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Nouns that switch to feminine in the plural

In Italian, most masculine nouns end in -o in the singular and change to -i in the plural. However, a specific group of nouns breaks this rule. They are masculine in the singular but become feminine in the plural, ending in -a.

This quirk trips up many learners because you cannot just change the noun. You must also change the articles and adjectives to match the new feminine plural form. For example, il braccio (the arm) becomes le braccia (the arms), and l'uovo (the egg) becomes le uova (the eggs).

Word list
bracciomA1 arm le braccia uovomA1 egg le uova cervellomA2 brain le cervella ditomA2 finger le dita dito del piedemA2 toe le dita dei piedi ginocchiomA2 knee le ginocchia migliomA2 mile due miglia paiomA2 pair due paia uova strapazzatefA2 scrambled eggs le uova strapazzate uovo al tegaminomA2 fried egg le uova al tegamino uovo frittomA2 fried egg le uova fritte centinaioB1 hundred le centinaia gridomB1 shout le grida labbromB1 lip le labbra lenzuolomB1 bedsheet le lenzuola muromB1 wall le mura della città ossomB1 bone le ossa sopraccigliomB1 eyebrow le sopracciglia uovo all'occhio di buemB1 fried egg le uova all'occhio di bue urlomB1 shout le urla cigliomB2 eyelash le ciglia cornomB2 horn le corna dito indicemB2 forefinger le dita indici dito mediomB2 middle finger le dita medie ginocchiafB2 lap le ginocchia gridomB2 scream le grida risoB2 laugh le risa urlomB2 scream le urla grido di guerramC1 war cry le grida di guerra miglio marinomC2 nautical mile due miglia marine miglio nauticomC2 nautical mile due miglia nautiche
Body parts

Many of these rule-breaking nouns describe body parts. This includes braccio, dito (finger), dito del piede (toe), labbro (lip), and osso (bone). You will also see this with facial features like ciglio (eyelash) and sopracciglio (eyebrow).

Mi fanno male le braccia.
(My arms hurt.)
Lui ha le dita lunghe.
(He has long fingers.)

Another common body part in this group is ginocchio (knee). Interestingly, the plural form ginocchia is also the word Italians use for a person's lap.

Il gatto dorme sulle mie ginocchia.
(The cat is sleeping on my lap.)
Everyday objects and measurements

You will often encounter this plural switch when shopping or cooking. The noun paio (pair) becomes paia, and lenzuolo (bedsheet) becomes lenzuola.

Ho comprato due paia di scarpe.
(I bought two pairs of shoes.)

When cooking uovo, all its variations switch to the feminine plural. You might order uova strapazzate (scrambled eggs), an uovo fritto (fried egg), an uovo al tegamino (fried egg), or an uovo all'occhio di bue (fried egg).

Vorrei due uova fritte, per favore.
(I would like two fried eggs, please.)

Measurement words often follow this pattern too. A centinaio (hundred) becomes centinaia. The distance miglio (mile) becomes miglia, and this applies to miglio nautico and miglio marino (nautical mile) as well.

La spiaggia è a tre miglia nautiche da qui.
(The beach is three nautical miles from here.)
Watch out: Alternative plurals

Some of these nouns actually have two different plurals, and the meaning changes depending on which one you use. The feminine -a plural usually refers to a collective group acting together as a whole. The regular masculine -i plural refers to separate, individual items.

For example, muro (wall outside a building) becomes le mura when talking about city walls or fortress walls acting as a single perimeter, but individual interior walls are i muri. Similarly, corno (horn of animals) becomes le corna when referring to the pair on an animal's head.

Le vecchie mura circondano la città.
(The old walls surround the city.)

This collective idea also applies to human noises like grido (shout), urlo (shout), grido di guerra (war cry), and riso (laugh). When these sounds blend together into a crowd noise, they take the feminine forms le grida, le urla, and le risa.

Abbiamo sentito le urla dei bambini.
(We heard the children's shouts.)
Summary

When a masculine noun ending in -o describes a body part, a measurement, or a collective group, watch out for its plural. It might turn into a feminine noun ending in -a, which means you must use feminine plural articles and adjectives with it.