Countries & Nationalities in Italian: The Definitive Guide (Plus PDF Cheat-Sheet & Quiz)

The best part about learning Italian is meeting new people and making new friendships. One of the first things you talk about are your origins! When getting to know each other, you’ll ask essential Italian phrases like: di dove sei? (where are you from?), and dove abiti? (where do you live?). To answer (and understand) these questions, you need to learn the names of different countries in Italian, plus their respective nationalities. Some of which are obvious while others not so much (I’m looking at you Germany). More on this later!

In this guide we’ll look at a few simple Italian grammar rules to follow which will give you the keys to unlocking how to say 170+ different countries and nationalities in Italian. We’ll look at how these change according to gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular and plural).

We’ll also take a look at a handful of rule-breaking nations who are exceptions to the standard grammar rules. But after learning my top tips, you’ll master them in no time. And to bring it all home, I’ve included a fun interactive quiz at the end of this guide so you can practice your new-found Italian grammar and vocabulary skills.

Tuffiamoci! (Let’s dive in!)

Masculine and Feminine Forms

In Italian, every noun, including nationalities, has a grammatical gender – either masculine or feminine. Italian uses suffixes, such as -ese/i, -ano/a, -ino/a and others which are added to the end of a country name to form the nationality.

For example:

a male from Italy is referred to as an italiano, while a female counterpart is italiana
a German man is called tedesco while a German woman is tedesca.

Attenzione! Notice how these nationalities are written in lowercase. This will be explained in detail later.

There are, of course, some exceptions. Nationalities ending in -ese, such as francese (French), do not change in gender, only in number.For example:

One French woman or man is francese, but…
Two or more French women or men are called francesi

Countries in Italian and their gender

What’s interesting is that in Italian grammatical gender, a significant number of countries are considered feminine singular, such as l’Italia (Italy), la Francia (France), or la Cina (China).

However, there are some exceptions to this. Countries like il Canada (Canada) or il Giappone (Japan) are considered masculine singular..

Then we have countries in the plural like gli Stati Uniti (The United States) or i Paesi Bassi (the Netherlands). Luckily, these are also plural in English which makes them easier to remember.

Learning both the country name and their definite articles (il/la/li/i/gli) can make a huge difference to remembering the correct gender.

Here are some examples sentences:

La Cina illumina con le sue luci notturne. (China lights up with its night lights.)
L’Italia è famosa per la sua cucina. (Italy is famous for its cuisine.)
I Paesi Bassi sono noti per i loro mulini a vento. (The Netherlands are known for their windmills.)

How to say Nationalities in Italian (and when to use capital letters)

Once you know how to say the name of a country in Italian, this will naturally propel you towards intuitively knowing how to say its nationality and the language spoken there too!

Attenzione! Unlike in English where we capitalize the first letter of country names, nationalities and its language, in Italian we only capitalize the first letter of the country.

For example, when referring to citizens of any given nation, in Italian we do not capitalize the first letter:

Gli spagnoli ed i francesi sono vicini (The Spanish and the French are neighbours)

This is the same for adjectives, even those denoting nationality, which remain lowercase:

Una ragazza spagnola beve un caffè francese (A Spanish girl drinks a French coffee).

Here is a summary:

Country (Capitalised)	Nationality (Lowercase)	Descriptive Adjective Form (Lowercase)
La Spagna (Spain)	uno spagnolo, una spagnola (a Spaniard)	spagnolo (Spanish)
La Francia (France)	un francese / una francese (a French man/woman)	francese (French)
La Giappone (Japan)	un giapponese, una giapponese (a Japanese man/woman)	giapponese (Japanese)

Using suffixes to form different nationalities in Italian

There are various suffixes used to convert country names to adjectives. The most common are:

-ano/ana – messicano (Mexican), americana (American)
-ese – francese (French), giapponese (Japanese)

Earlier, I alluded to how Germany is an exception to the rule. As a country it’s called la Germania, however a German person is tedesco/a. A similar irregularity is true for il Belgio (Belgium) while a person from Belgium (either male or female) is belga:

Lui è belga (He is Belgian)
Lei è belga (She is Belgian)

Don’t let these exceptions throw you off. On the plus side, they are mostly associated with the most popular nations and nationalities, which means you’ll get lots of practice using them!

