The plurals of nouns ending in -co, -go, -ca, -ga are where Italian's spelling and pronunciation systems collide. Italian uses the letter combinations ce, ci, ge, gi for the soft sounds /tʃe, tʃi, dʒe, dʒi/ and che, chi, ghe, ghi for the hard sounds /ke, ki, ge, gi/. So when a noun ending in -co, -go, -ca, -ga takes the standard plural ending in -i (m.) or -e (f.), Italian has to make a choice: preserve the original hard sound by inserting an h (amica → amiche, banco → banchi), or palatalize to a soft sound (amico → amici, medico → medici). The choice isn't always predictable, and learners must memorize many of these plurals as vocabulary items rather than rule outputs.
This page lays out the rule that is predictable (feminine -ca/-ga always takes -che/-ghe) and the rule that isn't (masculine -co/-go depends on stress, with many exceptions). It explains the underlying phonology so the orthography stops feeling arbitrary, and it lists the most useful nouns in each category for memorization.
1. The phonological motivation
Italian orthography ties hard and soft sounds to spelling in a fixed way:
| Spelling | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ca, co, cu | /ka, ko, ku/ — hard | casa, cosa, cura |
| ce, ci | /tʃe, tʃi/ — soft (like English "ch") | cena, città |
| che, chi | /ke, ki/ — hard | amiche, chi |
| ga, go, gu | /ga, go, gu/ — hard | gatto, gola, guida |
| ge, gi | /dʒe, dʒi/ — soft (like English "j") | gente, gita |
| ghe, ghi | /ge, gi/ — hard | spaghetti, alberghi |
This single rule drives everything on this page. When a feminine noun in -ca (hard /ka/) needs to become plural in -e, the spelling ce would automatically signal soft /tʃe/. To preserve the hard sound, Italian inserts an h: amica → amiche. The same logic applies to -ga → -ghe.
For masculine -co → -i and -go → -i, Italian had a choice: keep the hard sound (with -chi/-ghi) or palatalize to the soft sound (with -ci/-gi). Different nouns made different choices over the centuries, leaving the modern learner with two patterns to track.
L'amica di Maria si chiama Lucia, ma le amiche di Lucia sono tutte di Roma.
Maria's friend is named Lucia, but Lucia's friends are all from Rome.
Il medico mi ha consigliato di vedere altri medici per una seconda opinione.
The doctor advised me to see other doctors for a second opinion.
2. Feminine -ca → -che (always)
Every feminine noun ending in -ca forms its plural in -che. No exceptions among native Italian nouns.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| l'amica | le amiche | (female) friend(s) |
| la banca | le banche | bank(s) |
| la biblioteca | le biblioteche | library / libraries |
| la barca | le barche | boat(s) |
| la bottega | le botteghe | workshop(s) — note: -ga, included for parallelism |
| la mucca | le mucche | cow(s) |
| la pesca | le pesche | peach(es) |
| la giacca | le giacche | jacket(s) |
| la formica | le formiche | ant(s) |
| la spiga | le spighe | ear (of grain) — -ga form |
Le mie amiche del liceo si vedono ancora ogni mese al bar di sempre.
My high school friends still see each other every month at the usual bar.
Le banche italiane sono chiuse il sabato pomeriggio e tutta la domenica.
Italian banks are closed on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday.
Le biblioteche universitarie hanno cambiato gli orari per gli esami.
The university libraries have changed their hours for exam season.
In estate compriamo le pesche al mercato — quelle siciliane sono le più dolci.
In summer we buy peaches at the market — the Sicilian ones are the sweetest.
3. Feminine -ga → -ghe (always)
Same rule, with gh preserving the hard /g/ sound.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| la riga | le righe | line(s) |
| la ruga | le rughe | wrinkle(s) |
| l'alga | le alghe | algae |
| la lega | le leghe | league(s), alloy(s) |
| la collega | le colleghe | (female) colleague(s) |
| la paga | le paghe | wage(s), pay |
| la fuga | le fughe | escape(s), fugue(s) |
| la piega | le pieghe | fold(s), crease(s) |
Le mie colleghe del lavoro sono tutte molto giovani — io sono la più anziana.
My (female) colleagues at work are all very young — I'm the oldest.
