Usage Note
Osso has a notable irregular plural: le ossa (f pl) when referring to bones of the body as a collective whole (ho le ossa rotte — 'my bones ache'), but gli ossi (m pl) when referring to individual bones as objects, e.g. bones given to a dog. This gender-switching plural (il dito → le dita) is a classic Italian anomaly worth memorising.
Examples
"Il cane rosicchia un osso in giardino."
Natural Translation
The dog is gnawing a bone in the garden.
Related Words
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