Continents in Italian

Europe → L’Europa (Feminine) its people are called europei.
Asia → L’Asia (Feminine) its people are called asiatici.
Africa → L’Africa (Feminine) its people are called africani.
America → L’America (Feminine) its people are called americani.
Oceania → L’Oceania (Feminine). Interestingly, Italians often, albeit inaccurately, call people from Oceania Australiani, even if they hail from New Zealand (Nuova Zelanda → neozelandesi).
Antarctica → L’Antartide

Cardinal directions in Italian

When referring to geographical areas, using cardinal directions are crucial:

North: Designated as Il nord or alternatively as Il settentrione/settentrionale.
South: Called Il sud or the more elaborate Il meridione/meridionale.
East: Known as L’est or its variant L’oriente/orientale.
West: Termed L’ovest or the nuanced L’occidente/occidentale.

How to ask: Where do you come from?

If you want to talk about your place of origin, you can use adjectives denoting nationalities. When using adjectives, they must agree in number and gender of the person.

If the subject is male you use -o (singular) and -i (plural) and for females you use the endings in -a (singular) and -e (plural). Adjectives that end in -e in the singular refer to both males and females and end in the plural with -i.

For example:

Siete americani? – Are you Americans?
Sei australiano? – Are you Australian? [male]
Sei australiana? – Are you Australian? [female]
Sono inglese – I’m English/British [male/female]
Sono irlandese – I’m Irish [male/female]
Siamo canadesi – We’re Canadians [females, males or a mixed group)

What usually follows when first meeting someone new is asking them where they come from. For this, there are two common questions you can ask using the verbs venire (to come) and essere (to be):

Da dove viene? – Where do you come from? [Formal]
Da dove vieni? – Where are you from? [Informal]

These both literally mean, ‘From where do you come?’

Di dov’è? – Where are you from? [Formal]
Di dove sei? – Where are you from? [Informal]

These both literally mean, ‘of where are you?’

Other ways you ask someone’s origins are with the verb provenire (to originate from), or with essere + originario/a di (to originate from/be native of).

Da dove provieni? (Where do you come/originate from?)
Sei originario della Francia? (Are you from France? / Are you a French native?)

You can also essere + nationality as a question, for example:

Sei tedesca, vero? (You’re German, aren’t you?)

Using the same verb as used in the question, the answers to these questions are as follows:

Vengo da… (I come from/I’m from)
Sono di…(I’m from…)
Provengo da…(I’m native of) – Using this verb is less common

Using the verbs venire and provenire require a little bit more attention because they are followed by the preposition da (from). We will learn more about prepositions in a future module, however, for now it’s enough to know that in Italian, prepositions merge with definite articles of the following noun. For example:

Vengo + da + l’Australia → Vengo dall’Australia – I come from Australia
Viene + da + gli Stati Uniti → Viene dagli Stati Uniti – She/He comes from the United States
Veniamo + da + la Spagna → Veniamo dalla Spagna (We come from Spain)
Venite + da + il Canada → Venite dal Canada (You come from Canada)
Vengono + da + le Filippine → Vengono dalle Filippine (They come from the Philippines)

Here are some more examples:

È di origini britanniche? – No, il mio cuore batte per il Giappone [Formal] (Are British by birth? – No, I resonate with/my heart beats for Japan.)
Sono un’anima americana, ma le storie dei miei genitori affondano le radici in Cina. (I have an American soul, but tales of my ancestors trace back to China.)
Da dove provieni? – Le Alpi austriache mi chiamano casa. (Where are you from originally? – The Austrian Alps call me home.)

How to choose the correct preposition

Learning prepositions in any language is a challenge, but here are two simple rules of thumb to follow when using Italian prepositions when talking about places:

For countries, continents, or islands, use in.
For cities, use a.

For example

Quest’anno vado a Venezia per il Carnevale (This year I’m going to Venice for Carnival)
Sono di Melbourne ma abito in Italia (I’m from Melbourne but I live in Italy.)

Table of Countries and Nationalities in Italian

Using the rules we saw earlier, here is a complete list of country names and nationalities in Italian organised by gender and number. Use this table as a reference to check your answers when completing the exercises mentioned above.