Con l'età vengono le rughe, ma anche la saggezza.
With age come wrinkles, but also wisdom.
Le alghe del Mediterraneo stanno cambiando a causa del riscaldamento.
Mediterranean algae are changing because of warming.
4. Masculine -co → -chi or -ci (depends on stress)
Here's where the system breaks. Masculine -co nouns split into two groups:
- Penultimate stress (stress on the syllable before the final one) → -chi (hard, h-insertion).
- Antepenultimate stress (stress on the third-from-last syllable) → -ci (soft, palatalization).
The rule is a strong tendency, not a guarantee. Memorize both the stress and the plural together.
Penultimate-stress -co → -chi (hard plural)
These nouns have the stress on the syllable right before -co — parCO, banCO, fuoCO.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| il parco | i parchi | park(s) |
| il banco | i banchi | bench(es), counter(s) (in shop or class) |
| il fuoco | i fuochi | fire(s) |
| il cuoco | i cuochi | cook(s) |
| il buco | i buchi | hole(s) |
| il palco | i palchi | stage(s), box (theater) |
| il tronco | i tronchi | tree trunk(s) |
| il porco | i porci | pig(s) — exception: takes -ci despite penultimate stress! |
| il sacco | i sacchi | sack(s), bag(s) |
A Milano i parchi sono pieni di gente nei weekend di primavera.
In Milan the parks are full of people on spring weekends.
I cuochi del ristorante sono tutti italiani, anche se i camerieri sono spagnoli.
The restaurant's cooks are all Italian, even if the waiters are Spanish.
I fuochi d'artificio illuminano il cielo ogni Capodanno.
Fireworks light up the sky every New Year's.
Antepenultimate-stress -co → -ci (soft plural)
These nouns have stress two syllables back from the end — MEdico, Amico, Asparago.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| il medico | i medici | doctor(s) |
| l'amico | gli amici | (male) friend(s) |
| il nemico | i nemici | enemy/enemies |
| il sindaco | i sindaci | mayor(s) |
| il monaco | i monaci | monk(s) |
| il greco | i greci | Greek (person/people) |
I miei amici di sempre vivono ormai in tutta Europa, ma ci sentiamo ogni settimana.
My lifelong friends now live all over Europe, but we talk every week.
I medici dell'ospedale lavorano dodici ore al giorno.
The hospital doctors work twelve hours a day.
I sindaci delle grandi città italiane si sono incontrati a Roma per discutere il bilancio.
The mayors of the big Italian cities met in Rome to discuss the budget.
And the exceptions
A handful of nouns break the stress rule. These you simply have to memorize.
| Singular | Stress | Plural | Why it's odd |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo stomaco | antepenultimate (STO-ma-co) | gli stomachi | Should take -ci by stress, but takes -chi |
| l'incarico | antepenultimate (in-CA-ri-co) | gli incarichi | Should take -ci, takes -chi |
| il valico | antepenultimate (VA-li-co) | i valichi | Takes -chi against the rule |
| il porco | penultimate (POR-co) | i porci | Should take -chi, takes -ci |
| il greco | penultimate (GRE-co) | i greci | Should take -chi, takes -ci |
Gli incarichi più importanti del ministero sono già stati assegnati.
The ministry's most important assignments have already been given out.
I greci antichi hanno fondato molte città in Sicilia.
The ancient Greeks founded many cities in Sicily.
The exceptions are not large in number, but they include high-frequency words. There's no shortcut: when you meet a new -co noun, check its plural in a dictionary and memorize them as a pair.
5. Masculine -go → -ghi or -gi (same logic)
The -go pattern parallels -co: penultimate stress tends to keep the hard sound (-ghi), antepenultimate stress tends to palatalize (-gi).
Penultimate-stress -go → -ghi (hard plural)
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| il lago | i laghi | lake(s) |
| il fungo | i funghi | mushroom(s) |
| l'albergo | gli alberghi | hotel(s) |
| il luogo | i luoghi | place(s) |
| il catalogo | i cataloghi | catalog(s) |
| l'obbligo | gli obblighi | obligation(s) |
| il chirurgo | i chirurghi | surgeon(s) |
| il dialogo | i dialoghi | dialog(s) |
Note: catalogo and dialogo in fact have antepenultimate stress (ca-TA-lo-go, di-A-lo-go) but still take -ghi — these are exceptions in the same direction as stomaco/stomachi. Chirurgo (chi-RUR-go), by contrast, has penultimate stress and follows the rule. The "rule" by stress is genuinely a tendency, not a law.
