In linguistic terms, words in two different languages that have a common origin and a similar meaning are called “cognates.” In general, when two words are cognates, the stem of each word will provide a clue to the actual meaning. The ending of each word in both languages will also follow a common pattern.

Memorizing a vocabulary list is not very interesting and can be time consuming.
But recognizing Italian cognates can increase
a student’s knowledge of Italian with very little effort!

Many of the words that describe the professions in Italian and English are cognates.  The Italian ending will be invariable for some professions, as it in English, but for others it can change to reflect the gender of the professional.  Read to the end of this blog to discover which feminine endings are actually used in Italy today!

The ending –ista in Italian is equivalent to the ending –ist in English. The –ista ending is invariable, but the definite article (il, la, or l’) will change to reflect gender. For more than one professional, change the –a ending to the plural –i for men and –e for women.  Use the singular (il, lo, la, l’) or plural definite articles (i, gli, le).

l’artista                       =                     artist

il farmacista               =                  pharmacist            =                     la farmacista

il pianista                   =                     pianist                    =                 la pianista

il professionista         =                  professional             =                  la professionista

il socialista                 =                     socialist                  =                  la  socialista

il turista                      =                      tourist                   =                  la turista

The masculine ending –ologo and the feminine ending –ologa in Italian are also equivalent to the ending –ist in English.  For words that describe a profession and end in –ologo/–ologa  keep in mind that there are words with the same stem and an -ia ending that describe the field itself, as in radiologia (radiology), psicologia (psychiatry), geologia (gelology), chimica (chemistry), and fisica (physics).

il biologo                    =                     biologist                     =                     la biologa

il geologo                   =                     geologist                    =                     la geologa

lo psicologo               =                     psychologist              =                     la psicologa

il radiologo                =                     radiologist                 =                     la radiologa

The ending –ore in Italian is equivalent to the ending –or in English and the Italian nouns with an  -ore ending refer to masculine professions. The corresponding profession in the feminine is either –essa or -ice.

l’attore                       =                     actor                           =                     l’attrice

il conduttore              =                     driver/chauffeur        =                     la conduttrice

il dottore                    =                     doctor                         =                     la dottoressa

il professore               =                     professor                    =                     la professoressa

The endings -aria and –ario in Italian are equivalent to the ending –ary in English.

il segretario               =                     secretary                    =                la segretaria

l’universitario            =        student at the University      =                 l’universitaria

il salario                      =                     salary

A note about Italian government professions…

Most Italian professions did not have feminine forms until the last few decades, and the recent trend has been to go back to using only the masculine form, even when addressing a woman.  The current thinking is  that the position is the same, whether held by a man or a woman, and therefore the title should also be the same.

This holds true especially when addressing women in the government or in public service. Although feminine forms do exist for many of these positions, in general, both men and women are addressed with the masculine title, followed by their last name, as follows:

il presidente              =        the presdent
il primo ministro       =        the prime minister
il senatore                 =         the senator
il governatore           =         the governor
il sindaco                   =         the mayor

il soldato                   =          the soldier
il poliziotto               =          the policeman

il postino                  =           the postal worker
il pompiere               =           the fireman

A few facts about doctors and lawyers in Italy…

In Italy, individuals with a college degree are often addressed as “dottore” by those who work under them as a sign of respect.  The feminine form, “dottoressa” is heard less often but is still used in Italy today, depending on the preference of the professional woman.

In some regions, a college graduate may be addressed as “ingegnere” to show respect, even though the individual does not have an engineering degree.

A physician is most often addressed as “dottore”  followed by their last name, although dottoressa is also used, as mentioned above.  When describing a physician in the third person, “il medico” is the more specific term.

A lawyer is most often addressed as “avvocato” followed by their last name, whether male or female.

When one is stating their profession in Italian, the indefinite article (un, uno, una, un’) is left out of the sentence. In America, we say, “I am a doctor“ or “I am a lawyer,” but in Italy they say simply,  “Sono medico” or “Sono avvocato.” 

This is an easy rule to remember, since the sentence, “Sono un avocato” means, “I am an avocato” in Italian!  Of course, the words avocato and avvocato are spoken a bit differently, with emphasis on the double consonant “vv” in Italian for the word lawyer. But, to avoid any misunderstanding, simply leave out the Italian definite article when speaking about your profession!

il dottore                 =            the doctor (college graduate, male)
la dottoressa           =            the doctor (college graduate, female)
l’ingegnere              =            the engineer (college graduate)
il medico                  =            the physician
l’avvocato                =            the lawyer

And finally, some additional Italian terms that describe if one is working… or not!

Lavoro in proprio.
I am self-employed.  

Sono disoccupato(a).
I am unemployed.

Sono in pensione.
I am retired.

If you learn how to use Italian cognates
to describe the professions,
I guarantee you will use
these Italian language friends every day!

 

For “All the Italian you need to enjoy your trip to Italy,”® click on the links below to purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers books – and then listen to the audiobook “Just the Important Phrases” on your favorite streaming platform!     —Kathryn Occhipinti

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