Country (English)	Country (Italian)	Nationality (Masc. Sing.)	Nationality (Fem. Sing.)	Nationality (Masc. Plural)	Nationality (Fem. Plural)
Afghanistan	Afghanistan	afghano	afghana	afghani	afghane
Albania	Albania	albanese	albanese	albanesi	albanesi
Algeria	Algeria	algerino	algerina	algerini	algerine
Andorra	Andorra	andorrano	andorrana	andorrani	andorrane
Angola	Angola	angolano	angolana	angolani	angolane
Antigua & Barbuda	Antigua e Barbuda	antiguano	antiguana	antiguani	antiguane
Argentina	Argentina	argentino	argentina	argentini	argentine
Armenia	Armenia	armeno	armena	armeni	armene
Australia	Australia	australiano	australiana	australiani	australiane
Austria	Austria	austriaco	austriaca	austriaci	austriache
Azerbaijan	Azerbaigian	azero	azera	azeri	azere
Bahamas	Bahamas	bahamense	bahamense	bahamensi	bahamensi
Bahrain	Bahrain	bahreinita	bahreinita	bahreiniti	bahreinite
Bangladesh	Bangladesh	bangladese	bangladese	bangladesi	bangladesi
Barbados	Barbados	barbadiano	barbadiana	barbadiani	barbadiane
Belarus	Bielorussia	bielorusso	bielorussa	bielorussi	bielorusse
Belgium	Belgio	belga	belga	belgi	belge
Belize	Belize	beliziano	beliziana	beliziani	beliziane
Benin	Benin	beninese	beninese	beninesi	beninesi
Bhutan	Bhutan	bhutanese	bhutanese	bhutanesi	bhutanesi
Cambodia	Cambogia	cambogiano	cambogiana	cambogiani	cambogiane
Cameroon	Camerun	camerunese	camerunese	camerunesi	camerunesi
Canada	Canada	canadese	canadese	canadesi	canadesi
Cape Verde	Capo Verde	capoverdiano	capoverdiana	capoverdiani	capoverdiane
Central African Republic	Repubblica Centrafricana	centrafricano	centrafricana	centrafricani	centrafricane
Chad	Ciad	ciadiano	ciadiana	ciadiani	ciadiane
Chile	Cile	cileno	cilena	cileni	cilene
China	Cina	cinese	cinese	cinesi	cinesi
Colombia	Colombia	colombiano	colombiana	colombiani	colombiane
Comoros	Comore	comoriano	comoriana	comoriani	comoriane
Congo	Congo	congolese	congolese	congolesi	congolesi
Costa Rica	Costa Rica	costaricano	costaricana	costaricani	costaricane
Croatia	Croazia	croato	croata	croati	croate
Cuba	Cuba	cubano	cubana	cubani	cubane
Cyprus	Cipro	cipriota	cipriota	ciprioti	cipriote
Czech Republic	Repubblica Ceca	ceco	ceca	cechi	ceche
Denmark	Danimarca	danese	danese	danesi	danesi
Djibouti	Gibuti	gibutiano	gibutiana	gibutiani	gibutiane
Dominica	Dominica	dominicano	dominicana	dominicani	dominicane
East Timor	Timor Est	timorese	timorese	timoresi	timoresi
Ecuador	Ecuador	ecuadoregno	ecuadoregna	ecuadoregni	ecuadoregne
Egypt	Egitto	egiziano	egiziana	egiziani	egiziane
El Salvador	El Salvador	salvadoregno	salvadoregna	salvadoregni	salvadoregne
Equatorial Guinea	Guinea Equatoriale	equatoguineano	equatoguineana	equatoguineani	equatoguineane
Eritrea	Eritrea	eritreo	eritrea	eritrei	eritree
Estonia	Estonia	estone	estone	estoni	estone
Eswatini (Swaziland)	Eswatini	swazi	swazi	swazilandesi	swazilandesi
Ethiopia	Etiopia	etiope	etiope	etiope	etiope
Fiji	Figi	figiano	figiana	fijiani	fijiane
Finland	Finlandia	finlandese	finlandese	finlandesi	finlandesi
France	Francia	francese	francese	francesi	francesi
Gabon	Gabon	gabonese	gabonese	gabonesi	gabonesi
Gambia	Gambia	gambiano	gambiana	gambiani	gambiane
Georgia	Georgia	georgiano	georgiana	georgiani	georgiane
Germany	Germania	tedesco	tedesca	tedeschi	tedesche
Ghana	Ghana	ghanese	ghanese	ghanesi	ghanesi
Greece	Grecia	greco	greca	greci	greche
Grenada	Grenada	grenadino	grenadina	grenadiani	grenadiane
Guatemala	Guatemala	guatemalteco	guatemalteca	guatemaltechi	guatemalteche
Guinea	Guinea	guineano	guineana	guineani	guineane
Guinea-Bissau	Guinea-Bissau	guineense	guineense	guineani-bissau	guineane-bissau
Guyana	Guyana	guyanese	guyanese	guyanesi	guyanesi
Haiti	Haiti	haitiano	haitiana	haitiani	haitiane
