Italian nouns

The ending of Italian nouns depends on whether they are masculine or feminine and whether they are singular or plural.

Nouns which end in -O, for example LIBRO, are generally masculine and in the plural form end in -I (LIBRI).

Nouns which end in -A, for example CASA, are generally feminine and in the plural form end in -E (CASE).

There are also nouns which end in -E, for example RISTORANTE, and in the plural form end in -I (RISTORANTI). In this case the nouns can be masculine or feminine; therefore, to know what their gender is, you need to check the dictionary or memorize them together with their article.

Singolare (Singular) Plurale (Plural)
Maschile (Masculine)

Femminile (Feminine)

Noun ending in -e

Gatt-o

Parol-a

Fior-e

Gatt-i

Parol-e

Fior-i

There are some exceptions:

  • Nouns which end in -tà e -tù are feminine and don’t change in the plural form

la città / le città, la virtù / le virtù

  • Some feminine nouns end in -o and often don’t change in the plural form

la radio / le radio, la foto / le foto

  • Feminine nouns which end in -i don’t change in the plural form

la crisi / le crisi, l’ipotesi / le ipotesi, l’analisi / le analisi

  • Masculine nouns which end in -a generally have a plural form which ends in -i

il problema / i problemi, il panorama / i panorami, il tema / i temi

  • The plural form of “uomo” is “uomini”.
  • The plural form of “uovo” is “uova” (masculine in the singular form and feminine in the plural).
  • The plural of the feminine noun “mano” is “mani”.

See also:

 Plural of Italian Nouns Video Exercise – Ligabue

Italian Nouns Video Exercise – Laura Pausini

 Italian Feminine Nouns Video Exercise – Eros Ramazzotti

Exercise – Trailer in italian: Feminine Nouns

Exercise – Trailer in italian: Nouns