Gender and Number in Italian: The Ultimate Guide for English Speakers

Today, we’re talking about gender and number in Italian. And no, I don’t just mean “Mary” or “John” — I mean every single noun. And when I say every, I wrote it in capitals on purpose.

Gender and number in Italian: Video Guide

Every Single Noun in Italian Has a Gender

Every single noun in Italian has its own gender. It is either masculine or feminine. And when I say every, I mean every: not just people, but also objects, animals, and things.

Why is this important? Because in English, you have “it” for things. English doesn’t give objects a gender — but in Italian, even items have a gender.

Let me give you a real example:

“Have you bought the car that you told me about two months ago?”
“Yes, I bought it.”

In Italian, that “it” is feminine, because car (macchina) is feminine. We use the feminine pronoun to replace it.

Same thing if we talk about an apartment:

“Have you bought the apartment you told me about?”
“Yes, I bought it.”

Here, “it” would be masculine, because apartment (appartamento) is masculine.

So, even when you’re talking about objects or items, the pronoun must agree with the gender of the noun.

Gender and Number in Italian: Singular and Plural

Just like in English you have “house” → “houses” or “apartment” → “apartments,” Italian also has singular and plural forms.

Generally speaking (and I wrote “generally speaking” in English on purpose here, because there are exceptions), the pattern is:

• Masculine singular nouns end in -o → masculine plural ends in -i
• Feminine singular nouns end in -a → feminine plural ends in -e

Examples:

• Masculine:
  • Sing. → appartamento (apartment)
  • Plur. → appartamenti
• Feminine:
  • Sing. → casa (house)
  • Plur. → case

Exercise: Identify the Gender and Number of These Italian Words

Here are some words. Write down their gender and number:

• tavolo
• mappa
• dadi
• lampade
• finestra
• pavimento
• armadi

Answers:

• tavolo → masculine singular (table)
• mappa → feminine singular (map)
• dadi → masculine plural (dice) – singular is dado
• lampade → feminine plural (lamps) – singular is lampada
• finestra → feminine singular (window)
• pavimento → masculine singular (floor) – plural is pavimenti
• armadi → masculine plural (closets) – singular is armadio

Wrap-Up

So remember:

1. Every noun in Italian has a gender — masculine or feminine — even objects and animals.
2. Singular and plural follow general endings: -o → -i (masc.), -a → -e (fem.), but there are exceptions.
3. Knowing gender is essential because it affects pronouns, adjectives, and articles.

In the next lesson, I’ll show you a crucial exception to these rules. Not super hard, but important to know.

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