Honduras	Honduras	honduregno	honduregna	honduregni	honduregne
Hungary	Ungheria	ungherese	ungherese	ungheresi	ungheresi
Iceland	Islanda	islandese	islandese	islandesi	islandesi
India	India	indiano	indiana	indiani	indiane
Indonesia	Indonesia	indonesiano	indonesiana	indonesiani	indonesiane
Iran	Iran	iraniano	iraniana	iraniani	iraniane
Ireland	Irlanda	irlandese	irlandese	irlandesi	irlandesi
Iraq	Iraq	iracheno	irachena	iracheni	irachene
Japan	Giappone	Giapponese	Giapponesi	Giapponese	Giapponesi
Kyrgyzstan	Kirghizistan	kirghiso	kirghisa	kirghisi	kirghise
Laos	Laos	laotiano	laotiana	laotiani	laotiane
Latvia	Lettonia	lettone	lettona	lettoni	lettone
Lebanon	Libano	libanese	libanese	libanesi	libanesi
Lesotho	Lesotho	lesothiano	lesothiana	lesotiani	lesotiane
Liberia	Liberia	liberiano	liberiana	liberiani	liberiane
Libya	Libia	libico	libica	libici	libiche
Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	liechtensteinese	liechtensteinese	liechtensteinesi	liechtensteinesi
Lithuania	Lituania	lituano	lituana	lituani	lituane
Luxembourg	Lussemburgo	lussemburghese	lussemburghese	lussemburghesi	lussemburghesi
Macedonia (North Macedonia)	Macedonia (Macedonia del Nord)	macedone	macedone	macedoni	macedone
Madagascar	Madagascar	malgascio	malgascia	malgasci	malgasche
Malawi	Malawi	malawiano	malawiana	malawiani	malawiane
Malaysia	Malesia	malese	malese	malesi	malesi
Maldives	Maldive	maldiviano	maldiviana	maldiviani	maldiviane
Mali	Mali	maliano	maliana	maliensi	maliensi
Malta	Malta	maltese	maltese	maltesi	maltesi
Marshall Islands	Isole Marshall	marshallese	marshallese	marshalliani	marshalliane
Mauritania	Mauritania	mauritano	mauritaniana	mauritaniani	mauritaniane
Mauritius	Mauritius	mauriziano	mauriziana	mauriziani	mauriziane
Mexico	Messico	messicano	messicana	messicani	messicane
Micronesia	Micronesia	micronesiano	micronesiana	micronesiani	micronesiane
Moldova	Moldavia	moldavo	moldava	moldavi	moldave
Monaco	Monaco	monegasco	monegasca	monegaschi	monegasche
Mongolia	Mongolia	mongolo	mongola	mongoli	mongole
Montenegro	Montenegro	montenegrino	montenegrina	montenegrini	montenegrine
Morocco	Marocco	marocchino	marocchina	marocchini	marocchine
Mozambique	Mozambico	mozambicano	mozambicana	mozambicani	mozambicane
Myanmar (Burma)	Myanmar (Birmania)	birmano	birmese	birmani	birmane
Namibia	Namibia	namibiano	namibiana	namibiani	namibiane
Nauru	Nauru	nauruano	nauruana	nauruani	nauruane
Nepal	Nepal	nepalese	nepalese	nepalesi	nepalesi
Netherlands	Paesi Bassi	olandese	olandese	olandesi	olandesi
New Zealand	Nuova Zelanda	neozelandese	neozelandese	neozelandesi	neozelandesi
Nicaragua	Nicaragua	nicaraguense	nicaraguense	nicaraguensi	nicaraguensi
Niger	Niger	nigerino	nigerina	nigerini	nigerine
Nigeria	Nigeria	nigeriano	nigeriana	nigeriani	nigeriane
North Korea	Corea del Nord	nordcoreano	nordcoreana	nordcoreani	nordcoreane
Norway	Norvegia	norvegese	norvegese	norvegesi	norvegesi
Oman	Oman	omanita	omanita	omaniti	omanite
Pakistan	Pakistan	pakistano	pakistanа	pakistani	pakistane
Palau	Palau	palauano	palauana	palaesi	palaesi
Panama	Panama	panamense	panamense	panamensi	panamensi
Papua New Guinea	Papua Nuova Guinea	papuano	papuana	papuani	papuane
Paraguay	Paraguay	paraguaiano	paraguaiana	paraguaiani	paraguaiane
Peru	Perù	peruviano	peruviana	peruviani	peruviane
Philippines	Filippine	filippino	filippina	filippini	filippine
Poland	Polonia	polacco	polacca	polacchi	polacche
Portugal	Portogallo	portoghese	portoghese	portoghesi	portoghesi
Qatar	Qatar	qatariota	qatariota	qatarioti	qatariote
Romania	Romania	rumeno	rumena	rumeni	rumene
Russia	Russia	russo	russa	russi	russe
Rwanda	Ruanda	ruandese	ruandese	ruandesi	ruandesi
