Are you curious to know how to say the country names and nationalities in Italian? If this is the case, you have arrived in the right place. One of the most important Italian lessons is learning about the Italian names for countries and nationalities.
When meeting new friends, you’ll want to tell them where you are from, and they might tell you where they have been or if they originate from other countries. A well-stocked vocabulary can come in handy in those situations because as you might not know, many languages have different names for countries you’re familiar with!
Countries And Nationalities In Italian – Grammar Basics
In Italian, the countries and nationalities can be feminine and masculine names. In addition, for the nationalities in Italian, there is a singular form and a plural form. Therefore, if you want to indicate a person’s nationality, you must use adjectives.
Although you might have Italian friends, they could have parents coming from different countries, and they can refer to the mother or the father, so you should be prepared to understand if they are talking about a male or a female.
In most cases, many countries and continents in Italian are in the singular and feminine form. For example:
- L’America – America
- L’asia – Asia
- L’Italia – Italy
- La Francia – France
But, there are also exceptions and countries that are in the singular form and masculine, such as:
- Il Marocco – Morocco
- Il Giappone – Japan
- Gli Stati Uniti – The USA
In Italian, when you speak about a country, you have to place an article in front of the country’s name, and the country’s first letter is to be capitalized.
Adjectives Used To Describe Nationalities In Italian
When you learn Italian, the most challenging part is to place the gender correctly when you use adjectives.
The general rule of thumb is the following:
- The masculine adjective ends with “-o”
- The feminine adjective ends with “-a”
- The masculine and plural adjective ends with “-i”
- The feminine and plural adjective ends with “-e”
- The adjectives finishing with “-e,” both masculine and feminine, have the ending “-i” in the plural
Remember that there are always exceptions and adjectives that do not follow the general rules.
For example:
- Uno Spagnolo – Spanish (masculine/singular)
- Una Marocchina – Moroccan (feminine/singular)
- Un Cinese – Chinese (masculine/singular)
- Degli Svedesi – Swedish people (masculine/plural)
- Un Portoghese – Portuguese (masculine/singular)
- Un Russo – Russian (masculine/singular)
- Una Olandese – Dutch (feminine/singular)
- Un Canadese – Canadian (masculine/singular)
- Un Brasiliano – A Brazilian (masculine/singular)
- Un Tedesco – A German (masculine/singular)
- Un Giapponese – A Japanese (masculine/singular)
- Un Italiano – Italian (masculine/singular)
Most Common Country Names And Nationalities In Italian
While it is impossible to list all the countries, it is possible to list the most commonly used words related to countries and nationalities.
Here in this table, you can find the most common countries and nationalities in Italian:
| Italian | English | Nationality (m.sg/f.sg.) | Nationality (m.pl./f.pl) |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Russia | Russia | Russo/Russa | Russi/Russe |
| Il Canada | Canada | Canadese/Canadese | Canadesi/Canadesi |
| La Cina | China | Cinese/Cinese | Cinesi/Cinesi |
| Gli Stati Uniti d’America | United States of America | Statunitense/Statunitense | Statunitensi/Statunitensi |
| Il Brasile | Brazil | Brasiliano/Brasiliana | Brasiliani/Brasiliane |
| L’Australia | Australia | Australiano/Australiana | Australiani/Australiane |
| L’India | India | Indiano/Indiana | Indiani/Indiane |
| L’Argentina | Argentina | Argentino/Argentina | Argentini/Argentine |
| L’Algeria | Algeria | Algerino/Algerina | Algerini/Algerine |
| La Groelandia | Greenlandia | Groelandese/Groelandese | Groelandesi/Groelandesi |
| L’Arabia Saudita | Saudi Arabia | Saudita/Saudita | Sauditi/Saudite |
| Il Messico | Mexico | Messicano/Messicana | Messicani/Messicane |
| L’Indonesia | Indonesia | Indonesiano/Indonesiana | Indonesiani/Indonesiane |
| Il Sudan | Sudan | Sudanese/Sudanese | Sudanesi/Sudanesi |
| La Libia | Libya | Libanese/Libanese | Libanesi/Libanesi |
| L’Iran | Iran | Iraniano/Iraniana | Iraniani/Iraniane |
| La Mongolia | Mongolia | Mongolo/Mongola | Mongoli/Mongole |
