"The lion" is an English equivalent of the Italian phrase il leone. The masculine singular definite article and noun references the male whereas la leonessa refers to the female, "the lioness." The respective pronunciations will be "eel ley-O-ney" and "la LEY-o-NES-sa" in Italian.
Il in Italian means "the" in English.
Il messaggio in Italian is "the message" in English.
Il placet in Italian means "the permit" in English.
Il Cenacolo in Italian is "The Last Supper" in English.
Il pescecane in Italian means "the dogfish" in English.
Il piede in Italian means "the foot" in English.
Il genio in Italian is "the genius" in English.
Il fortunato in Italian means "the lucky one" in English.
"The best!" in English is Il migliore! in Italian.
"The mentalist" in English is il mentalista in Italian.
"The garage" in English is il garage in Italian.
"The white" in English is il bianco in Italian.