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5,000+ Italian words from 44 simple rules

Verbamor's free Italian word patterns list turns English you already know into Italian you can understand and say. Learn one of the 44 rules and a whole group of words comes with it, so together they cover 5,000+ words. The page and the PDF give you 350 examples to start with. The first 4 are open below. Leave your email to open the other 40 and get the printable PDF.

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-tion → -zione

information in English is informazione in Italian.

44 patterns
350 example words
7 groups
Free PDF

Words you already know 24

English shares thousands of words with Italian. Learn one ending and you get the whole group.

-tion-zioneFeminine, la Nation, station, information -tion becomes -zione

English words that end in -tion end in -zione in Italian. These words are feminine. Say la nazione. The plural is -zioni.

la nazionenation
l'informazioneinformation
l'educazioneeducation
la stazionestation
la conversazioneconversation
l'attenzioneattention
la celebrazionecelebration
la situazionesituation

-sion-sioneFeminine, la Television, decision, version -sion becomes -sione

English words that end in -sion end in -sione. These words are feminine. Say la decisione.

la televisionetelevision
la decisionedecision
la versioneversion
l'occasioneoccasion
la passionepassion
la tensionetension
la confusioneconfusion
l'esplosioneexplosion

-ty-tàFeminine, la University, city, liberty -ty becomes -tà

English words that end in -ty end in -tà. These words are feminine. The word does not change in the plural. La città. Le città.

l'universitàuniversity
la cittàcity
la libertàliberty
la societàsociety
la realtàreality
la qualitàquality
l'attivitàactivity
la possibilitàpossibility

-ly-mente Finally, normally, probably -ly becomes -mente

English adverbs that end in -ly end in -mente. Take the feminine adjective. Add -mente. Rapida becomes rapidamente.

finalmentefinally
normalmentenormally
probabilmenteprobably
generalmentegenerally
esattamenteexactly
rapidamenterapidly
completamentecompletely
specialmenteespecially

-ous-oso Famous, delicious, curious -ous becomes -oso

English adjectives that end in -ous end in -oso. Use -osa with a feminine noun. Un uomo famoso. Una donna famosa.

famosofamous
deliziosodelicious
curiosocurious
nervosonervous
generosogenerous
pericolosodangerous
preziosoprecious
misteriosomysterious

-ic-ico Fantastic, romantic, electric -ic becomes -ico

English adjectives that end in -ic or -ical end in -ico. Use -ica with a feminine noun. The stress stays on the vowel before -ico. There is no written accent.

fantasticofantastic
romanticoromantic
elettricoelectric
pubblicopublic
tipicotypical
politicopolitical
classicoclassic
economicoeconomic

-al-ale Animal, normal, final -al becomes -ale

English words that end in -al add an e. Normal is normale. The plural is -ali. Say normali.

animaleanimal
ospedalehospital
naturalenatural
finalefinal
normalenormal
totaletotal
personalepersonal
capitalecapital

-ist-ista Artist, tourist, journalist -ist becomes -ista

English words for people that end in -ist end in -ista. The word is the same for men and women. The plural changes. Turisti for men. Turiste for women.

artistaartist
turistatourist
dentistadentist
pianistapianist
ottimistaoptimist
specialistaspecialist
giornalistajournalist
realistarealist

-ism-ismoMasculine, il Tourism, optimism, realism -ism becomes -ismo

English words that end in -ism end in -ismo. These words are masculine. Say il turismo.

il turismotourism
l'ottimismooptimism
il capitalismocapitalism
il realismorealism
l'organismoorganism
il meccanismomechanism
il socialismosocialism
il giornalismojournalism

-ble-bile Possible, terrible, flexible -ble becomes -bile

English adjectives that end in -ble end in -bile. Possible is possibile. The plural is -bili. Say possibili.

possibilepossible
terribileterrible
responsabileresponsible
orribilehorrible
probabileprobable
flessibileflexible
visibilevisible
incredibileincredible

-ent / -ant-ente / -ante Important, student, restaurant -ent / -ant becomes -ente / -ante

