Nouns & gender
Every Italian noun is masculine or feminine, and the final vowel usually tells you which. Learn the ending system once and you can guess most nouns correctly — then memorise the short list that cheats.
The three endings
| ending | gender | example | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | almost always masculine | il libro | i libri |
| -a | almost always feminine | la casa | le case |
| -e | either — must be learned | il pane (m), la notte (f) | il pani, le notti |
For -e nouns, sub-endings help: -ione is feminine (la stazione, la lezione), -ore is masculine (il fiore, il colore).
Reliable exceptions
| pattern | gender | examples |
|---|---|---|
| Greek loans in -ma | masculine | il problema, il sistema, il programma, il tema |
| shortened words | keep the full word's gender | la foto(grafia), la mano — feminine despite -o; il cinema(tografo) |
| -ista | both genders, same form | il / la turista, il / la pianista — plural splits: i turisti / le turiste |
| words in -tà, -tù | feminine, invariable | la città, la libertà, la virtù |
La mano (hand) is the classic trap: feminine, ends in -o, plural le mani.
The gender-switching plurals
A small set of body parts and paired things are masculine in the singular but feminine in -a in the plural — a fossil of the Latin neuter:
| singular (m) | plural (f) | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| il braccio | le braccia | arm(s) |
| il dito | le dita | finger(s) |
| l'uovo | le uova | egg(s) |
| il paio | le paia | pair(s) |
| il lenzuolo | le lenzuola | sheet(s) |
Also l'osso → le ossa, il labbro → le labbra, il ginocchio → le ginocchia. Articles and adjectives follow the switch: le braccia aperte.
People: pairs and one-form nouns
- Regular pairs: ragazzo / ragazza, amico / amica.
- -tore → -trice: attore / attrice, scrittore / scrittrice.
- -e often one form, article decides: il / la cantante, il / la francese.
- Some professions traditionally stay masculine in form: l'avvocato, though l'avvocata and la ministra are increasingly used.
Compared with the neighbours
- Like Spanish and French: two genders, arbitrary for things — il tavolo but French la table. Never assume the gender transfers between languages.
- Unlike English: gender matters everywhere, because articles, adjectives, and past participles all agree with it.
- Spanish speakers: the -o/-a logic feels familiar; the -ma words (el problema → il problema) cheat identically in both languages.
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