Noun Gender

In brief

Every Italian noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. This applies to objects and ideas, not just people. Gender affects words that describe the noun, so it helps to learn each noun together with its gender.

Form

Nouns ending in -o are often masculine (libro); nouns ending in -a are often feminine (casa). Nouns ending in -e can be either (fiore is masculine; notte is feminine). These are clues, not guarantees.

Usage

• Use a noun’s gender to choose the matching form of a describing word: libro nuovo, casa nuova.
• For nouns ending in -e, learn the gender with the word rather than guessing.

Examples

• Il libro è nuovo. — The book is new.
• La casa è nuova. — The house is new.
• Il fiore è bello. — The flower is beautiful.
• La notte è lunga. — The night is long.

Common mistake

❌ Il fiore è bella.

✅ Il fiore è bello.

Fiore is masculine even though it ends in -e, so the describing word takes the masculine form bello.

Remember

An ending can suggest gender, but learning the gender with each noun is more reliable.