How do you make nouns plural in Italian?

Change the final vowel. Masculine nouns in -o take -i (libro, libri), feminine nouns in -a take -e (casa, case), and nouns in -e take -i whatever their gender (fiore, fiori; chiave, chiavi). The article changes too: il → i, lo → gli, la → le.

Which Italian nouns do not change in the plural?

Nouns ending in a stressed vowel (città, caffè, università), nouns ending in a consonant (film, sport, bar), one-syllable nouns (re), nouns in -i (crisi), and shortened words (foto, auto, moto). Only the article shows the plural: la città, le città.

Why is the plural of uovo uova?

Uovo belongs to a small group of nouns that are masculine in the singular and take a feminine plural in -a. The same pattern gives dito, dita; braccio, braccia; and paio, paia. The plural takes feminine agreement: le uova fresche.

What is the plural of words ending in -co and -ca?

Feminine -ca always becomes -che: amica, amiche. Masculine -co usually becomes -chi when the stress is on the second-to-last syllable (gioco, giochi) and -ci when it falls earlier (medico, medici). Amico, amici and greco, greci are common exceptions.

Do Italian adjectives change in the plural?

Yes. Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number: il libro nuovo, i libri nuovi; la casa bianca, le case bianche. Adjectives in -e take -i for both genders: la ragazza felice, le ragazze felici.

Italian grammar · Beginner

Italian Plurals

Written by Parrot Italian Team, Italian Curriculum Editors · Reviewed October 2026

Italian plurals are formed by changing the final vowel of the noun, not by adding -s. Masculine -o becomes -i (libro, libri), feminine -a becomes -e (casa, case), and -e becomes -i for both genders (fiore, fiori). Nouns that end in an accented vowel or a consonant, such as città and film, do not change at all.

Ho comprato due libri e tre penne.

I bought two books and three pens.

What it is

English adds -s. Italian swaps the last vowel. Which vowel comes in depends on the ending and the gender: -o goes to -i, feminine -a goes to -e, and -e goes to -i. The article changes too, so il libro becomes i libri and la casa becomes le case. A small group of nouns never change, and a few very common ones are irregular.

il libro, i libri; la casa, le case; il fiore, i fiori; la chiave, le chiavi; la città, le città.

How to spot it

Look at the article and the last vowel together. I, gli, and le are plural articles, and an -i or -e ending usually confirms it. If the noun looks the same in both forms, the article is the only sign: il film, i film.

il ragazzo, i ragazzi (the boy, the boys)
la penna, le penne (the pen, the pens)
lo studente, gli studenti (the student, the students)
il caffè, i caffè (the coffee, the coffees)

Adjectives change with the noun: la casa bianca, le case bianche. Plural agreement runs through the whole phrase.

Plurals Quick Reference

The plural patterns, by ending and gender

Singular ending	Plural ending	Gender	Example
-o	-i	Masculine	il libro, i libri
-a	-e	Feminine	la casa, le case
-a	-i	Masculine	il problema, i problemi
-e	-i	Masculine	il fiore, i fiori
-e	-i	Feminine	la notte, le notti
-ca, -ga	-che, -ghe	Feminine	l'amica, le amiche; la riga, le righe
-co, -go	-chi, -ghi or -ci, -gi	Masculine	il gioco, i giochi; il medico, i medici
-io (unstressed i)	-i	Masculine	il negozio, i negozi
Accented vowel	no change	Both	la città, le città; il caffè, i caffè
Consonant	no change	Both	il film, i film; lo sport, gli sport
One syllable	no change	Both	il re, i re
-i	no change	Feminine	la crisi, le crisi

Common Plurals Examples in Italian

Italian plurals in everyday sentences:

-O to -I and -A to -E

I ragazzi giocano nel parco.: The boys are playing in the park.
Le finestre sono aperte.: The windows are open.

These two patterns cover most Italian nouns.

-E to -I

Le chiavi sono nella borsa.: The keys are in the bag.
I giornali di oggi sono sul tavolo.: Today's newspapers are on the table.

Nouns in -e can be masculine (il giornale) or feminine (la chiave). Both take -i in the plural, so the article shows the gender.

Invariable Nouns

Ho visitato tre città.: I visited three cities.
Due caffè, per favore.: Two coffees, please.
Abbiamo visto due film.: We watched two films.

Foreign words never take -s in Italian: due film, tre bar, gli sport.

Irregular Plurals

Mi fanno male le mani.: My hands hurt.
Ho comprato sei uova.: I bought six eggs.
Ci sono due uomini alla porta.: There are two men at the door.

These are some of the most common nouns in the language, so they are worth learning early.

How Italian Plurals Are Formed

Change the vowel, change the article, and watch for a few spelling rules that keep the sound the same.

Swap the Vowel, Do Not Add -S

Remove the final vowel and add the plural ending: -o and -e become -i, and feminine -a becomes -e. Italian nouns almost never end in a consonant, and the plural never adds one.

un libro, due libri

one book, two books

-o → -i, -a → -e, -e → -i.

The Article Changes Too

Il becomes i, lo and masculine l' become gli, and la and feminine l' become le. The article often shows the plural more clearly than the noun does.

lo zaino, gli zaini; l'amica, le amiche

the backpack, the backpacks; the friend, the friends

il → i, lo / l' → gli, la / l' → le.