I laghi del nord Italia sono famosi in tutto il mondo per la loro bellezza.
The lakes of northern Italy are famous worldwide for their beauty.
I funghi porcini si trovano nei boschi della Toscana in autunno.
Porcini mushrooms can be found in the Tuscan woods in autumn.
Gli alberghi di Venezia sono carissimi, soprattutto durante il Carnevale.
Venice's hotels are very expensive, especially during Carnival.
Antepenultimate-stress -go → -gi (soft plural)
The -logo family — words ending in the Greek-derived suffix -logo meaning "studier of" — almost universally takes -gi.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| lo psicologo | gli psicologi | psychologist(s) |
| il biologo | i biologi | biologist(s) |
| l'archeologo | gli archeologi | archaeologist(s) |
| il geologo | i geologi | geologist(s) |
| il teologo | i teologi | theologian(s) |
| il sociologo | i sociologi | sociologist(s) |
| l'antropologo | gli antropologi | anthropologist(s) |
| l'asparago | gli asparagi | asparagus (count noun) |
Gli psicologi italiani devono superare un esame di stato per esercitare.
Italian psychologists have to pass a state exam to practice.
Gli archeologi hanno scoperto resti romani durante i lavori della metro.
The archaeologists found Roman remains during the subway construction.
In primavera si trovano gli asparagi selvatici nei campi della campagna toscana.
In spring you find wild asparagus in the fields of the Tuscan countryside.
6. The asymmetry between feminine and masculine
The reason feminine -ca/-ga is predictable while masculine -co/-go isn't comes down to historical phonology. In medieval Italian, the soft sound -ce/-ge was already strongly associated with the front vowel e, and feminine plurals — formed regularly with -e — would have palatalized too freely if h-insertion hadn't been used as a counter-measure. So feminine plurals systematically resisted palatalization with -che/-ghe.
Masculine plurals, formed in -i, had a different history: in some words the soft pronunciation took hold (palatalization), in others the hard pronunciation persisted (with h-insertion). Because masculine -co/-go nouns came from a wider variety of Latin and Greek sources, the lexicon split — and modern Italian inherited that split unchanged.
The practical implication: feminine plurals are a rule, masculine plurals are vocabulary.
Le amiche del liceo e gli amici dell'università si sono conosciuti al matrimonio.
The (female) high-school friends and the (male) university friends met at the wedding.
Le banche e gli uffici sono chiusi il primo gennaio.
The banks and the offices are closed on January 1st.
7. A useful mnemonic for masculine -co
Two mini-rules cover the most common cases:
- Two-syllable words: usually -chi. Banco/banchi, parco/parchi, fuoco/fuochi, cuoco/cuochi, palco/palchi. (Exceptions: porco/porci, greco/greci.)
- Three-or-more-syllable words ending in -ico/-ago: usually -ci/-gi. Medico/medici, classico/classici, magnifico/magnifici, asparago/asparagi. (Exceptions: stomaco/stomachi, incarico/incarichi.)
This isn't a perfect rule, but it gets you most of the way. When uncertain, look it up — Treccani (the authoritative Italian dictionary) lists every plural.
8. Adjective parallels
Adjectives ending in -co and -ca follow the same patterns as the nouns they describe.
| Adjective | m.sg. | f.sg. | m.pl. | f.pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simpatico (nice) | simpatico | simpatica | simpatici | simpatiche |
| magnifico (magnificent) | magnifico | magnifica | magnifici | magnifiche |
| stanco (tired) | stanco | stanca | stanchi | stanche |
| antico (ancient) | antico | antica | antichi | antiche |
Le ragazze sono simpatiche e i ragazzi sono simpatici.
The girls are nice and the boys are nice. (Same adjective; -che f.pl. vs. -ci m.pl.)
I monumenti antichi di Roma e le statue antiche dei Musei Vaticani attraggono milioni di turisti.
