Gender and number of Italian nouns

Masculine or feminine? Learn how to distinguish the gender of Italian nouns and how to turn them into the plural!

The Italian language only has two genders for its nouns: masculine and feminine. There is no neuter gender; no “it” form.

This means that everything, even inanimate objects and abstract concepts, has to be classified as either masculine or feminine. Let’s find out how to recognise the gender of Italian nouns. 

Masculine words — (O) or (E)

In the singular most masculine words will end in -o or -e:

panino (sandwich) - treno (train) - amico (friend) - ombrello (umbrella)

cane (dog) - mare (sea) - pesce (fish) - televisore (television)

To create the plural form, you have to change the -o or the -e to an -i.

panini (sandwiches) - treni (trains) - amici (friends) - ombrelli (umbrellas)

cani (dogs) - mari (seas) - pesci (fishes) - televisori (televisions)

FEMININE words — (A) or (E)

In the singular most feminine nouns will end in -a or -e:

casa (house) - macchina (car) - isola (island) - scuola (school)

voce (voice) - stazione (station) - chiave (key) - passione (passion)

To create the plural form, you have to change the words ending in -a to an -e and the words ending in -e to an -i.

case (houses) - macchine (cars) - isole (islands) - scuole (schools)

voci (voices) - stazioni (stations) - chiavi (keys) - passioni (passions)

(!) How do I know whether a word that ends in “-e” will be masculine or feminine?

Words ending in -e can sometimes be masculine, sometimes feminine. How do you tell? Easy. Most Italian nouns come with their article [what is an article? Head here and here!] and this will help you to recognise the gender.

• il ristorante (restaurant) — as you can see, the word “ristorante” is preceded by the masculine article “il”. So the word itself must be masculine.

• la colazione (breakfast) — the word “colazione” is preceded by the feminine article “la”. So the word itself must be feminine.

exceptions

Unfortunately, like every language, Italian has some exceptions to this rule. Sometimes a word that ends in -o can be feminine and a word that ends in -a can be feminine. This is quite rare, and you'll learn these exceptions over time, don't worry. Just remember: the article never lies. No matter the ending, the article will always tell you the correct gender.

Some frequent exceptions are:

il problema (m) - the problem

il sistema (m) - the system

lo yoga (m) - the yoga

il giornalista (m) - the journalist

la mano (f) - the hand

la foto(grafia) (f) - the photograph

la radio (f) - the radio

Also, some words originating from outside the Italian might end with a consonant (e.g. “lo sport” or “il film”) or with other vowels (e.g. “la crisi” or “il tiramisù”). In these cases we don't change the ending of the word when it moves into the plural, only the article (e.g. “gli sport”, “i film”, “le crisi”, “i tiramisù”).

TIP - When you learn new words, always memorise them together with their article. If they stay connected in your mind it will be easier to remember the gender.  

NOW IT'S TIME TO PUT WHAT YOU HAVE JUST LEARNT INTO PRACTICE!

Test yourself. Masculine or feminine?

1.  l’insalata = M/F?

2.  il treno = M/F?

3.  la scuola = M/F?

4.  lo studente = M/F?

5. la pizza = M/F?

6. l’orso = M/F?

7.  il sole = M/F?

8. la luna = M/F?

9. il parco = M/F?

10. il ristorante = M/F?

11. la colazione = M/F?

12. la pasta = M/F?

Answers

1. F - 2. M - 3. F - 4. M - 5. F - 6. M - 7. M - 8. F - 9. M - 10. M - 11. F - 12. F