You can form the plural of most Italian nouns by changing the ending to -i or -e. The correct plural ending for a given word will depend on the singular form of the noun and also on its gender. For example:
However, some Italian nouns do have irregular plurals or use the same form in the plural that they use in the singular. In this post, we’ll review the rules for making nouns plural (for regular plurals), and we’ll introduce you to some of the irregular plurals as well. Let’s check those rules out along with the exceptions!
What are the rules for making regular nouns plural in Italian?
Most regular plural nouns in Italian are formed just by changing the final vowel in the word, to -i or -e. Most commonly, you can decide which ending to use just by looking at the gender of the noun and the final vowel of the singular form, but there are a few specific singular endings that have additional spelling and pronunciation changes in the plural.
Let’s look first at the simple vowel changes, then we’ll look at these rules for specific endings.
Italian plurals where only the vowel changes
As you can see, for most groups of nouns, the plural ending is -i, but for feminine nouns ending in -a, the plural ending is -e instead.
| Gender | Singular ending | Example | Plural ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | -o | il bambino Translation: the child | -i | i bambini Translation: the children |
Feminine | -o | la mano Translation: the hand | -i | le mani Translation: the hands |
Masculine | -a | il poeta Translation: the poet | -i | i poeti Translation: the poets |
Feminine | -a | la casa Translation: the house | -e | le case Translation: the houses |
Masculine | -e | il fiore Translation: the flower | -i | i fiori Translation: the flowers |
Feminine | -e | la rete Translation: the net | -i | le reti Translation: the nets |
This is true also for singular nouns ending in -ista, both feminine and masculine:
| Singular nouns (m. and f.) ending in -ista | Plural nouns (m.) | Plural nouns (f.) |
|---|---|---|
il/la farmacista Translation: the pharmacist | i farmacisti Translation: the pharmacists | le farmaciste Translation: the pharmacists |
Rules for pluralizing specific noun endings in Italian
Let’s look now at the specific noun endings that are pluralized a little differently from the rules we saw above. These nouns are still regular (i.e. they still follow rules), they just have a few more spelling and pronunciation rules to learn. Let’s have a look at some of these special endings:
Nouns ending in -cia and -gia
When the ending is preceded by a vowel, change the ending to -cie or -gie:
la camicia → le camicieTranslation: the shirt → the shirtsWhen the ending is preceded by a consonant change them to -ce or -ge instead:
l’arancia → le aranceTranslation: the orange → the orangesNouns that end in -ca and -ga
When the noun is masculine, change the ending to -chi or -ghi
il duca → i duchiTranslation: the duke → the dukesWhen the noun is feminine, change the ending to -che or -ghe
l’amica → le amicheTranslation: the friend (f.) → the friends (f.)Notice that this rule preserves the “hard” pronunciation of “c” and “g” from the singular (as “k” and “g”), so that the endings aren’t pronounced with a “ch” or “j” sound.Two-syllable nouns ending in -co or -go
The ending changes to -chi or -ghi, regardless of gender:
il cuoco → i cuochiTranslation: the cook → the cooksil logo → i loghiTranslation: the logo → the logosAgain, this rule preserves the “hard” pronunciation of “c” and “g” from the singular.Nouns with more than two syllables that end in -co or -go
If the ending is preceded by a consonant, change the ending to -chi or -ghi:
il tedesco → i tedeschiTranslation: the German → the Germansl’albergo → gli alberghiTranslation: the hotel → the hotelsIf the ending is preceded by a vowel, change the dining to -ci or -gi instead:
l’amico → gli amiciTranslation: the friend → the friendsl’asparago → gli asparagiTranslation: the asparagus (one spear) → the asparagus (many spears)Nouns ending in -logo
If they refer to people, the ending changes to -logi:
lo psicologo → gli psicologiTranslation: the psychologist → the psychologistsOtherwise, the ending changes to -loghi:
il dialogo → i dialoghiTranslation: the dialogue → the dialoguesMasculine nouns that end in -io
The ending usually changes to a single -i:
il figlio → i figliTranslation: the son → the sonsBut if the “i” is stressed, the plural changes to -ii instead:
lo zio → gli ziiTranscription: /zee·o → zee·ee/Translation: the uncle → the unclesWant to see some more examples? Have a look at this extensive list of Italian nouns that fit into the above six groups!
