular to Plural Practice
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Plurals: Body Parts and Animals
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Plural Review: Mixed
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Group 2 Review: Plurals
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Exceptions: Masculine -a Nouns
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Exceptions: Feminine -o Nouns
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Nouns Ending in -e: Determine Gender
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Exceptions Quiz: Don't Be Fooled by Endings!
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-ista Nouns: Gender Depends on the Person
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Masculine/Feminine Noun Pairs
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Common Exception Nouns: Test Your Knowledge
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Invariable Nouns: No Plural Change
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Context Sentences: Exceptions and Special Cases
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Group 3 Review: Exceptions and Special Cases
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Invariable Nouns: Special Cases
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Advanced Gender Rules and Patterns
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Singular vs Plural in Sentences
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Nouns in Context: Choose the Correct Form
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Tricky Plurals
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Article-Noun Agreement: Spot the Error
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Noun Patterns: -zione and -ore
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Advanced Plural Patterns
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Abstract Nouns: Gender Identification
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Group 4 Review: Special Cases and Advanced Patterns
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Mastery: Comprehensive Review 1
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Mastery: Nouns in Sentences 1
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Mastery: Advanced Exceptions
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Mastery: Article + Noun + Adjective Agreement
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Mastery: Rapid Fire Gender and Number
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Mastery: Nouns in Sentences 2
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Mastery: All Rules Mixed
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Mastery: Spot the Correct Form
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Mastery: Final Context Sentences
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Mastery: Final Challenge
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