English words that end in -ent or -ant add an e. Important is importante. Student is studente. The word is the same for masculine and feminine.

importanteimportant
presidentepresident
studentestudent
elefanteelephant
ristoranterestaurant
intelligenteintelligent
eccellenteexcellent
differentedifferent

-ance / -ence-anza / -enzaFeminine, la Distance, experience, science -ance / -ence becomes -anza / -enza

English words that end in -ance or -ence end in -anza or -enza. These words are feminine. Say l'esperienza.

la distanzadistance
l'importanzaimportance
l'esperienzaexperience
la differenzadifference
la pazienzapatience
la scienzascience
la presenzapresence
l'eleganzaelegance

-age-aggioMasculine, il Message, courage, advantage -age becomes -aggio

English words that end in -age often end in -aggio in Italian. These words are masculine. Say il viaggio. The plural is -aggi. Say i viaggi.

il messaggiomessage
il coraggiocourage
il villaggiovillage
il passaggiopassage
il massaggiomassage
il linguaggiolanguage
il vantaggioadvantage
il viaggiotrip

-or-oreMasculine, il Color, error, motor -or becomes -ore

English words that end in -or add an e. Color is colore. These words are masculine. Say il colore. The plural is -ori. Say i colori.

il colorecolor
l'erroreerror
il motoremotor
il favorefavor
l'onorehonor
il terroreterror
il dottoredoctor
l'attoreactor

-ate-are Celebrate, create, participate -ate becomes -are

English verbs that end in -ate often end in -are in Italian. Remove -ate. Add -are. These verbs are regular. Say io celebro.

celebrareto celebrate
creareto create
partecipareto participate
comunicareto communicate
decorareto decorate
separareto separate
educareto educate
calcolareto calculate

-ize / -ify-izzare / -ificare Organize, authorize, identify -ize / -ify becomes -izzare / -ificare

English verbs that end in -ize end in -izzare. English verbs that end in -ify end in -ificare. Organize is organizzare. Identify is identificare.

organizzareto organize
utilizzareto utilize
autorizzareto authorize
modernizzareto modernize
identificareto identify
modificareto modify
semplificareto simplify
verificareto verify

-sis-siFeminine, la Crisis, analysis, thesis -sis becomes -si

English words that end in -sis end in -si in Italian. These words are feminine. Say la crisi. The plural does not change. Say le crisi.

la crisicrisis
l'analisianalysis
la tesithesis
l'ipotesihypothesis
la sintesisynthesis
l'enfasiemphasis
la diagnosidiagnosis
l'oasioasis

ct / pttt Perfect, direct, October Ct / pt becomes tt

Italian does not write ct or pt. It writes tt. Perfect is perfetto. October is ottobre. September is settembre.

perfettoperfect
direttodirect
contattocontact
prodottoproduct
insettoinsect
attoact
ottobreOctober
settembreSeptember

xss Maximum, complex, toxic X becomes ss

Italian does not use x in its own words. It often writes ss. Maximum is massimo. Complex is complesso. Toxic is tossico.

massimomaximum
complessocomplex
tossicotoxic
lussoluxury
fissofixed
riflessoreflex
tassatax
sassofonosaxophone

-ology-ologiaFeminine, la Biology, technology, psychology -ology becomes -ologia

English words that end in -ology end in -ologia in Italian. These words are feminine. Say la biologia. The stress is on the i.

la biologiabiology
la psicologiapsychology
la tecnologiatechnology
l'ecologiaecology
la sociologiasociology
l'archeologiaarchaeology
la mitologiamythology
l'ideologiaideology

-ary-ario Necessary, vocabulary, salary -ary becomes -ario

English words that end in -ary often end in -ario. Most are masculine nouns. Say il dizionario. A few are adjectives. Necessary is necessario. Use -aria with a feminine noun. Say una cosa necessaria.

necessarionecessary
vocabolariovocabulary
salariosalary
anniversarioanniversary
dizionariodictionary
contrariocontrary
itinerarioitinerary
straordinarioextraordinary