Keep the Hard Sound With an H

Feminine -ca and -ga always become -che and -ghe, so the c and g stay hard. Masculine -co usually becomes -chi when the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable (gioco, giochi), and -ci when it falls earlier (medico, medici). Masculine -go usually becomes -ghi (albergo, alberghi), but nouns for people in -logo take -gi (psicologo, psicologi). Amico, amici is a common exception.

Le mie amiche lavorano negli alberghi.

My friends work in hotels.

amica → amiche, albergo → alberghi.

Masculine Nouns in -A Take -I

A group of masculine nouns ends in -a, many of them from Greek: il problema, il programma, il sistema, il tema. They take the masculine plural -i, not -e.

Ho due problemi con il programma.

I have two problems with the program.

il problema, i problemi.

Accented Vowels and Consonants Never Change

Nouns that end in a stressed vowel (città, caffè, università), in a consonant (film, bar, sport), or that have one syllable (re) are the same in the singular and the plural. Only the article changes.

Ho visitato molte città e ho bevuto molti caffè.

I visited many cities and drank lots of coffees.

la città, le città.

Common Mistakes with Plurals

Incorrect: Abbiamo visto due films. (We watched two films.)

Correct: Abbiamo visto due film. (We watched two films.)

Italian does not add -s to make a plural, not even to English words. Nouns that end in a consonant are invariable.

Incorrect: le uove (the eggs)

Correct: le uova (the eggs)

Uovo has an irregular plural in -a. It is feminine in the plural, so the article is le, but the ending is -a, not -e.

Incorrect: le probleme (the problems)

Correct: i problemi (the problems)

Problema ends in -a but is masculine, so its plural is i problemi.

Incorrect: La gente sono simpatici. (People are nice.)

Correct: La gente è simpatica. (People are nice.)

English people is plural, but Italian gente is a feminine singular noun. The verb and the adjective must be singular.

Irregular and Special Plurals

A short list of common nouns break the patterns. Most of them are everyday words, so you will need them early.

Common irregular nouns

A few nouns change more than their last vowel: uomo becomes uomini, and dio becomes dei (with the article gli). Mano is feminine even though it ends in -o, and its plural is mani.

un uomo, due uomini: one man, two men
una mano, due mani: one hand, two hands
il dio, gli dei: the god, the gods

Mano keeps its feminine article and agreement: le mani fredde, cold hands.

Masculine singular, feminine plural in -a

Some nouns are masculine in the singular but take a feminine plural ending in -a: l'uovo, le uova; il dito, le dita; il braccio, le braccia; il paio, le paia.

un uovo, due uova: one egg, two eggs
il dito, le dita: the finger, the fingers
il braccio, le braccia: the arm, the arms
un paio, due paia: one pair, two pairs

These plurals take feminine agreement: le uova sono fresche (the eggs are fresh).

Invariable nouns

Nouns with a stressed final vowel, a final consonant, one syllable, or a final -i do not change. Shortened words such as foto (fotografia), auto (automobile), and moto (motocicletta) do not change either.

la foto, le foto: the photo, the photos
il re, i re: the king, the kings
l'università, le università: the university, the universities
la crisi, le crisi: the crisis, the crises

Foto, auto, and moto stay feminine because the full words are feminine.

Nouns in -cia and -gia

If a consonant comes before -cia or -gia, the plural drops the i: -ce, -ge. If a vowel comes before, the i stays: -cie, -gie.

l'arancia, le arance: the orange, the oranges
la spiaggia, le spiagge: the beach, the beaches
la camicia, le camicie: the shirt, the shirts
la valigia, le valigie: the suitcase, the suitcases

When the i is stressed, as in farmacia, it always stays: le farmacie.

Quick Check: Plurals

Write the plural of each noun.

1. il treno → i ___

Answer: treni

-o → -i

2. la stella → le ___

Answer: stelle

-a → -e

3. il cane → i ___

Answer: cani

-e → -i

4. la città → le ___

Answer: città

stressed final vowel, no change

5. l'uomo → gli ___

Answer: uomini

irregular

6. l'amica → le ___

Answer: amiche

-ca → -che

Plurals FAQs

How do you make nouns plural in Italian?: Change the final vowel. Masculine nouns in -o take -i (libro, libri), feminine nouns in -a take -e (casa, case), and nouns in -e take -i whatever their gender (fiore, fiori; chiave, chiavi). The article changes too: il → i, lo → gli, la → le.
Which Italian nouns do not change in the plural?: Nouns ending in a stressed vowel (città, caffè, università), nouns ending in a consonant (film, sport, bar), one-syllable nouns (re), nouns in -i (crisi), and shortened words (foto, auto, moto). Only the article shows the plural: la città, le città.
Why is the plural of uovo uova?: Uovo belongs to a small group of nouns that are masculine in the singular and take a feminine plural in -a. The same pattern gives dito, dita; braccio, braccia; and paio, paia. The plural takes feminine agreement: le uova fresche.
What is the plural of words ending in -co and -ca?: Feminine -ca always becomes -che: amica, amiche. Masculine -co usually becomes -chi when the stress is on the second-to-last syllable (gioco, giochi) and -ci when it falls earlier (medico, medici). Amico, amici and greco, greci are common exceptions.
Do Italian adjectives change in the plural?: Yes. Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number: il libro nuovo, i libri nuovi; la casa bianca, le case bianche. Adjectives in -e take -i for both genders: la ragazza felice, le ragazze felici.