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Kitts e Nevis	kittitiano	kittitiana	kittitian e nevisiani	kittitian e nevisiane
Saint Lucia	Santa Lucia	santaluciano	santaluciana	luciani	luciane
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Saint Vincent e Grenadine	vincentino	vincentina	vincentiani	vincentiane
Samoa	Samoa	samoano	samoana	samoani	samoane
San Marino	San Marino	sammarinese	sammarinese	sammarinesi	sammarinesi
Sao Tome and Principe	Sao Tomé e Príncipe	saotomense	saotomense	sao tomeani	sao tomeane
Saudi Arabia	Arabia Saudita	saudita	saudita	sauditi	saudite
Scotland	Scozia	scozzese	scozzese	scozzesi	scozzesi
Senegal	Senegal	senegalese	senegalese	senegalesi	senegalesi
Serbia	Serbia	serbo	serba	serbi	serbe
Seychelles	Seychelles	seicellese	seicellese	seicellesi	seicellesi
Scotland	Scozia	scozzese	scozzesi	scozzese	scozzesi
Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	sierra leonese	sierra leonese	sierra leonesi	sierra leonesi
Singapore	Singapore	singaporiano	singaporiana	singaporensi	singaporensi
Slovakia	Slovacchia	slovacco	slovacca	slovacchi	slovacche
Slovenia	Slovenia	sloveno	slovena	sloveni	slovene
Solomon Islands	Isole Salomone	salomonese	salomonese	solomoniani	solomoniane
Somalia	Somalia	somalo	somala	somali	somale
South Africa	Sudafrica	sudafricano	sudafricana	sudafricani	sudafricane
South Korea	Corea del Sud	sudcoreano	sudcoreana	sudcoreani	sudcoreane
South Sudan	Sud Sudan	sudsudanese	sudsudanese	sudsudanesi	sudsudanesi
Spain	Spagna	spagnolo	spagnola	spagnoli	spagnole
Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	sri lankese	sri lankese	singalesi	singalesi
Sudan	Sudan	sudanese	sudanese	sudanese	sudanese
Suriname	Suriname	surinamese	surinamese	surinamesi	surinamesi
Swaziland (Eswatini)	Swaziland (Eswatini)	swazilandese	swazilandese	swazilandesi	swazilandesi
Sweden	Svezia	svedese	svedese	svedesi	svedesi
Switzerland	Svizzera	svizzero	svizzera	svizzeri	svizzere
Taiwan	Taiwan	taiwanese	taiwanese	taiwanese	taiwanese
Tajikistan	Tagikistan	tagiko	tagika	tagiki	tagike
Tanzania	Tanzania	tanzaniano	tanzaniana	tanzaniani	tanzaniane
Thailand	Thailandia	thailandese	thailandese	thailandesi	thailandesi
Togo	Togo	togolese	togolese	togolesi	togolesi
Tonga	Tonga	tongano	tongana	tongani	tongane
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad e Tobago	trinitense	trinitense	trinidegni e tobaghesi	trinidegne e tobaghesi
Tunisia	Tunisia	tunisino	tunisina	tunisini	tunisine
Turkey	Turchia	turco	turca	turchi	turche
Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan	turkmeno	turkmena	turkmeni	turkmeni
Tuvalu	Tuvalu	tuvaluano	tuvaluana	tuvalani	tuvalane
Uganda	Uganda	ugandese	ugandese	ugandesi	ugandesi
Ukraine	Ucraina	ucraino	ucraina	ucraini	ucraine
United Arab Emirates	Emirati Arabi Uniti	emiratino	emiratina	emiratini	emiratine
United Kingdom	Regno Unito	britannico	britannica	britannici	britanniche
United States	Stati Uniti	statunitense	statunitense	statunitensi	statunitensi
Uruguay	Uruguay	uruguayano	uruguayana	uruguaiani	uruguaiane
Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	uzbeco	uzbeka	uzbechi	uzbeche
Uganda	Uganda	ugandese	ugandese	ugandesi (repeated)	ugandesi (repeated)
Vanuatu	Vanuatu	vanuatuano	vanuatana	vanuatensi	vanuatensi
Vatican City	Città del Vaticano	vaticano	vaticana	vaticani	vaticane
Venezuela	Venezuela	venezuelano	venezuelana	venezuelani	venezuelane
Vietnam	Vietnam	vietnamita	vietnamita	vietnamiti	vietnamite
Wales	Galles	gallese	gallesi	gallese	gallesi
Yemen	Yemen	yemenita	yemenita	yemeniti	yemenite
Zambia	Zambia	zambiano	zambiana	zambiani	zambiane
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	zimbabwiano	zimbabwiana	zimbabwesi	zimbabwesi

