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Plurals in Italian: General Rules and Special Cases

In brief
  • 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 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.

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
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Some words accept both forms. Il stomaco can become stomaci or stomachi, both being correct. L’amico, however, only makes amici (soft sound), despite the stress on the penultimate syllable — this is an exception to memorise.

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
Words stressed on the last syllable:
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
Monosyllables and abbreviations:
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
These nouns often retain a regular masculine form with a different meaning. Il dito makes le dita (the fingers of the body) but i diti is sometimes used in a more general sense. L’osso makes le ossa for the bones of the skeleton but gli ossi when referring to animal bones for cooking or gnawing. This distinction in meaning is important in everyday language.

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
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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.

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