In Italian, there are many ways to say the and a, which can be surprising for learners! These words that mean the are called definite articles, and the words that mean a are called indefinite articles. Italian articles—just like Italian adjectives—will change depending on the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun. There are also different forms of articles for words starting with a consonant and those starting with vowels or special combinations of consonants.
Here’s what you need to know about which article to use for different Italian nouns.
Definite and indefinite articles in Italian: an overview
There are a lot of forms of articles in Italian:
Since there are many options to choose from when it comes to Italian articles, there are few questions you can ask yourself to be sure of which one you need.
Do I need a definite or indefinite article?
Is the noun masculine or feminine?
Is the noun singular or plural?
What sound does the following word start with?
Examples of definite and indefinite articles in Italian
Do I need a definite or indefinite article?
Just like English, Italian has distinct definite and indefinite articles. Definite articles typically refer to a specific noun, especially one that the listener is aware of or that has been discussed before. The is the definite article in English.
Indefinite articles are for referring to a noun more generally, when there might not be a specific one the speaker has in mind.
Compare the sentences I have the car and I have a car: In the first sentence, we can assume that you’re aware of which car I’m talking about—like maybe I borrowed your car and haven’t returned it yet 🫣 Meanwhile, in the second sentence, the specific car itself is less important—I’m just saying I can drive somewhere if needed.
- Definite articles: il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le
- Indefinite articles: un, uno, una, un’
Notice that the definite articles all contain an “l,” and the indefinite articles all begin with a “u”!
Is the noun masculine or feminine?
Like other Romance languages, Italian uses grammatical gender to group nouns into two categories: masculine and feminine. In Italian, the article will match the gender of the noun it goes with, so you’ll learn different articles for each gender.
- Masculine articles: il, l’, lo, un, uno, i, gli
- Feminine articles: la, l’, una, un’, le
Notice that l’ is used with both masculine and feminine nouns!
Is the noun singular or plural?
In English, we use the definite article the before all nouns, whether they are singular or plural—for example, we can say the plate but also the plates—but Italian has different forms.
For the definite articles in Italian, you’ll use a singular form with singular nouns and a plural form with plural nouns.
But for indefinite articles, there are only singular forms in Italian. That’s because a different kind of article, called the partitive, is used for plurals—kind of like how we say a cappuccino but some cappuccinos in English.
- Singular articles: il, lo, la, l’, un, uno, una, un’
- Plural articles (definite only!): i, gli, le
What sound does the following word start with?
It also matters what sounds (or letters) the word after the article starts with. English does this, too—we say a strawberry but an apple!
For singular feminine nouns that start with a vowel, the definite and indefinite articles are attached to the noun: l’insalata (the salad), un’insalata (a salad).
For masculine nouns, there are more exceptions. First, articles attach to singular masculine nouns that start with a vowel sound or silent “h,” like in l’uomo (the man).
Then, there are different forms of the articles used before special sounds or sound combinations. You’ll use the articles lo, uno, and gli before the following sounds:
- “gn,” “pn,” and “ps”
- “s” followed by a consonant
- “x” and “z”
- “y” (and “i” when it sounds like “y”)
So you say lo specchio (the mirror) and gli specchi (the mirrors). You’ll use the forms lo, uno, and gli anytime the word that directly follows the article begins with one of the special sounds or sound combinations above, even if it’s not a noun. For example, il cappuccino (the cappuccino) doesn’t start with one of the sounds listed above, but if we add the adjective stesso (same), we have to change il to lo: lo stesso cappuccino (the same cappuccino).
- Articles before regular consonants: il, la, un, una, i, le
- Articles before vowels: l’, un, un’
- Articles before special sounds: lo, uno, gli
Examples of definite and indefinite articles in Italian
| Indefinite (a, an) |
Definite (the) singular |
Definite (the) plural |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine (before most consonants) |
un tavolo a table |
il tavolo the table |
i tavoli the tables |
| Masculine (before vowels and silent “h”) |
un albero a tree |
l’albero the tree |
gli alberi the trees |
| Masculine (before special letters or letter combinations) |
uno zaino a backpack uno spazzolino a toothbrush |
lo zaino the backpack lo spazzolino the toothbrush |
gli zaini the backpacks gli spazzolini the toothbrushes |
| Feminine (before consonants) |
una finestra a window |
la finestra the window |
le finestre the windows |
| Feminine (before vowels) |
un’insalata a salad |
l’insalata the salad |
le insalate the salads |
You can definitely feel confident using Italian articles!
There are many forms of articles in Italian, but luckily there are just a few patterns to get the hang of. Remember to keep in mind the gender and number of the noun and the particular sound the article is in front of, and you’ll be well on your way!