3 Common Italian errors and how to fix them

Wrong Gender Assignment

A common mistake is to use the masculine form, even when speaking about a female. This is normal as it will take some getting used to making this distinction especially since it doesn’t exist in English and other languages. The key is to practice doing this. Start by writing down plenty of example sentences. Start by using the examples given in this guide and change their gender and number.

Incorrect plurals

In Italian, plurals aren’t formed merely by adding a single unique ending like the ‘s’ in English but they change according to its ending and the gender of the group you’re referring to. For example, tedesco (German) becomes tedeschi (men) and tedesche (women). The more you engage with Italian speakers, listen to Italian media, and practice written exercises, you will begin to internalize rules which will become second nature to you.

Incorrect use of capital letters

As we saw earlier, in English, both the names of countries and nationalities start with capital letters, but in Italian, only the names of countries are capitalized. Nationalities are not. This rule can be confusing for English speakers. Remember this rule when writing in Italian!

4 Techniques for learning countries and nationalities in Italian

The complexity of gender, plurals, and unique Italian forms can be overwhelming, but there are some strategies to simplify the learning curve:

1. Do a labelling exercise

Print a blank world map and stick it on your wall or keep it in a study folder. Regularly test yourself by labeling countries and their corresponding Italian nationality adjective. Over time, increase the number of countries you label to challenge yourself.

2. Practice Italian speakers

Regular conversation with Italians will provide you with natural language input and direct feedback. Also, role playing can be lots of fun too. With a study partner or tutor, enact scenarios where you’re meeting people from different countries. For example: Benvenuto! Sei tedesco? (Welcome! Are you German?). This helps to reinforce vocabulary and practice for real-life conversations.

3. Create flashcards and mnemonics

Use flashcards and mnemonics to memorize genders, plural forms, and exceptions. Flashcards are often used with children but they are just as powerful for adult learners too, especially if you’re a visual learner. When learning a new language, flashcards and games can be very effective!

