In brief
The Italian plural is based on a simple principle: the final vowel of the noun changes. Three rules cover the majority of cases. But Italian also has its tricky areas: nouns whose sound changes in writing, those that remain invariable, and those that completely change gender in the plural. This guide covers everything, from the most regular to the most unexpected.
- Basic rule: the final vowel ending changes — -o → -i, -a → -e, -e → -i
- Nouns ending in -ca/-ga: add an h to keep the hard sound — amica → amiche, bottega → botteghe
- Nouns ending in -co/-go: split between -chi/-ghi (hard sound kept) and -ci/-gi (soft sound) depending on stress
- Invariable nouns: foreign words, monosyllables, words stressed on the last syllable, abbreviations
- Gender change in the plural: some masculine nouns ending in -o form a feminine plural in -a — il braccio → le braccia
- Article: the article always changes in the plural and must agree with the new gender when there is a gender change
The three basic rules
Plural formation depends on the ending of the noun in the singular. Three endings cover almost all Italian nouns.Rule 1: masculine nouns ending in -o form their plural in -i
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il libro | i libri | the book / the books |
| il ragazzo | i ragazzi | the boy / the boys |
| l’amico | gli amici | the friend / the friends |
| il treno | i treni | the train / the trains |
| il gatto | i gatti | the cat / the cats |
Rule 2: feminine nouns ending in -a form their plural in -e
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| la ragazza | le ragazze | the girl / the girls |
| la casa | le case | the house / the houses |
| la porta | le porte | the door / the doors |
| la scuola | le scuole | the school / the schools |
| la parola | le parole | the word / the words |
Rule 3: nouns ending in -e (masculine or feminine) form their plural in -i
| Singular | Gender | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| il padre | masc. | i padri | the father / the fathers |
| la madre | fem. | le madri | the mother / the mothers |
| il fiore | masc. | i fiori | the flower / the flowers |
| la chiave | fem. | le chiavi | the key / the keys |
| il pesce | masc. | i pesci | the fish / the fish |
| la notte | fem. | le notti | the night / the nights |
Nouns ending in -ca, -ga: the preserving h
In Italian, the sounds [k] and [g] (hard) before e or i would become [tʃ] and [dʒ] (soft). To preserve the hard sound, an h is inserted between the consonant and the plural ending.Rule: feminine nouns in -ca and -ga form their plural in -che and -ghe
| Singular | Plural | Translation | Sound preserved |
|---|---|---|---|
| l’amica | le amiche | the friend / the friends | [k] |
| la banca | le banche | the bank / the banks | [k] |
| la bottega | le botteghe | the shop / the shops | [g] |
| la strega | le streghe | the witch / the witches | [g] |
| la riga | le righe | the line / the lines | [g] |
| la manica | le maniche | the sleeve / the sleeves | [k] |
Nouns ending in -co, -go: the stress rule
For masculine nouns ending in -co and -go, the situation is more complex. The plural depends on the stress of the word: if the stress falls on the penultimate syllable (paroxytone), the hard sound is generally preserved with an h. If the stress falls on the syllable before that (proparoxytone), the sound becomes soft without an h.Stress on the penultimate syllable → plural in -chi / -ghi (hard sound preserved)
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il fuoco | i fuochi | the fire / the fires |
| il gioco | i giochi | the game / the games |
| il lago | i laghi | the lake / the lakes |
| il luogo | i luoghi | the place / the places |
| il fungo | i funghi | the mushroom / the mushrooms |
Stress on the antepenultimate syllable → plural in -ci / -gi (soft sound)
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il medico | i medici | the doctor / the doctors |
| il monaco | i monaci | the monk / the monks |
| l’asparago | gli asparagi | the asparagus / the asparagus |
| il manico | i manici | the handle / the handles |
Nouns ending in -cia, -gia: the deciding vowel
Feminine nouns ending in -cia and -gia follow a rule that depends on what precedes these endings.Preceded by a vowel → plural in -cie / -gie (the i is kept)
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| la camicia | le camicie | the shirt / the shirts |
| la valigia | le valigie | the suitcase / the suitcases |
| la ciliegia | le ciliegie | the cherry / the cherries |
Preceded by a consonant → plural in -ce / -ge (the i disappears)
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| la faccia | le facce | the face / the faces |
| la doccia | le docce | the shower / the showers |
| la frangia | le frange | the fringe / the fringes |
| la pioggia | le piogge | the rain / the rains |
Invariable nouns
Some Italian nouns do not change form in the plural. The article and adjectives that accompany them indicate number. These nouns fall into four main categories. Words of foreign origin:| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il bar | i bar | the bar / the bars |
| il film | i film | the film / the films |
| lo sport | gli sport | the sport / the sports |
| il tram | i tram | the tram / the trams |