-ive-ivo Active, positive, creative -ive becomes -ivo

English adjectives that end in -ive end in -ivo. Use -iva with a feminine noun. Un uomo attivo. Una donna attiva.

attivoactive
positivopositive
negativonegative
creativocreative
intuitivointuitive
esclusivoexclusive
aggressivoaggressive
nativonative

-ure-uraFeminine, la Culture, temperature, adventure -ure becomes -ura

English words that end in -ure often end in -ura. These words are feminine. Say la cultura.

la culturaculture
la temperaturatemperature
la strutturastructure
la figurafigure
la letteraturaliterature
l'architetturaarchitecture
l'avventuraadventure
l'agricolturaagriculture

phf Telephone, pharmacy, philosophy Ph becomes f

Italian has no ph. It writes f. Telephone is telefono. Italian also has no th. It writes t. Theater is teatro.

filosofiaphilosophy
telefonotelephone
farmaciapharmacy
fotografiaphotography
frasephrase
fisicaphysics
alfabetoalphabet
geografiageography

Gender and articles 8

The ending or the meaning of a word often gives its gender. Learn the group, not each word.

loMasculine, il Backpack, sugar, mirror Lo goes before s + consonant, z, gn, ps and y

Masculine words take lo before s + consonant, z, gn, ps and y. Say lo zaino and lo stadio. The plural is gli. Say gli zaini. Other masculine words take il.

lo zainobackpack
lo ziouncle
lo zuccherosugar
lo specchiomirror
lo stadiostadium
lo sbagliomistake
lo yogurtyogurt
lo psicologopsychologist

mia Mother, brother, husband One family member takes no article

Italian uses the article with my and your. Say la mia casa. One family member takes no article. Say mia madre and mio fratello. The plural takes the article again. Say i miei fratelli.

mia madremother
mio padrefather
mio fratellobrother
mia sorellasister
mio nonnograndfather
mia nonnagrandmother
mio maritohusband
mia mogliewife

il / la Italy, Brazil, Japan Countries take the article

Countries take the article. Say l'Italia and il Brasile. After in, the article drops. Say vivo in Italia. A plural name keeps it. Say negli Stati Uniti.

l'ItaliaItaly
la FranciaFrance
la GermaniaGermany
la SpagnaSpain
il BrasileBrazil
il GiapponeJapan
il MessicoMexico
gli Stati UnitiUnited States

a Florence, Venice, Naples Cities take a and no article

Cities take no article. Use a to say in or to. Say vivo a Roma. Countries take in. Say vivo in Italia. A few city names include an article. Say L'Aquila and La Spezia.

RomaRome
FirenzeFlorence
VeneziaVenice
NapoliNaples
TorinoTurin
LondraLondon
ParigiParis
BerlinoBerlin

-maMasculine, il Problem, system, climate Greek words in -ma are masculine

Most words that end in -a are feminine. Words from Greek that end in -ma are masculine. Say il problema. The plural ends in -i. Say i problemi.

il problemaproblem
il sistemasystem
il tematopic
il climaclimate
il programmaprogram
il poemapoem
il drammadrama
il diplomadiploma

a → o Apple, pear, cherry The fruit is feminine, the tree is masculine

The fruit often ends in -a and is feminine. Change -a to -o for the tree. The tree is masculine. La mela grows on il melo. Il limone and il fico name the fruit and the tree.

la mela · il meloapple
la pera · il peropear
l'arancia · l'arancioorange
la ciliegia · il ciliegiocherry
l'oliva · l'olivoolive
la banana · il bananobanana
la pesca · il pescopeach
la castagna · il castagnochestnut

la Head, leg, foot Body parts take the article, not my

Italian uses the article with parts of the body. It does not use my or your. Say mi fa male la testa. Say mi lavo le mani.

la testahead
la gambaleg
il piedefoot
l'occhioeye
la boccamouth
la schienaback
lo stomacostomach
il nasonose

il Monday, Friday, Sunday Il lunedì means each Monday

Days are masculine. Only la domenica is feminine. Lunedì with no article means this Monday. Il lunedì means each Monday. Write days with a small letter.

il lunedìMonday
il martedìTuesday
il mercoledìWednesday
il giovedìThursday
il venerdìFriday
il sabatoSaturday
la domenicaSunday

Exceptions 3

These common words break the rules. Learn each set together.

