In Italian grammar, gender is a system of rules that determines how nouns work in sentences and, in many cases, even changes their meaning. Understanding Italian masculine and feminine gender rules is one of the first hurdles you’ll face when you learn Italian, and one you can’t skip.
In this guide, you’ll learn the basics of Italian gender rules, how to recognize masculine vs. feminine nouns, and practical tricks to use them correctly every time.
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Why is gender in Italian so crucial in grammar?
If you are familiar with Romance languages, you already know the challenge: all nouns have gender. They inherited it from Latin, which had three genders (masculine, feminine, and neutral). The Italian language simplified it to two, so all Italian nouns are either masculine or feminine.
Gender in Italian runs through the entire language and affects all the words connected to a noun. This is called the gender agreement rule, which applies to different Italian parts of speech.
How does the Italian gender agreement rule work?
The noun is the king of an Italian sentence because its gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) determine the endings of all related words.
Italian gender rules are (at least on paper) as simple as that: When a noun is masculine, all the related words must take the masculine form; when it is feminine, everything switches to the feminine. Here is a breakdown of Italian gender agreement you need to know.
1. Article gender agreement
Italian articles always come before the noun, just like “the”, “a”, and “an” in English, and must match the noun’s gender.
There are more articles in Italian than English, but once you memorize them, they become your best clue to recognizing whether a noun is masculine or feminine.
| Gender | Singular | Plural | English Meaning |
| masculine | il libro | i libri | the book/books |
| masculine | un libro | dei libri | a book/some books |
| masculine | lo stivale | gli stivali | the boot/boots |
| masculine | uno stivale | alcuni stivali | a boot/some boots |
| masculine | l’amico | gli amici | the (male) friends/friends |
| feminine | la casa | le case | the house/houses |
| feminine | una casa | delle case | a house/some houses |
| feminine | l’amica | le amica | the (female) friends/friends |
| feminine | un’amica | alcune amiche | a (female) friend/some (female) friends |
Grammar tip: The Italian articles lo, la, and una drop the final vowel and add an apostrophe when the word it precedes begins with a vowel.
2. Adjective gender agreement
Adjectives must also agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe. This agreement usually happens by changing the ending of the adjective.
- il gatto nero (m) → la gatta nera (f) = the black cat
Adjectives ending with “-e” have just one form for both masculine and feminine.
- il gatto grande (m) → la gatta grande (f) = the big cat
The following table shows how some of the most common Italian adjectives change according to gender.
| Singular Italian Adjective (m/f) | Plural Italian Adjective (m/f) | English Meaning |
| alto/alta | alti/alte | tall |
| bello/bella | belli/belle | beautiful |
| buono/buona | buoni/buone | good |
| difficile/difficile | difficili/difficili | difficult |
| facile/facile | facili/facili | easy |
| nuovo/nuova | nuovi/nuove | new |
| piccolo/piccola | piccoli/piccole | small |
| simpatico/simpatica | simpatici/simpatiche | nice/friendly |
| vecchio/vecchia | vecchi/vecchie | old |
Remember: When one adjective refers to more than one noun and at least one is masculine, then by convention the adjective takes the masculine plural form:
- Jen e Mary sono simpatiche. = Jen and Mary are nice. (feminine plural because both nouns are feminine)
- Brian e Maria sono simpatici. = Brian and Maria are nice. (masculine plural)
3. Pronoun gender agreement
Gender agreement rules also apply to Italian pronouns. For subject and object pronouns, things are pretty straightforward: You match Italian masculine and feminine only to the third person singular lui (he) and lei (she).
- Marta è Carlo sono in vacanza in Italia. Lei mi porterà di certo un regalo. = Marta and Carlo are on vacation in Italy. She will surely bring me a gift.
- Gli ho detto di sì. I tell him yes.
- Le ho detto di no. = I tell her no.
Things get a little trickier with Italian possessive pronouns, because the pronoun must agree with the thing owned.
