How to recognize what gender a noun is - NOUNS - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

NOUNS

2. How to recognize what gender a noun is

There are some simple rules that will enable you to work out the gender of a very large number of Italian nouns from their last letter in the singular:

nearly all words ending in –o are masculine.

nearly all words ending in –a are feminine.

nearly all words ending in –à, –sione and –zione are feminine.

nearly all words ending with a consonant are masculine.

Note that words ending in –e are masculine in some cases and feminine in others.

The following are typical masculine nouns ending in –o:

il treno

the train

il supermercato

the supermarket

l’aeroporto

the airport

il toro

the bull

un topo

a mouse

un gatto

a (tom) cat

un italiano

an Italian (man)

Note that a few very common nouns ending in –o are feminine.

la mano

the hand

una foto

a photo

la radio

the radio

una moto

a motorbike

The following are typical feminine nouns ending in –a:

la casa

the house

la macchina

the car

una donna

a woman

una regola

a rule

una gatta

a (she) cat

un’italiana

an Italian (woman)

Note that some very common words ending in –a are masculine.

il problema

the problem

il programma

the programme

il sistema

the system

il clima

the climate

Most words for professions and jobs ending in –ta are masculine or feminine, according to whether a male or female is meant.

un giornalista

a (male) journalist

una giornalista

a (female) journalist

un dentista

a (male) dentist

una dentista

a (female) dentist

The following are typical feminine nouns ending in –à, –sione, and –zione:

Ending

Example

Meaning

una difficoltà

a difficulty

la realtà

the reality

-sione

la versione

the version

un’occasione

an opportunity

-zione

una lezione

a lesson

una conversazione

a conversation

Nouns ending in a consonant are nearly always masculine.

un film

a film

un bar

a bar

un computer

a computer

BUT

una jeep

a jeep

Nouns ending in –e can be masculine in some cases and feminine in others.

un mese

a month

il mare

the sea

la gente

the people

la mente

the mind

il mese di giugno

the month of June

una mente logica

a logical mind

Note that the names of languages are always masculine, whether they end in –e or in –o.

Il giapponese è molto difficile.

Japanese is very difficult.

L’italiano è bellissimo.

Italian is beautiful.

Grammar Extra!

Some words have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine.

Masculine

Meaning

Feminine

Meaning

il fine

the objective

la fine

the end

un posto

a place

la posta

the mail

un modo

a way

la moda

the fashion

il capitale

capital (money)

una capitale

a capital city

un bel posto

a nice place

la posta elettronica

email