To talk about personality traits and attitudes in Italian, you can create new nouns by attaching specific suffixes to base words, just like in English.
The attitude: -ismo
To describe a general attitude or belief, use the suffix -ismo (equivalent to the English "-ism"). Nouns ending in -ismo are always masculine.
| I read a book that talks about optimism and pessimism. | Ho letto un libro che parla di ottimismo e pessimismo. |
| Selfishness is a flaw that destroys friendship. | L'egoismo è un difetto che distrugge l'amicizia. |
The person: -ista
To describe the person who embodies that attitude, use the suffix -ista (equivalent to the English "-ist").
In the singular, these nouns always end in -a, regardless of whether the person is male or female. The article (il/la, un/una) tells you the person's gender:
- un realista (a male realist)
- una realista (a female realist)
| She is an idealist who hates the selfishness of society. | Lei è un'idealista che odia l'egoismo della società. |
| You are a materialist, madam. | Lei è una materialista, signora. |
Contrasting outlooks
You will often see these suffixes used together to describe or contrast different perspectives on life.
| A true idealist lives for their idealism. | Un vero idealista vive per il suo idealismo. |
| My brother is a perfectionist, but I am a realist. | Mio fratello è un perfezionista, ma io sono un realista. |
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