| Il Perù | Peru | Peruviano/Peruviana | Peruviani/Peruviane |
| Il Sudafrica | South Africa | Sudafricano/Sudafricana | Sudafricani/Sudafricane |
| La Colombia | Colombia | Colombiano/Colombiana | Colombiani/Colombiane |
| La Bolivia | Bolivia | Boliviano/Boliviana | Boliviani/Boliviane |
| L’Egitto | Egypt | Egiziano/Egiziana | Egiziani/Egiziane |
| La Nigeria | Nigeria | Nigeriano/NIgeriana | Nigeriani/Nigeriane |
| Il Venezuela | Venezuela | Venezuelano/Venezuelana | Venezuelani/Venezuelane |
| La Germania | Germany | Tedesco/Tedesca | Tedeschi/Tedesche |
| ll Giappone | Japan | Giapponese/Giapponese | Giapponesi/Giapponesi |
| La Spagna | Spain | Spagnolo/Spagnola | Spagnoli/Spagnole |
| L’Europa | Europe | Europeo/Europea | Europei/Europee |
| La Grecia | Greece | Greco/Greche | Greci/Greche |
| L’Italia | Italy | Italiano/Italiana | Italiani/Italiane |
| La Malta | Malta | Maletese/Maltese | Maltesi/Maltesi |
| La Turchia | Turkey | Turco/Turca | Turchi/Turche |
| Il Cile | Chile | Cileno/Cilena | Cileni/Cilene |
| Il Pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistano/Pakistana | Pakistani/Pakistane |
| L’Ucraina | Ukraine | Ucraino/Ucrainiana | Ucraini/Ucraniane |
| La Francia | France | Francese/Francese | Francesi/Francesi |
| L’Inghilterra | England | Inglese/Inglese | Inglesi/nglesi |
| Il Portogallo | Portugal | Portoghese/Portoghese | Portoghesi/Portoghesi |
| La Svezia | Sweden | Svedese/Svedese | Svedesi/Svedesi |
| La Norvegia | Norway | Norvegese/Norvegese | Norvegesi/Norvegesi |
| La Danimarca | Denmark | Danese/Danese | Danesi/Danesi |
| Il Marocco | Morocco | Marocchino/Marocchina | Maricchini/Marocchine |
| L’Iraq | Iraq | Iracheno/Irachena | Iracheni/Irachene |
| La Finlandia | Finland | Finlandese/Finlandese | Finlandesi/Finlandesi |
| Il Vietnam | Vietnam | Vietnamita/ Vietnamita | Vietnamiti/Vietnamiti |
| La Polonia | Poland | Polacco/Polacca | Polacchi/Polacche |
| La Nuova Zelanda | New Zealand | Neozelandese/Neozelandese | Neozelandesi /Neozelandesi |
| La Costa D’Avorio | The Ivory Coast | Ivoriano/Ivoriana | Ivoriani/Ivoriane |
| La Malesia | Malaysia | Malese/Malese | Malesi/Malesi |
| La Gran Bretagna | La Gran Bretagna | Britannico/Britannica | Britannici/Britanniche |
| L’Uruguay | Uruguay | Uruguaiano/Uruguaiana | Uruguaiani/Uruguaiani |
| La Tunisia | Tunisia | Tunisino/Tunisina | Tunisini/Tunisine |
| Il Nord Corea | North Korea | Nordcoreano/Nordcoreana | Nordcoreani/Nordcoreane |
| La Liberia | Liberia | Liberiano/Liberiana | LIberiani/Liberiane |
| La Bulgaria | Bulgaria | Bulgaro/Bulgara | Bulgari/Bulgare |
| Il Cuba | Cuba | Cubano/Cubana | Cubani/Cubane |
| L’Islanda | Iceland | Islandese/Islandese | Islandesi/Islandesi |
| L’Ungheria | Hungary | Ungherese/Ungherese | Ungheresi/Ungheresi |
| La Serbia | Serbia | Serbo/Serba | Serbi /Serbe |
| L’Austria | Austria | Austriaco/Austriache | Austriaci/Austriaci |
| Il Lussemburgo | Luxembourg | Lussemburghese/Lussemburghese | Lussemburghesi/Lussemburghesi |
| Il San Marino | San Marino | Sammarinese/Sammarinese | Sammarinesi/Sammarinesi |
| Il Cipro | Cyprus | Cipriota/Cipriota | Ciprioti/Cirpioti |
| L’Israele | Israel | Israelianao/Israeliana | Israeliani/Israeliane |
| Il Belgio | Belgium | Belga/Belga | Belghi/Belghe |
| Il Taiwan | Taiwan | Taiwanese/Taiwanese | Taiwanesi/Taiwanesi |
| La Svizzera | Switzerland | Svizzero/Svizzera | Svizzeri/Svizzere |
| L’Irlanda | Ireland | Irlandese/Irlandese | Irlandesi/Irlandesi |
Ready To Learn More Italian?
Thanks for reading our blog about country names and nationalities in Italian. If you want to sound like a native Italian speaker and learn a foreign language properly, you can use the Ling App!
With Ling, you can learn different languages or just Italian. With each lesson, you can learn more about the culture, the nouns, the pronunciation, the verbs, and the written words. You can also do a lot of practice and find video lessons.
It is perfect for foreign students and for people that want to improve their knowledge of other countries and nationalities around the world.
In addition, if you want to understand all the ins and out of a mother tongue, you can check out our posts on Common Italian Christmas Greetings and Happy Birthday In Italian to add even more words to your vocabulary.
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