Indefinite Articles (Un/Uno/Una/Un')

The indefinite article in English is simply a or an. Italian has four forms: un, uno, una, and un'. The correct choice follows the same logic as definite articles — it depends on the gender of the noun and the first letter(s) of the word that follows.

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The Four Forms

Form	Gender	Used Before	Example
un	Masculine	Most consonants and all vowels	un libro, un amico
uno	Masculine	s+consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y	uno studente, uno zaino
una	Feminine	Any consonant	una casa, una zia
un'	Feminine	Any vowel	un'amica, un'isola

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Masculine: un and uno

un — The Standard Masculine Form

Use un before masculine nouns starting with most consonants and all vowels. Note that un (masculine) before a vowel has no apostrophe.

Italian	English
un libro	a book
un ragazzo	a boy
un tavolo	a table
un cane	a dog
un treno	a train
un amico	a friend (male)
un uomo	a man
un albero	a tree
un esame	an exam

Important: Do not write un'amico with an apostrophe. The masculine form un before a vowel is simply un, not un'. The apostrophe is only used for the feminine un'.

uno — Before Special Consonant Clusters

Use uno before masculine nouns starting with the same sounds that require lo: s+consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y.

Italian	English
uno studente	a student
uno zaino	a backpack
uno sport	a sport
uno gnocco	a dumpling
uno psicologo	a psychologist
uno xilofono	a xylophone
uno yogurt	a yoghurt

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Feminine: una and un'

una — Before a Consonant

Use una before feminine nouns starting with any consonant.

Italian	English
una casa	a house
una donna	a woman
una ragazza	a girl
una scuola	a school
una strada	a road
una zia	an aunt
una stazione	a station

un' — Before a Vowel

Use un' (with apostrophe, elision of una) before feminine nouns starting with a vowel.

Italian	English
un'amica	a friend (female)
un'idea	an idea
un'isola	an island
un'ora	an hour
un'estate	a summer
un'arancia	an orange

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The Apostrophe Rule: un vs un'

This is one of the most common mistakes for learners. The rule is clear:

	Before a Vowel	Apostrophe?
Masculine	un amico	No apostrophe
Feminine	un'amica	Yes apostrophe

The apostrophe tells you the word is feminine. Without it, the word is masculine.

Correct	Incorrect	Why
un amico (a male friend)	un'amico	Masculine: no apostrophe
un'amica (a female friend)	una amica	Feminine before vowel: use apostrophe
un uomo (a man)	un'uomo	Masculine: no apostrophe
un'ora (an hour)	una ora	Feminine before vowel: use apostrophe

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Comparison with English