| il computer | i computer | the computer / the computers |
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| la città | le città | the city / the cities |
| il caffè | i caffè | the coffee / the coffees |
| la virtù | le virtù | the virtue / the virtues |
| l’università | le università | the university / the universities |
| il lunedì | i lunedì | Monday / Mondays |
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il re | i re | the king / the kings |
| la foto | le foto | the photo / the photos (abbreviation of fotografia) |
| la moto | le moto | the motorbike / the motorbikes (abbreviation of motocicletta) |
| la radio | le radio | the radio / the radios (abbreviation of radiotelefonia) |
| l’auto | le auto | the car / the cars (abbreviation of automobile) |
Nouns that change gender in the plural
This is the most confusing special case for English speakers. Some masculine singular nouns ending in -o form a feminine plural in -a. These nouns often refer to body parts or have a Latin neuter origin. The article also changes to reflect the new feminine gender.| Singular (masculine) | Plural (feminine) | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| il braccio | le braccia | the arm / the arms |
| il ginocchio | le ginocchia | the knee / the knees |
| il dito | le dita | the finger / the fingers |
| l’osso | le ossa | the bone / the bones |
| il labbro | le labbra | the lip / the lips |
| l’uovo | le uova | the egg / the eggs |
| il centinaio | le centinaia | the hundred / the hundreds |
| il migliaio | le migliaia | the thousand / the thousands |
Irregular plurals to memorise
| Singular | Plural | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| l’uomo | gli uomini | the man / the men | Completely irregular |
| il dio | gli dei | the god / the gods | Irregular |
| il bue | i buoi | the ox / the oxen | Irregular |
| l’ala | le ali | the wing / the wings | Feminine in -a → -i (exception to the -a → -e rule) |
| l’arma | le armi | the weapon / the weapons | Same exception |
| il tempio | i templi | the temple / the temples | Loses the linking -i- |
The plural of masculine nouns ending in -io
Masculine nouns ending in -io follow a rule that depends on the position of the stress.If the i is stressed → plural in -ii
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| lo zio | gli zii | the uncle / the uncles |
| il mio (poss.) | i miei | my / my (plural) |
If the i is unstressed → simple plural in -i
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| l’occhio | gli occhi | the eye / the eyes |
| il foglio | i fogli | the sheet / the sheets |
| lo specchio | gli specchi | the mirror / the mirrors |
| il figlio | i figli | the son / the sons |
Summary table of rules
| Singular ending | Gender | Plural ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | Masculine | -i | libro → libri |
| -a | Feminine | -e | casa → case |
| -e | Masc. or fem. | -i | padre → padri / chiave → chiavi |
| -ca / -ga | Feminine | -che / -ghe | amica → amiche |
| -co / -go (paroxytone) | Masculine | -chi / -ghi | fuoco → fuochi |
| -co / -go (proparoxytone) | Masculine | -ci / -gi | medico → medici |
| -cia / -gia (after vowel) | Feminine | -cie / -gie | camicia → camicie |
| -cia / -gia (after consonant) | Feminine | -ce / -ge | doccia → docce |
| -io (stressed i) | Masculine | -ii | zio → zii |
| -io (unstressed i) | Masculine | -i | foglio → fogli |
| final stress / foreign | Masc. or fem. | invariable | città → città / film → film |
| -o (body / Latin neuter) | Masc. singular → fem. plural | -a | braccio → braccia |
Practice exercise
Test your knowledge of the Italian plural:
Question 1: What is the plural of l’amica (the friend)?
Amica ends in -ca. To preserve the [k] sound before the feminine plural ending -e, an h is added: amiche. Without the h, amice would be pronounced [a-mi-tʃe], which would be incorrect.
Question 2: What is the plural of il braccio (the arm)?
Braccio is one of the masculine singular nouns that form a feminine plural in -a: le braccia. This phenomenon mainly affects body parts and goes back to Latin neuters. The article changes from il (masculine singular) to le (feminine plural).
Question 3: Why is la città (the city) invariable in the plural?
In Italian, words stressed on the last syllable (such as città, caffè, virtù, università) are invariable in the plural. The form does not change: only the article indicates number — la città / le città.
Question 4: What is the plural of la doccia (the shower)?
In doccia, the -cia is preceded by a consonant (c). When -cia is preceded by a consonant, the i disappears in the plural and the result is -ce. The same rule applies to faccia → facce, pioggia → piogge. If a vowel precedes, the i is kept: camicia → camicie.
Question 5: What is the plural of il medico (the doctor)?
Medico is a proparoxytone (stress on the antepenultimate syllable: ME-di-co). Masculine nouns ending in -co with stress on the antepenultimate syllable form their plural in -ci (soft sound): medici. If the stress fell on the penultimate syllable, the ending would be -chi.
Question 6: What is the plural of lo zio (the uncle)?
In zio, the i is stressed. Nouns ending in -io with a stressed i form their plural in -ii: zii. Nouns with an unstressed i (like foglio) keep only one i: fogli.