≠ Hand, radio, cinema Words that break the -o and -a rule

Words that end in -o are usually masculine. Words that end in -a are usually feminine. These common words break the rule. Foto, moto and auto are short forms. Their plural does not change. The plural of la mano is le mani.

la manohand
la radioradio
la fotophoto
la motomotorcycle
l'auto (f)car
il cinemacinema
il papapope
il pianetaplanet

o → a Arm, finger, egg A masculine word with a feminine plural

Some masculine words have a feminine plural that ends in -a. Il braccio becomes le braccia. Many are parts of the body. L'uovo becomes le uova.

il braccio becomes le bracciaarm
il dito becomes le ditafinger
l'uovo becomes le uovaegg
il ginocchio becomes le ginocchiaknee
il labbro becomes le labbralip
l'osso becomes le ossabone
il paio becomes le paiapair
il lenzuolo becomes le lenzuolabed sheet

≈ Soft, room, hot Words that look like English but are not

Most look-alike words mean the same in English. These do not. Camera means room, not camera. Learn the real meaning of each one.

morbidosoftnot morbid
cameraroomnot camera
parentirelativesnot parents
caldohotnot cold
fattoriafarmnot factory
noiosoboringnot noisy
educatopolitenot educated
argomentotopicnot argument

Plurals and other rules 1

One small rule changes many words.

= Coffee, bar, film Words that do not change in the plural

Words that end in a stressed vowel do not change in the plural. Say il caffè and i caffè. Foreign words that end in a consonant do not change. Say il bar and i bar. Only the article changes.

il caffè becomes i caffècoffee
il tè becomes i tètea
il bar becomes i barbar
il film becomes i filmfilm
lo sport becomes gli sportsport
il computer becomes i computercomputer
il tram becomes i tramtram
l'hotel becomes gli hotelhotel

Word building 3

Add a small part to a word you know. You get a new word.

-eriaFeminine, la Pizzeria, ice cream shop, bookshop Add -eria for the shop

Add -eria to a thing to name the shop that sells it. Gelato becomes gelateria. These words are feminine. A libreria is a bookshop, not a library.

la pizza becomes la pizzeriapizzeria
il gelato becomes la gelateriaice cream shop
il libro becomes la libreriabookshop
la birra becomes la birreriabeer hall
il pesce becomes la pescheriafish shop
il profumo becomes la profumeriaperfume shop
il gioiello becomes la gioielleriajewelry shop
il pane becomes la panetteriabakery

-toreMasculine, il Writer, player, winner -tore names the person who does it

The ending -tore names the person who does it. Giocare becomes giocatore. These words are masculine. Use -trice for a woman. Say la scrittrice.

lo scrittorewriter
il pittorepainter
il direttoredirector
l'autoreauthor
il lettorereader
il giocatoreplayer
il lavoratoreworker
il vincitorewinner

s- Unlucky, unknown, uncomfortable S- makes the opposite

Add s- to the start of a word to make the opposite. Fortunato becomes sfortunato. Comodo becomes scomodo. Coprire is to cover. Scoprire is to discover.

fortunato becomes sfortunatounlucky
comodo becomes scomodouncomfortable
conosciuto becomes sconosciutounknown
piacevole becomes spiacevoleunpleasant
corretto becomes scorrettoincorrect
contento becomes scontentounhappy
coprire becomes scoprireto discover
caricare becomes scaricareto download

Verbs 4

Each set of verbs behaves in one way. Learn the set together.

mi Like, miss, need The thing you like is the subject

Piacere means to be pleasing. The thing you like is the subject. Say mi piace il caffè. Use piacciono for many things. Say mi piacciono i libri. These verbs work the same way.

