Italian Jobs and the Feminine Forms of Professions
Italian words for common jobs, how the masculine and feminine forms work, and phrases for talking about your work.
Talking about jobs is one of the first topics in conversation. Italian job titles often change with gender, following patterns you can learn.
Common jobs
| English | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| teacher | insegnante | insegnante |
| student | studente | studentessa |
| doctor | dottore, medico | dottoressa |
| nurse | infermiere | infermiera |
| waiter | cameriere | cameriera |
| lawyer | avvocato | avvocata (or avvocato) |
| engineer | ingegnere | ingegnere |
| chef | cuoco | cuoca |
| actor | attore | attrice |
| writer | scrittore | scrittrice |
| farmer | contadino | contadina |
| shop assistant | commesso | commessa |
Patterns
| Masculine ending | Feminine ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -o | -a | cuoco → cuoca |
| -e | -a | infermiere → infermiera |
| -tore | -trice | attore → attrice |
| -ore | -essa | dottore → dottoressa |
| -ista | -ista (unchanged) | dentista, giornalista |
Some words are the same for both genders, with the article showing the difference: il / la dentista, il / la giornalista, l'insegnante.
Saying what you do
- Sono insegnante. — I'm a teacher.
- Faccio il medico. — I work as a doctor.
- Lavoro in un ospedale. — I work in a hospital.
- Lavoro per una banca. — I work for a bank.
- Sono in pensione. — I'm retired.
Note that no article is used after essere with a profession.
Asking about work
- Che lavoro fai? — What do you do?
- Dove lavori? — Where do you work?
- Ti piace il tuo lavoro? — Do you like your job?
Workplace words
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| office | l'ufficio |
| company | l'azienda, la ditta |
| colleague | il collega, la collega |
| boss | il capo |
| salary | lo stipendio |
| meeting | la riunione |
| contract | il contratto |
Tips
- Learn the endings -tore/-trice and -ore/-essa.
- Drop the article after sono.
- Use the dictionary to check feminine forms.
English Italian Dictionary
Offline English–Italian dictionary with noun gender and accents handled properly
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