| About plural sopra i plurali
The plural in Italian is quite different from the plural in English or any other romance languages such as Spanish, French or Portuguese. The general rule in English is to add the letter ” s ” at the end of a word.
In Italian the general rule is to substitute the last letter of a a masculine word for the vowel ” i ” or if it is a feminine word the general rule is to substitute the last letter for the vowel ” e “.
Examples Esempio
| Singular |
Plural |
Translation |
| Il libro |
I libri |
The book the books |
| La tavola |
le tavole |
The table The tables |
| Il bambino |
i bambini |
The baby the babies |
| La ragazza |
Le ragazze |
The girl – the girls |
Words ending in co/ go or cio/gio
In order to keep the sound of singular words ending in co/go or cio/gio there are some specific rules.
Most of the words ending in “co” and “go” follow the general rule that was mentioned above, but in some cases the pronunciation is changed when the vowel i is added to form the plural.
Usually words ending in VCV (vowel – consonant – vowel) have the pronunciation changed in the plural. Words ending in CCV (consonant consonant vowel) do not have the pronunciation changed but some orthographic adjustments may be necessary in order to keep the sound of the word. Study the chart below:
| Singular |
Plural |
Translation |
Observation |
| L’amico |
Gli amici |
The friend the friends |
The rule is the same but the pronunciation of the “c” is different. |
| Il medico |
I medici |
The (medical) doctor – the doctors |
The rule is the same but the pronunciation of the “c” is different |
| Tedesco |
Tedeschi
(‘Tedesci’ would change the pronunciation) |
German – Germans |
The rule is different but the pronunciation of the “c” is the same |
| Il fungo |
I funghi
(‘fungi’ would change the pronunciation) |
The mushroom – the mushrooms |
The rule is different but the pronunciation of the “g” is the same |
| Il dialogo |
I dialoghi
(‘dialogi’ would change the pronunciation) |
The dialogue – the dialogues |
The rule is different but the pronunciation of the “g” is the same |
Words ending in “cio”, “zio” and “gio” are subjected to a different rule. To get the word pluralized you just must drop the last vowel.
| Singular |
Plural |
Translation |
Observation |
| Il bacio |
I baci (not ‘bacioi’) |
The kiss the kisses |
The pronunciation of the “c” is the same although the rule is different. |
| Il carpaccio |
I carpacci
(not ‘carpaccii’) |
The carpaccio (food) – The ‘carpaccios’ |
The pronunciation of the “c” is the same although the rule is different. |
| Il negozio |
I negozi
(not ‘i negozioi) |
The transaction – the transactions |
The pronunciation of the “z” is the same although the rule is different. |
| Il vantaggio |
I vantaggi |
The advantage |
The pronunciation of the “g” is the same although the rule is different. |
Some words ending in “č” or “ŕ” dont suffer any changes when pluralized and some words can be masculine in the singular form and feminine in the plural form.
| Singular |
Plural |
Translation |
Observation |
| Il caffč |
I caffč |
The coffee The coffee |
The same word must be used in the singular and in the plural. |
| La cittŕ |
Le cittŕ |
The city The cities |
The same word must be used in the singular and in the plural. |
| La foto
(la fotografia) |
Le foto |
The photo The photos |
The same word must be used in the singular and in the plural. |
| Il labbro |
Le labbra |
The lip The lips |
The word is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. |
| L’uovo |
Le uova |
The egg The eggs |
The word is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. |
| Il paio |
Le paia |
The couple The couples |
The word is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. |
| Il braccio |
Le braccia |
The arm The arms |
The word is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. |
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