Italiano — Invariable nouns

Some Italian nouns keep the same form in the singular and plural: città, film, re, foto, crisi, gru. Only the article and other agreements change.

How it works

✓ Rule

Invariable nouns include those ending in a stressed vowel (città, caffè), truncated words (foto, cinema), single-syllable words (re, gru) and foreign loanwords (film, sport, bar). The noun itself never changes; number is shown only by the article: la città → le città, il film → i film.

Examples

Same form, different article
Singular	Plural	Meaning
la città	le città	city
il film	i film	film, movie
il re	i re	king
la foto	le foto	photo
la crisi	le crisi	crisis
la gru	le gru	crane

Good to know

⚠ Note

Adjectives and verbs still agree in number even though the noun does not: la foto è bella → le foto sono belle. A frequent mistake is inventing a plural like *le cittàe or *i filmi — the noun form must stay unchanged.