- Che macchina prendiamo? La mia? = Which car are we taking? Mine? (f)
- Quell’ombrello è di Carla, non è il mio. = That umbrella belongs to Carla, it’s not mine. (m)
4. Italian gender agreement with past participle verbs
If you have already touched base with Italian verbs, you know that all compound tenses are formed with the verb essere (to be) or avere(to have) + past participle. The past participle has a characteristic: It doesn’t change for the subject like other verb tenses in Italian, but in gender and number.
The two most common cases you should pay attention to are the following:
- Essere (to be) + past participle: always matches the gender of the subject.
- Mark è uscito. = Mark went out.
- Jennifer è uscita. = Jennifer went out.
- Avere (to have) + past participle preceded by an object or relative pronoun matches the gender of the pronoun (not the subject).
- Ci ha ingannato. = He/she deceived us. (“us” as a group of males)
- Ci ha ingannate. = He/she deceived us. (“us” as a group of males)
How do you know if an Italian noun is feminine or masculine?
The gender agreement rules make recognizing Italian masculine and feminine nouns easier in Italian sentences. However, there’s no 100% foolproof method to know the gender of isolated words. The only reliable way is to check a dictionary such as the Grande Dizionario Hoelpi or the Vocabolario dell’Enciclopedia Treccani, where you’ll find nouns marked with “m” for masculine and “f” for feminine.
That said, if you don’t have a dictionary handy, some common patterns can help you get it right most of the time.
Italian words ending in ‘-o’ are usually masculine
Generally, you can make an educated guess and say if a noun is masculine or feminine just by the ending. In fact, most nouns ending in “-o” are masculine in Italian. There are exceptions, but it works in most cases.
| Masculine Italian Noun | English Meaning |
| il/a fatto | the/a fact |
| il/un mondo | the/a world |
| l’/un ombrello | the/a umbrella |
| il/un porto | the port |
| il/un tavolo | the/a table |
| il/un telefono | the/a phone |
| il/un vino | the/a wine |
Some exceptions to this rule are:
- Shortened words like la foto (short for the feminine noun fotografia = photo) or l’auto (for automobile = car).
- Some words like la mano (the hand).
Plural: Masculine nouns ending in “-o” usually form their plural with “-i”:
- il fatto (the fact) → i fatti (the facts)
Italian words ending in ‘-a ‘are usually feminine
Nouns ending in “-a” are most often feminine. This is the counterpart to the “-o” pattern and makes gender in Italian fairly intuitive in many cases.
| Feminine Italian Noun | English Meaning |
| la/una casa | the/a house |
| la/una luna | the/a moon |
| la/una macchina | the/a car |
| la/una matita | the/a pencil |
| la/una porta | the/a door |
| la/una scuola | the/a school |
| la/una sedia | the/a chair |
Of course, there are some exceptions in this category, too. Common masculine nouns ending in “-a” are:
- il problema (the problem),
- il dramma (the drama), and other words ending in “-amma.”
Plural: Feminine nouns ending in “-a” usually form their plural with “-e”:
- la casa (the house) → le case (the houses)
Grammar tip: Italian colors are among the most beautiful Italian words, often poetic and full of meaning. As standalone nouns, colors are all masculine (il rosso= the red). But when used as adjectives, they must agree with the noun they describe:
- il vestito rosso = the red dress (m)
- la macchina rossa = the red car (f)
Gender of Italian words ending in ‘-e’
The group of Italian nouns ending in “-e” includes both masculine and feminine words.
As a general rule, nouns ending in “-one” are masculine:
- il pallone = the ball
- l’evasione = the escape
On the other hand, nouns with certain suffixes are typically feminine.
- Words ending in “-zione”:
- l’informazione = the information
- l’agitazione = the agitation
- Words ending in “-itudine”:
- la gratitudine = gratitude
- la solitudine = solitude
Italian masculine and feminine nouns for people and animals
Most nouns that refer to people and animals in Italian have two forms: one masculine and one feminine to match the gender of the person or animal.
