When feminine nouns end in unstressed -cia or -gia, forming their plural requires a spelling choice. The final -a becomes -e, but you must decide whether to keep the i (-cie, -gie) or drop it (-ce, -ge).
The vowel and consonant rule
The plural ending depends entirely on the letter that comes right before the -cia or -gia:
- Preceded by a vowel: Keep the i in the plural (-cie, -gie). For example, ciliegia (cherry) is preceded by an e, so the plural is ciliegie.
- Preceded by a consonant: Drop the i in the plural (-ce, -ge). For example, guancia (cheek) is preceded by an n, so the plural is guance.
Notice how this single sentence uses both patterns:
| The baby's cheeks are as red as cherries. | Le guance del bambino sono rosse come le ciliegie. |
Dropping the "i"
Many words for body parts and physical features have a consonant before the ending, meaning they drop the i in the plural. This applies to words like pancia (belly), treccia (braid), and coscia (thigh):
| The kittens have full bellies. | I gattini hanno le pance piene. |
| I like your long braids. | Mi piacciono le tue trecce lunghe. |
| I bought four chicken thighs. | Ho comprato quattro cosce di pollo. |
Keeping the "i"
When a vowel precedes the ending, the i stays. You will see this frequently with everyday objects like valigia (suitcase) and camicia (shirt).
| Are the new shirts in the suitcases? | Le camicie nuove sono nelle valigie? |
Notice how this sentence features a consonant-rule noun (bilance) alongside a vowel-rule noun (valigie):
| We have two scales to weigh the suitcases. | Abbiamo due bilance per pesare le valigie. |