The ancient monuments of Rome and the ancient statues of the Vatican Museums attract millions of tourists.
Notice that simpatico and magnifico (antepenultimate stress) take -ci in the masculine plural, while stanco (penultimate stress) takes -chi — exactly the noun pattern.
9. Common Mistakes
❌ Le mie amice italiane sono di Firenze.
Incorrect — feminine -ca always takes -che (h-insertion). 'amice' would be pronounced /a-MI-tʃe/, losing the /k/.
✅ Le mie amiche italiane sono di Firenze.
Correct — 'le amiche' (h preserves the /k/ sound).
❌ I miei amichi del liceo abitano a Roma.
Incorrect — masculine 'amico' takes -ci, not -chi. 'amico' has antepenultimate stress (A-mi-co).
✅ I miei amici del liceo abitano a Roma.
Correct — 'i miei amici'.
❌ I medichi dell'ospedale sono molto preparati.
Incorrect — 'medico' has antepenultimate stress, so the plural is 'medici' (soft c).
✅ I medici dell'ospedale sono molto preparati.
Correct — 'i medici'.
❌ I banci della scuola sono nuovi.
Incorrect — 'banco' has penultimate stress (BAN-co), so the plural is 'banchi' (hard c).
✅ I banchi della scuola sono nuovi.
Correct — 'i banchi'.
❌ Gli psicologhi italiani lavorano in équipe multidisciplinari.
Incorrect — 'psicologo' takes -gi (the -logo class is soft), not -ghi.
✅ Gli psicologi italiani lavorano in équipe multidisciplinari.
Correct — 'gli psicologi'.
❌ Le banchi della città chiudono presto.
Incorrect on two counts: 'banca' (feminine bank) plural is 'banche'; 'le banchi' is impossible since 'le' is feminine and 'banchi' is the masculine plural of 'banco' (counter).
✅ Le banche della città chiudono presto.
Correct — 'le banche' (feminine plural of 'la banca').
Key takeaways
Feminine -ca → -che, feminine -ga → -ghe, always. The h is inserted to preserve the hard /k/ or /g/ before the front vowel -e. This rule has no exceptions in native Italian nouns.
Masculine -co/-go is harder. The general tendency is: penultimate stress → -chi/-ghi (hard), antepenultimate stress → -ci/-gi (soft). But many exceptions exist (stomaco/stomachi, porco/porci, greco/greci, catalogo/cataloghi).
The -logo class of words takes -gi (psicologi, biologi, archeologi) reliably — it's a productive, predictable subgroup.
Memorize masculine plurals as vocabulary, not as rule outputs. When you learn medico, learn i medici. When you learn banco, learn i banchi. The h-insertion question is settled at the level of the lexicon, not the grammar.
The phonological logic is consistent: Italian preserves hard /k/ and /g/ via the spelling ch, gh before e and i, and signals soft /tʃ/ or /dʒ/ via plain c, g. Once you internalize this, the orthography stops looking arbitrary.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Regular Plural FormationA1 — The four regular plural patterns of Italian nouns — and the trap that catches every English speaker: feminine -e nouns take -i in the plural, not -e.
- Plurals of -cia, -gia, -cio, -gio (i-drop)A2 — When the i in -cia, -gia, -cio, -gio is just a spelling marker, modern Italian drops it in the plural — but when the i is stressed or follows a vowel, it stays.
- Plural of -io Nouns (single or double i)A2 — Modern Italian's clean rule for -io plurals: single -i when the singular i is unstressed, double -ii only when the i is stressed and pronounced.
- Irregular Plurals: Historical Survivals and Gender-Shifting FormsA2 — The handful of Italian nouns whose plurals don't follow any regular pattern — historical residue from Latin, plus the body-part nouns that shift from masculine singular to feminine plural in -a.
- Gender of Nouns: Basic PatternsA1 — The default ending-to-gender pairings for Italian nouns, the reliable suffix-based heuristics, and the common exceptions that English speakers must memorize.
- The Seven Forms of the Definite ArticleA1 — Drill il, lo, l', la, i, gli, le — the seven surface forms of Italian's definite article and the phonotactic rule that selects each one.