Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)
NOUNS
3. Nouns for males and females
In Italian, just as in English, there are sometimes very different words for male and female people and animals.
|
un uomo |
a man |
|
una donna |
a woman |
|
un fratello |
a brother |
|
una sorella |
a sister |
|
un toro |
a bull |
|
una mucca |
a cow |
In most cases, though, a noun referring to a male can be made to refer to a female by changing the ending:
Many Italian nouns ending in –o can be made feminine by changing the ending to –a.
|
un cuoco |
a (male) cook |
|
una cuoca |
a (female) cook |
|
un ragazzo |
a boy |
|
una ragazza |
a girl |
|
un fotografo |
a (male) photographer |
|
una fotografa |
a (female) photographer |
|
un italiano |
an Italian (man) |
|
un’italiana |
an Italian (woman) |
|
un gatto |
a (tom) cat |
|
una gatta |
a (she) cat |
If a noun describing a male ends in –tore, the feminine form ends in –trice.
|
un attore |
a (male) actor |
|
un’attrice |
a (female) actor |
|
un pittore |
a (male) painter |
|
una pittrice |
a (female) painter |
|
uno scrittore |
a (male) writer |
|
una scrittrice |
a (female) writer |
Certain nouns describing males ending in –e have feminine forms ending in –essa.
|
il professore |
the (male) teacher |
|
la professoressa |
the (female) teacher |
|
uno studente |
a (male) student |
|
una studentessa |
a (female) student |
|
un leone |
a lion |
|
una leonessa |
a lioness |
Many nouns ending in –a can refer either to males or to females, so there is no change of ending for the feminine.
|
un turista |
a (male) tourist |
|
una turista |
a (female) tourist |
|
un collega |
a (male) colleague |
|
una collega |
a (female) colleague |
|
il mio dentista |
my dentist (if it’s a man) |
|
la mia dentista |
my dentist (if it’s a woman) |
Many nouns ending in –e can refer either to males or to females, so there is no change of ending for the feminine.
|
un nipote |
a grandson |
|
una nipote |
a granddaughter |
|
un cantante |
a (male) singer |
|
una cantante |
a (female) singer |
Grammar Extra!
A few nouns that are feminine refer both to men and women.
|
una guida |
a guide (male or female) |
|
una persona |
a person (male or female) |
|
una spia |
a spy (male or female) |
|
una star |
a star (male or female) |
|
Sean Connery è ancora una star. |
Sean Connery’s still a star. |
Key points
Most nouns referring to males can be made to refer to females by changing the ending.
Some nouns are the same whether they refer to males or to females, but the words used with them change.
In a few cases the nouns used for male and female are completely different.