Italian Definite Articles

Remember that in Italian, every noun is either masculine or feminine so the definite article, “the” in English, is either masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular or feminine plural.

Masculine definite articles

Il: for masculine singular nouns which start with a consonant.

Il libro (the book)
Il vino (the wine)
Il tavolo (the table)

L’: for masculine singular nouns which start with a vowel.

L’orologio (the watch)
L’aereo (the plane)
L’albero (the tree)

Lo: for masculine singular nouns which start with:

s + consonant	lo studente (the student)  lo spagnolo (the Spanish guy) lo scontrino (the receipt)
z	lo zaino (the backpack)   lo zio (the uncle)
y	lo yogurt (the yoghurt) lo yen (the yen)
ps	lo psicologo (the psychologist)
pn	lo pneumatico (the tyre)
gn	lo gnomo (the gnome)
x	lo xilofono

I: for masculine plural nouns which start with a consonant.

I libri (the books)
I vini (the wines)
I tavoli (the tables)

Gli: for masculine plural nouns which start with a vowel, s + consonant, z, y, ps, pn, x or gn.

Gli orologi (the watches)
Gli aerei (the planes)
Gli alberi (the trees)
Gli studenti (the students)
Gli zaini (the backpacks)
Gli yogurt (the yoghurts)
Gli psicologi (the psychologists)
Gli pneumatici (the tyres)
Gli gnomi (the gnomes)

Feminine definite articles

La: for feminine singular nouns which start with a consonant.

La penna (the pen)
La camicia (the shirt)
La sedia (the chair)

L’: for feminine singular singular nouns which start with a vowel.

L’ape (the bee)
L’insalata (the salad)
L’ora (the hour)

Le: for feminine plural nouns which start with a vowel or a consonant.

Le penne (the pens)
Le camicie (the shirts)
Le sedie (the chairs)
Le api (the bees)
Le insalate (the salads)
Le ore (the hours)

See also:

Italian grammar: Indefinite Articles

Exercise to test your knowledge of Italian definite and indefinite articles.

Italian Trailers Exercises: Definite and Indefinite Articles Lo Hobbit

Italian Trailers Exercises: Definite and Indefinite Articles Diverso da chi?