Italian Nouns
Nouns are words used to name or identify a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Examples include: girl, hat, coat, weather, picture, coffee, hotel.
Nouns are one of the most basic parts of speech They can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition. Italian nouns are divided in common, nomi comuni, and proper, nomi propri.
So this free lesson is all about naming things. By the time you're done you'll know all about common and proper nouns, as well as how to identify masculine and feminine versions. You'll also discover the mysterious third category of nouns.
Resources for further reading:
How to pronounce Italian Nouns
Here are some of the most basic Italian nouns to get you started. Further on in this lesson we will look at the pronunciation of these and more Italian nouns.
- Ragazzo - Kid
- Dottore - Doctor
- Cane - Dog
- Fiume - River
- Bellezza - Beauty
- Speranza - Hope
- Giustizia - Justice
- Tavolo - Table
- Museo - Museum
- Libro - Book
Let's get started...
Common and Proper Italian nouns
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your Italian pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
nomi comuni
common noun
nomi propri
proper noun
Nomi comuni indicate persons, animals, places, things like ragazzo - kid, dottore - doctor, cane - dog, fiume - river, or abstract ideas like bellezza - beauty, speranza - hope, giustizia - justice, etc.
ragazzo
kid
dottore
doctor
cane
dog
fiume
river
bellezza
beauty
speranza
hope
giustizia
justice
The nomi propri indicate specific beings or things, which are characterized by a proper name: Italia, Roma, Paolo, Marco, etc.
Nouns can be divided also for genre, masculine and feminine, and number, singular and plural.
Italia
Italy
Roma
Rome
Paolo
Paolo
Marco
Marco
Most of the nouns agree with the following rules:
- Masculine nouns end with –o for singular, -i for plural.
- Feminine nouns end with –a for singular, -e for plural.
- A third category of nouns end with –e for singular, -i for plural; they can be masculine or feminine, according to the vocabulary.
Regular Italian Nouns: rules and examples
Masculine nouns ending with –o (singular)
tavolo
table
museo
museum
libro
book
coro
chorus
corpo
body
cielo
sky
appartamento
apartment
suono
sound
Masculine nouns ending with –i (plural)
tavoli
tables
musei
museums
libri
books
cori
choruses
corpi
bodies
cieli
skies
appartamenti
apartments
suoni
sounds
Feminine nouns ending with –a (singular)
casa
house
finestra
window
sedia
chair
strada
street
maglietta
t-shirt
testa
head
fotografia
photo
penna
pen
Feminine nouns ending with –e (plural)
case
houses
finestre
windows
sedie
chairs
strade
streets
magliette
t-shirts
teste
heads
fotografie
photos
penne
pens
Third Case nouns ending with –e (singular).
These can be masculine or feminine, according to the vocabulary.
bicchiere (M)
glass
studente (M)
student
ristorante (M)
restaurant
fiume (M)
river
luce (F)
light
nube (F)
cloud
mese (M)
month
ape (F)
bee
Third Case nouns ending with –i (plural).
These can be masculine or feminine, according to the vocabulary.
bicchieri (M)
glasses
studenti (M)
students
ristoranti (M)
restaurants
fiumi (M)
rivers
luci (F)
lights
nubi (F)
clouds
mesi (M)
months
api (F)
bees
Irregular Italian nouns: rules and examples
Many Italians nouns are irregular. Here are some examples.
1. The following nouns have the same form at singular as well as at plural:
Monosyllable nouns
re
king
Nouns ending with a vowel with accent
università
university
Foreign nouns
film
film
gol
goal
Nouns ending with –i
analisi
Analysis
Feminine nouns ending with –o
auto
Car
Masculine neologism ending with –o
euro
euro
Feminine nouns ending with –ie
specie
species
2. Masculine nouns with –ma at the singular end with –mi at the plural.
Singular | Plural |
problema | problemi |
problem | problems |
tema | temi |
thema | themas |
3. Feminine nouns ending with –ca and –ga at singular end with –che and –ghe at plural
Singular | Plural |
domenica | domeniche |
Sunday | Sundays |
collega | colleghe |
colleague | colleagues (F) |
4. Masculine nouns ending with –co and –go:
- end with –chi and –ghi at plural if the accent is on the second last syllable
- end with –ci and –gi at plural when the accent is on the third last syllable
Some words, like amico - pl. amici, or dialogo - pl. dialoghi are exceptions.
Singular | Plural |
tedesco | tedeschi |
German | Germans |
albergo | alberghi |
hotel | hotels |
medico | medici |
doctor | doctors |
psicologo | psicologi |
psychologist | psychologists |
Italian nouns which seem to have a double gender
Some nouns, which have the same stem and end with –o or –a, seem to indicate the masculine or feminine version of the same word. That’s not always true; the meaning can be completely different.
Some examples:
Noun with –o ending | Noun with –a ending |
corso | corsa |
avenue | running |
collo | colla |
neck | glue |
pianto | pianta |
tears | plant |
torto | torta |
fault | cake |
Italian nouns summary
- Nouns are words that name people, things, or ideas.
- Nouns can be divided in common name, referring to something general and not identifying a particular person, or proper name, like the names of people, places, and institutions.
- Nouns can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
- Masculine nouns end with –o at singular, –i at plural.
- Feminine nouns end with –a at singular, –e at plural.
- A third category of nouns end with –e at singular, –i at plural; they can be masculine or feminine, according to the vocabulary.
For more on Italian grammar check out these lessons!
- Italian prepositions can be tricky. This lesson unravels the trickery!
- Italian pronouns are a must-know. Get started here.
- How scary is Italian verb conjugation? Not too scary after this lesson!
A presto!
Maria Di Lorenzi: Rocket Italian
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!