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Nouns (Nomi italiani) Print this page  
Italian nouns end in -o, -a, -tà, -e and, rarely, in -(t)ú. The nouns are either feminine or masculine , and are conjugated in singular and pluralis.
Feminine
Normally, nouns ending on -a and -tà are feminine.
 
Nouns ending on -trice, -tudine, -zione (-sione), -gione, -tú are feminine.
 
But there are nouns ending on -o which are feminine:     Show    
 
Masculine
Normally, nouns ending on -o are masculine.
 
Nouns ending on -tore, -sore -ore, -ione etc. are masculine. The noun tribú is masculine.
 
But there are nouns ending on -a which are masculine:     Show    
 
Pluralis
Generally pluralis is derived according to the following rules:
Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur.
-o -i -a -e -e -i -tà -tà -tù -tù -i -i
-ico -ici -ica -iche -cho -chi -go -ghi -ga -ghe -cia -ce -cia cie
-cìa -cie -io -i -ìo -ii -ia -ie
 
Nouns ending with an accented vowel or a consonant do not change in the plural, nor do the abbreviated words.
Ex: caffè → due caffè, film → due film, foto → due foto.
 
In other cases the plural is recognized by external indicators as articles, pronouns etc.
Ex: il tribù → i tribù, la città → le città, l'analisi → gli analisi, la virtù → le virtù.
 
A greater number of masculine nouns in -o have two forms in plural: one in -i (masculine) and another in -a (feminine). Often the forms in -a are preserved in idiomatic expressions, but sometimes the different plural forms are associated with change in the meaning.
Ex: anèllo (lo) (ring), pluralis: anèlli (gli) (rings), anèlla (le) (curly hairs, literary). Cìglio (il) (eyelash, curb), pluralis: cigli (i) (curbs, edges), cìglia (le) (eyelashes)
The indefinite and the definite article
The indefinite article
Masculine: un (uno if the nouns initial letter is z, s + consonant or gn)
Feminine: una (un if the nouns initial letter is a wowel).
 
The definite article
Masculine, singular: il (lo if the nouns initial letter is z, s + consonant or gn).
Masculine, pluralis: i (gli if the nouns initial letter is z, s + consonant or gn).
Feminine, singular: la.
Feminine, pluralis: le.
The partitive article
Gender Number Article Contraction of
Masculine Singular del
dell'
dello
di + il
di + l'
di + lo
Masculine Plural dei
degli
di + i
di + gli
Feminine Singular della
dell'
di + la
di + l'
Feminine Plural delle di + le
 
Nouns which are similar i both genders
Some nouns are similar in both genders:     Show  
 
Nouns which has different meanings in feminine and masculine
Other nouns has different meanings in feminine and masculine:     Show