piacere becomes mi piaceto like
mancare becomes mi mancato miss
servire becomes mi serveto need
sembrare becomes mi sembrato seem
interessare becomes mi interessato interest
bastare becomes mi bastato be enough
dispiacere becomes mi dispiaceto be sorry
importare becomes mi importato matter

io -go Come, stay, choose The io form ends in -go

Some common verbs end in -go in the io form. Venire becomes vengo. The loro form does the same. Say vengono. The noi and voi forms are regular.

venire becomes vengoto come
tenere becomes tengoto hold
rimanere becomes rimangoto stay
salire becomes salgoto go up
scegliere becomes scelgoto choose
togliere becomes tolgoto remove
spegnere becomes spengoto turn off

essere Go, arrive, leave Verbs that take essere in the past

Most verbs use avere for the past. Say ho mangiato. Verbs of movement and change use essere. Say sono andato. A woman says sono andata.

andare becomes sono andatoto go
arrivare becomes sono arrivatoto arrive
partire becomes sono partitoto leave
entrare becomes sono entratoto enter
uscire becomes sono uscitoto go out
restare becomes sono restatoto stay
cadere becomes sono cadutoto fall
tornare becomes sono tornatoto return

ho… Done, said, written Past forms that break the rule

Most past forms end in -ato, -uto or -ito. Parlare becomes parlato. These common verbs break the rule. Fare becomes fatto. Say ho fatto for I have done.

fare becomes fattodone
dire becomes dettosaid
scrivere becomes scrittowritten
vedere becomes vistoseen
prendere becomes presotaken
mettere becomes messoput
aprire becomes apertoopened
chiudere becomes chiusoclosed

Pronunciation 1

Some letters do not sound the way an English reader expects.

c ch Bruschetta, gnocchi, focaccia Ch is hard, c before e and i is soft

C before e or i sounds like ch in cheese. Say CHEH-na for cena. Ch always sounds like k. Say broo-SKET-ta for bruschetta. Gn sounds like ny in canyon.

bruschettabruschettabroo-SKET-ta
gnocchignocchiNYOK-kee
ciabattaciabattacha-BAT-ta
pistacchiopistachiopee-STAK-kyo
focacciafocacciafo-KAT-cha
radicchioradicchiora-DEEK-kyo
chiavekeyKYA-veh
cenadinnerCHEH-na

C Colin Taylor Oct 22, 2026 · 8 min read Drafted with Claude (AI), reviewed and edited by Colin Taylor. How pieces are written

How to use these patterns

Read one pattern a day. Say the example words out loud. Then look for that pattern in what you read and hear that week. A pattern you notice three times in real Italian stays with you. Soon you hear those words in speech and use them in your own sentences.

Start with the first group, words you already know. Those 24 patterns turn English words you use every day into Italian ones. The gender group comes next. It tells you il or la before you look the word up.

The same kind of list exists for Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian, each with its own free PDF.

A pattern is a guide, and every guide has exceptions. The exceptions group lists the common ones, like la mano. When a word you made from a pattern sounds wrong, check it.

Patterns cover the words you can work out. For the words you can't, the cognate checker marks the false friends that look like English and mean something else.

Questions people ask

What is a Italian word pattern?

A rule that changes many words at once. English words that end in -tion end in -zione in Italian. These words are feminine. When you know that rule, you know la nazione, l'informazione and l'educazione before anyone teaches them to you.

Do the patterns always work?

Most of the time, and each pattern says where it stops. The exceptions group lists common words that break the rules, like la mano. The false friends pattern lists words that look like English and mean something else, like morbido, which means soft.

Is this the same as the Word patterns screen in Verbamor?

Yes. These are the same 44 Italian patterns. In the app you can pick any example word and save it as a flashcard with a picture, an example sentence and audio.

What do I get by email?

A printable PDF with all 44 patterns and 350 example words, and my post-lesson debrief handbook. Then a few short emails. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Turn a pattern into words you can say.

Open Word patterns in Verbamor, pick the words you want, and save them. Each card gets a picture, an example sentence and audio, and comes back just before you forget it, so the word is there when you need it in a conversation.

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