If in a picture there are " delle bambine" it means there are " alcune bambine" ( some young girls/ female children) If in a picture there are " delle donne" it means there are " alcune donne" ( some women) If in a picture there are " degli uomini" it means there are" alcuni uomini" ( some men) If in a picture there are" dei bambini" it means there are" " alcuni bambini ( some children : they can be male or male and female together). In these sentences "delle, degli, dei" have the meaning of SOME ( alcuni, alcune) . ( In these cases this function is called partitive function) The same function is in the following sentence:"Please, can you give me some bread?" in Italian :" Per favore, puoi darmi/ passarmi DEL pane ( ... del pane = un po' di pane= some bread). Del , dello, della ( singolar) / Dei, degli, delle ( plural) can have also other functions other meanings . One example : " E' molto pericoloso avvicinarsi alla tana DEI leoni " ( It is very dangerous to come up to the den OF THE lions/ the lions'den) Del, dello, Della, Dei , Degli, Delle are called = preposizioni articolate . They are formed with the preposizione DI+ THE DETERMINATIVE ARTICLE. I am not sure if I have understood your question well. I hope yes.

they mean "some" so for ex: some women delle donne masculine: dei (read: day) before consonants feminine :delle (read dell-eh) before vowels and consonants masculine :degli (readdeh-lyee) before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons. if you understood this you will get also how to use them and how they are made.

The rule is simple, and the meaning is also simple: We have six determinative articles in Italy, giving the following six relations: dello = di + lo (of the) del = di + il della = di + la degli = di + gli dei = di + i delle = di + le With not determinative articles, you just say: di un, di uno, di una.