The change of endings in the transition from masculine to feminine nouns in italian occurs in different ways:
A). When the masculine is completely different from the feminine.
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| L’uomo (The man) | La donna (The woman) |
| Il marito (The husband) | La moglie (The wife) |
| Il fratello (The brother) | La sorella (The sister) |
| Il maschio (The male) | La femmina (The female) |
| Il padre (The father) | La madre (The mother) |
B) When the noun is the same in masculine and feminine just the definite article is what changes.
1). With nouns that end in (-ista/-cida/-iatra).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il farmacista (The pharmacist) | La farmacista (The pharmacist) |
| Il giornalista (The journalist) | La giornalista (The journalist) |
| Il suicida (The suicide) | La suicida (The suicide) |
| Il pediatra (The pediatrician) | La pediatra (The pediatrician) |
| Il psichiatra (The psychiatrist) | La psichiatra (The psychiatrist) |
2). With nouns that end in (-e/-a).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| L’erede (The heir) | L’erede (The heir) |
| Il preside (The principal) | La preside (The principal) |
| Il nipote (The grandson) | La nipote (The granddaughter) |
| Il pilota (The pilot) | La pilota (The pilot) |
3). With nouns that end in (-nte).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il cantante (The Singer) | La cantante (The Singer) |
| L’aspirante (The aspirant) | L’aspirante (The aspirant) |
| Il deficiente (The moron) | La deficiente (The moron) |
| Il negoziante (The shopkeeper) | La negoziante (The shopkeeper) |
| Il nonuedente (The nonuedent) | La nonuedente (The nonuedent) |
C). When the end changes from masculine to feminine.
1). From (-o) to (-a).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il nonno (The grandpa) | La nonna (The grandmother) |
| Il maestro (The teacher) | La maestra (The teacher) |
| Lo zio (The uncle) | La zia (The aunt) |
2). From (-e) to (-a/-essa).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il signore (The Sir) | La signora (The Lady) |
| Il cameriere (The waiter) | La cameriera (The waitress) |
| Il portiere (The goalkeeper) | La portiera (The goalkeeper) |
| L’infermiere (The nurse) | L’infermiera (The nurse) |
| Il professore (The professor) | La professoressa (The professor) |
| Lo studente (The student) | La studentessa (The student) |
| Il leone (The lion) | La leonessa (The lioness) |
| L’elefante (The elephant) | L’elefantessa (The elephant) |
| Il conte (The count) | La contessa (The countess) |
4). From (-a) to (-essa).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il poeta (The poet) | La poetessa (The poetess) |
| Il profeta (The Prophet) | La profetessa (The prophetess) |
5). From (-tore) to (-trice/ -tora/-essa).
| Maschile (Masculine) | Femminile (Feminine) |
| Il direttore (The director) | La direttrice (Director) |
| Il pittore (The painter) | La pittrice (The painter) |
| Il lettore (The reader) | La lettrice (The reader) |
| L’attore (The actor) | L’attrice (The actress) |
| Lo spettatore (The spectator) | La spettatrice (The spectator) |
| Il pastore (The shepherd) | La pastora (The shepherdess) |
| Il dottore (The doctor) | La dottoressa (The doctor) |
| Il fattore (The farmer) | La fattoressa (The farmer) |
Next lesson:
Il plurale dei nomi maschili / The plural of masculine nouns.