You probably know that for every professore there is a professoressa, and for every studente there is a studentessa. But how about other nouns of profession, status, or relation that have a male and a female version?
Most masculine nouns ending in -tore become feminine by changing -tore to -trice (see table below).
GENDERED NOUNS: FROM -TORE TO -TRICE | ||
MASCULINE | FEMININE | ENGLISH |
attore | attrice | actor |
autore | autrice | author |
direttore | direttrice | director |
imperatore | imperatrice | emperor/empress |
lavoratore | lavoratrice | worker |
pittore | pittrice | painter |
scrittore | scrittrice | writer |
stiratore | stiratrice | presser |
traditore | traditrice | traitor |
traduttore | traduttrice | translator |
Some masculine nouns become feminine by changing their final vowel to -a (see table below).
GENDERED NOUNS THAT GAIN AN -A IN THE FEMININE | ||
MASCULINE | FEMININE | ENGLISH |
cameriere | cameriera | waiter/waitress |
cassiere | cassiera | bank teller |
figlio | figlia | son/daughter |
giardiniere | giardiniera | gardener |
infermiere | infermiera | nurse |
marchese | marchesa | marquis/marchioness |
padrone | padrona | boss, owner |
portiere | portiera | doorman/doorwoman |
sarto | sarta | tailor/dressmaker |
signore | signora | Mr./Mrs. |
Take note that there are certain names of professions that end in -a regardless of whether the term refers to a male or a female. In such case, the gender distinction is made by the definite article: il giornalista/la giornalista, il dentista/la dentista. The plurals of these professions follow the same general rule as with any other noun: Plural masculine nouns end in -i (i giornalisti, i dentisi), plural feminine nouns end in -e (le giornaliste, le dentiste).
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