But what about those nouns that do not even fit into the above six groups?
What are the most important groups of irregular plural nouns in Italian?
There are three main important groups of irregular plural nouns (i.e. nouns that don’t follow predictable rules) in Italian.
Nouns that keep the same root, but take an irregular plural ending
For these, the plural just doesn’t fit the usual pattern, for example:
l’uovo → le uovaTranslation: the egg → the eggsNouns that completely change their form in the plural
For these, the whole root, or at least the vowel, changes in the plural, as in:
bue → buoiTranslation: ox → oxenNouns that do not change at all in the plural
Just like “deer → deer” in English, these use the singular as the plural form. For example:
la città → le cittàTranslation: the city → the citiesLet’s go through these three groups to see some important examples and tips about using irregular nouns in each group.
Plurals which keep the same root, but take an irregular plural ending
The most important group of irregular nouns that keeps the same root, but takes an irregular plural ending are masculine singular nouns that end in -o, but take the ending -a in the plural:
- l’uovo → le uovaTranslation: the egg → the eggs
- il dito → le ditaTranslation: the finger → the fingers
Nouns which change root in the plural
Here are some of the most important nouns that change their root in the plural:
- l’uomo → gli uominiTranslation: the man → the men
- il dio → gli deiTranslation: the god → the gods
- il bue → i buoiTranslation: the ox → the oxen
For an extensive list of irregular Italian nouns check out our table and this resource.
Now let’s get to the easiest part!
Nouns that do not change in the plural
There are four groups of nouns that have the same form in the singular and plural:
nouns with a stress on the last syllable, ending in -à, -è and -ù:
la città → le città meaning the city → the cities
il caffè → i caffè meaning the coffee → the coffees
la virtù → le virtù meaning the virtue → the virtues
a few nouns ending in -o, especially abbreviations:
il video → i video meaning the video → the videos
il stereo → gli stereo meaning the stereo → the stereos
la moto → le moto meaning the motorbike → the motorbikes
a few nouns ending in -ie:
la serie → le serie meaning the series (sg.) → the series (pl.)
la specie → le specie meaning the species (sg.) → the species (pl.)
a few masculine nouns of foreign origin that end in a consonant:
l’hotel → gli hotel meaning the hotel → the hotels
You can see more examples of Italian nouns that don’t change in the plural in our table. Also, if you want to see all the cases split by topic, refer to this table of Italian plurals by topic.
Important considerations about Italian plurals
To avoid confusion, it is important to mention a couple of points:
Some Italian nouns, called nomi sovrabbondanti meaning overabundant nouns, can have two different plurals, one masculine and one feminine, with two different meanings:
Singular Plural masculine Plural feminine il ditoTranslation: the fingeri ditiTranslation: each single fingerle ditaTranslation: all the fingers in one handil gridoTranslation: the cryi gridiTranslation: the animal criesle gridaTranslation: the criesWe provide you with a list of the most common Italian overabundant nouns here.
Moreover, when comparing the Italian language to English, we notice how some words are plural in Italian but singular in English:
Singular Plural the hair
i capelli literally the hairs
the business
gli affari literally the affairs
the news
le notizie literally the notices
the furniture
i mobili
Similarly, la gente meaning people, a frequently used word, is singular in Italian, but plural in English.
Summary
In conclusion, making nouns plural in Italian is just a matter of vowels! We have seen that some nouns change their ending vowel according to specific patterns, others follow spelling rules, while some nouns are the same in the plural as in the singular. There are exceptions, but practice, along with our exercises, will do miracles! So...Let’s start! Buon lavoro! meaning Good work!
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