Learn to read Italian
A short, active path into reading Italian: decode real words from a small sound guide, learn where the endings and the verb sit, meet the past that fables are printed in, and read a whole fable before opening your first book.
The, a, this, that — and the endings that agree
- Every thing-word belongs to one of two families — masculine or feminine.
- Four endings do all the work: -o and -a for one thing, -i and -e for more.
- “The” has seven shapes, chosen by the sound that comes next: il, lo, l', la, i, gli, le.
- “A” is un or una.
- Pointing words copy the ending too: questo this, quella that.
The two families, and what happens with more than one
| Family | One | More than one |
|---|---|---|
| masculine, ends in -o | il gatto“the cat” | i gattiee GAHT-tee“the cats” |
| feminine, ends in -a | la casa“the house” | le caseleh KAH-zeh“the houses” |
| either family, ends in -e | il cane“the dog” · la volpe“the fox” | i cani · le volpi |
The family names are misleading — a table is feminine, a book is masculine. But four endings do all the work. Learn -e words with their little word. “A” follows the family too: un cane, una casa — and uno is also the word for “one”.
The plural can change a c
The seven shapes of “the”
That house is there.
Quella casa è lì.
KWEHL-lah KAH-zah eh lee
quella took its -a from casa. This copying is the most Italian thing about Italian. Only quikwee“here” and lìlee“there” never change: a place, not a thing.
Which shape, and why
- gli uccelli
The l-y sound at the front is the clue.
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gli uccellilyee oot-CHEHL-lee“the birds” - l'albero
Put the missing vowel back.
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l'alberoLAHL-beh-roh“the tree” - Why is it le amiche and not gli amiche?
The family decides, not the vowel.
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amica is feminine, so its plural takes le; gli belongs to masculine words only.