If the two forms are irregular, you have two completely different words:
- padre (father) and madre (mother)
- fratello (brother) and sorella (sister)
- maschio (male) and femmina (female)
- bue/toro (ox/bull) and vacca or mucca (cow)
However, in most cases, Italian masculine and feminine have the same root, and just different endings:
- bambino (boy child) → bambina (girl child)
- gatto (male cat) → gatta (female cat)
- postino (mailman) → postina (mailwoman)
- ragazzo (boy) → ragazza (girl)
- segretario (male secretary) → segretaria (female secretary)
Changing the ending from “-o” to “-a” is a common way to change a noun from masculine to feminine, but it is not universal. There are other ways to create the feminine of a noun.
- Feminine nouns ending in “-essa”:
- dottore → dottoressa (doctor)
- leone → leonessa (lion/lioness)
- professore → professoressa (professor)
- studente → studentessa (student)
- Feminine nouns ending in “-ina” (less common):
- gallo (rooster) → gallina (hen)
- re (king) → regina (queen)
- Masculine nouns ending in “-tore” become “-trice” in the feminine form:
- attore → attrice (actor/actress)
- direttore → direttrice (director)
- scrittore → scrittrice (writer)
Other categories for inanimate things nouns
Unlike nouns that refer to living beings, Italian words for objects or inanimate things have a gender that doesn’t depend on physical traits or real-world differences: It’s simply a language convention.
These terms have only one fixed gender in Italian. For example, la sedia (the chair) is feminine and has no masculine form. They don’t always follow a clear pattern. Still, some helpful trends can guide you.
These types of nouns are usually masculine in Italian:
- Most foreign words
- il computer = the computer
- l’hotel = the hotel
- il meeting = the meeting
- Names of trees
- il melo = the pear tree
- il pero = the apple tree
- Metals and chemical elements
- l’oro = gold
- il piombo = lead
- Cardinal points
- il Nord, il Sud, l’Est, l’Ovest = the North, the South, the East, the West
- Months and days of the week in Italian (except Sunday)
- Ho passato i mesi più belli in Italia. = I’ve spent the most beautiful months in Italy.
- Tutti i lunedì sono pensanti. = All Mondays are heavy days.
- Questo è stato il luglio più caldo della storia. = This was the hottest July in history.
- Seas, mountains, lakes, and rivers
- il Cervino = Matterhorn (mountain in the Alps)
- il Garda = Garda lake
These types of nouns are usually feminine in Italian:
- Fruits (with many exceptions)
- la mela = the apple
- la pera = the pear
- Academic disciplines
- la matematica = mathematics
- la psicologia = physiology
- Military activities
- Non fate la guerra. = Don’t make war.
- La guardia è stata lunga. = The guard duty was long.
- Most cities, islands, regions, states, and continents
- Firenze è stupenda. = Florence is fantastic.
- L’Asia è immensa. = Asia is immense.
- Mountain ranges and some rivers
- le Alpi = the Alps
- la Senna = the Seine River
Italian words that change meaning with gender
Finally, it’s worth mentioning an interesting feature of Italian called alternanza di genere e significato (alternation of gender and meaning).
These are terms that look like the masculine and feminine forms of the same word but have different meanings.
These words change meaning depending on the gender:
- words with masculine in “-o” and feminine in “-a”:
- il foglio = the sheet (m)
- la foglia = the leaf (f)
- some words ending in “-e” with the same spelling:
- il fine = the purpose/goal (m)
- la fine = the end (f)
- trees and their fruits:
- il castagno = the chestnut tree
- la castagna = the chestnut
- words with similar spelling but different etymology:
- il busto = the torso
- la busta = the envelope
Don’t worry if it sounds confusing. This is an advanced topic for when you’re already comfortable with Italian gender rules, but at least knowing about it helps you understand everyday conversation more clearly.
Key takeaways about Italian masculine and feminine gender
Mastering Italian gender rules is essential to speaking Italian confidently and understanding nuances like inclusive language. Here are some essential points to keep in mind.
- All nouns are masculine or feminine.
- Gender matches biological sex for people and animals. but it’s just a grammatical category for inanimate things.
- The gender of a noun affects articles, adjectives, pronouns, and some verb forms.
- Nouns’ endings can often hint at gender.
- Some words change meaning with gender.
Practice these and other grammar topics with an immersive approach, like Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method, and learning Italian will become a seamless, exciting experience.
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