il
/il/
il is the Italian way to say the English word 'the' for singular masculine nouns.
The word il is the definite article used to mean 'the'. It is specifically used before singular masculine nouns.
Which one should you use?
While il is used for masculine nouns, you must use la for feminine nouns. When selecting the correct form of 'the' for masculine nouns, il is replaced by lo if the following noun begins with 'z' or 's' followed by another consonant and it is replaced by l’ if the following masculine noun begins with a vowel.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the masculine plural, the article changes based on the starting letter of the following noun: use i before standard consonants and use gli before vowels or certain consonant clusters such as 's' followed by a consonant or 'z'. For feminine plural nouns, the article changes to le.
How do you pronounce it?
/il/
Did you know?
- While il is the standard article, removing it entirely from before a noun can sometimes turn a common word into a title of high prestige or a proper name.
- The word il is actually a reduced form of the word lo.
Examples in context
- Kim Il-sung è stato nominato premier.Kim Il-sung was named premier.This sentence shows the usage of il in a proper name.Tatoeba #2143494 by Guybrush88, translation #807057 by Source_VOA
- Il caneThe dog
- Il libroThe book
- Il trenoThe train
- il problemaThe problem
- Il cane corre nel giardino.The dog runs in the garden.
- Prendo il libro sul tavolo.I take the book on the table.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Sofia are at a café.
- LorenzoVuoi il caffè?Do you want the coffee?
- SofiaSì, grazie mille.Yes, thanks a lot.
- LorenzoPrendo anche il cornetto.I will also take the croissant.
- SofiaOttima idea.Great idea.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry il, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries il, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