4. Play a matching Game

Create two sets of cards: one with country names in Italian and the other with nationality adjectives. Shuffle and spread them out, then match the country with its corresponding nationality. Time yourself to add a sense of challenge and track your progress.

5 Grammar Exercises to help you improve

When learning nationality adjectives in Italian, it’s not just about vocabulary. There are several nuances of the grammar to take into account. Here are some exercises you can do to practice these and improve.

1. Gender Agreement

Write a list of male and female names. Next to each name, write the nationality adjective in the correct form. For example: Marco è italiano, Maria è italiana.

2. Plural Forms

Make sentences using the plural forms. For example: Gli studenti sono francesi (The students are French).

3. Definite Articles:

Write down phrases both with and without the article and try to discern when each is appropriate. For example:

L’Italianoè una lingua bellissima. (Italian is a beautiful language)
Mia madre è italiana. (My mother is Italian)

4. Prepositions and Nationalities:

Create sentences where you move to a city in a specific country and then return from it, focusing on getting the prepositions right. For example: Vado a Parigi in Francia. Torno da Parigi dalla Francia. (I’m going to Paris in France. I’ll come back from Paris in France).

5. Negations

Write down statements about where someone is from, and then negate them. For example:

Carla è italiana. (Carla is Italian.) Carla non è italiana. (Carla is not Italian)
Luigi è francese. (Luigi is French.) Luigi non è francese. (Luigi is not French)
Maria è spagnola. (Maria is Spanish.) Maria non è spagnola. (Maria is not Spanish)

Conclusion

Learning this list of Italian countries and nationalities and gradually incorporating them into your vocabulary means you’re off to a great start in learning Italian.

How well do you know your Italian nationalities and countries? Take the quiz!

Before leaving, here’s a quiz for you to actively practice what you’ve learned so far. It might seem tricky at first, but with a proper study method and the right amount of practice, knowing how to master these common verbs in Italian will be un gioco da ragazzi (a no-brainer)!

Are you a beginner or an intermediate Italian learner? Got a trip coming up or want to communicate with your Italian partner or relatives in Italian? Learn Italian with my unique 80/20 method

Registrations are now open to join Intrepid Italian, my new series of online video courses that use my unique 80/20 method. You’ll go from a shy, confused beginner to a proficient and confident intermediate speaker, with me as your trusty guide.

You’ll finally be able to connect with your Italian partner, speak to your relatives and enjoy authentic travel experiences in Italy that you’ve always dreamed of, and so much more.

As a native English speaker who learned Italian as an adult, I know what it’s like to feel hopeless and lack the confidence to speak. I know what it’s like to start from scratch and to even go back to absolute basics and learn what a verb is!

Intrepid Italian was created with YOU in mind. I use my working knowledge of the English language to help you get into the ‘Italian mindset’ so you can avoid the common pitfalls and errors English speakers make – because I made them once too! I break everything down in such a way that it ‘clicks’ and just makes sense.

No matter what your level is, there is an Intrepid Italian course for you, including:

🇮🇹 Intrepid Italian for Beginners (A1)
🇮🇹 Intrepid Italian for Advanced Beginners (A2)
🇮🇹 Intrepid Italian for Intermediates (B1)

You can join 1, 2, or all 3 courses, it’s entirely up to you. The best part is that you have lifetime access so you learn anytime, anywhere and on any device.

As your guide, I walk you through each lesson, step-by-step, using my unique 80/20 method. My approach is different from traditional methods because I teach you the most important 20% of the language right from the beginning so you can start to speak straight away.

Each course includes video lessons, audio exercises, downloadable worksheets, bonus guides, a private support community, and lifetime access all designed to streamline your learning while having fun.

It even comes with my famous “Celebrate with a Spritz Guarantee”. After 30 days of using Intrepid Italian, if you don’t want to celebrate your new-found Italian skills with an Aperol Spritz, you don’t have to pay a penny! Cheers! 🥂
Join Intrepid Italian here and start learning today!
Ci vediamo lì! (See you there!)

Learning Italian? Check out these Italian language guides

Like it? Pin it for later!

Over to you!

Did you find this guide useful? Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media @intrepidguide or @intrepiditalian to start a conversation.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.

Like what you see? Subscribe using the form below to have all of my posts delivered directly to your email.

Italian