{"id":70693,"date":"2024-05-15T04:17:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T08:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/italian-pronunciation\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T14:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T19:10:11","slug":"italian-pronunciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/italian-pronunciation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide [With Audio]"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re learning Italian, you may have noticed that many words look similar to English<\/a>.\u00a0But as far as pronunciation goes, there are lots of differences between the two languages.<\/p>\n

With the help of audio, let’s take on the Italian alphabet and proper Italian pronunciation<\/strong> in this post. With some patience, a bit of memorizing and this guide, you’ll build a great foundation for your Italian studies.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Complete Italian Alphabet<\/h2>\n

First, take a listen to the “Italian Alphabet Song” in this video<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

Now, let’s break it down.<\/p>\n

You can click on each letter in the chart to hear its Italian name. The middle column shows you its typical sound within words, which you can hear by clicking on the example word in the third column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Letter<\/th>Sound<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
A<\/em><\/td>ah<\/td>ape<\/em> (bee)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B<\/em><\/td>buh<\/td>bambini<\/em> (children)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C<\/em><\/td>kuh
\nch<\/td>		calze<\/em>\u00a0(sock) \/ chilo<\/em>\u00a0(kilogram)
\ncielo<\/em>\u00a0(sky)
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D<\/em><\/td>duh<\/td>donna<\/em> (woman)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
E<\/em><\/td>eh<\/td>edificio<\/em> (building)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
F<\/em><\/td>fuh<\/td>fagiolo<\/em> (bean)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/em><\/td>guh
\njuh
\nnyuh<\/td>		gamba<\/em>\u00a0(leg) \/ ghepardo<\/em>\u00a0(cheetah)
\ngioia<\/em>\u00a0(joy)
\ngnocchi<\/em>\u00a0(a type of pasta)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/em><\/td>(silent)<\/td>hanno<\/em>\u00a0(they have)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I<\/em><\/td>ee<\/td>istituto<\/em> (institute)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L<\/em><\/td>luh<\/td>luce<\/em> (light)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M<\/em><\/td>muh<\/td>madre<\/em> (mother)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N<\/em><\/td>nuh<\/td>notte<\/em> (night)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O<\/em><\/td>oh<\/td>olio<\/em> (oil)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
P<\/em><\/td>puh<\/td>pasta<\/em> (pasta)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Q<\/em><\/td>kuh<\/td>quattro<\/em> (four)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/em><\/td>rrr<\/td>raccolta<\/em> (collection)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S<\/em><\/td>ss
\nzz<\/td>		sei<\/em> (six)
\ncasa<\/em>\u00a0(house)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T<\/em><\/td>tuh<\/td>tacco<\/em> (heel)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U<\/em><\/td>oo<\/td>universit\u00e0<\/em> (university)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
V<\/em><\/td>vuh<\/td>vacanza<\/em> (vacation)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Z<\/em><\/td>ts
\ndz<\/td>		pizza<\/em>\u00a0(pizza)
\nzio<\/em>\u00a0(uncle)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Special Notes on Letter Pronunciations<\/h3>\n

You probably noticed that some letters of the Italian alphabet have unusual or multiple pronunciations.<\/p>\n

These have distinct rules, presented in this table with examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Letter<\/strong><\/th>Pronunciation Rules<\/strong><\/th>Examples<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
C<\/strong><\/em><\/td>A hard \/k\/<\/strong> sound when followed by A<\/em>, O<\/em>, U<\/em> or a consonant (including H<\/em>).
\n
\nA soft \/ch\/<\/strong> sound when followed by I<\/em> or E<\/em>.<\/td>		camicia<\/em> (shirt)
\ncolore<\/em> (color)
\ncucina<\/em> (kitchen)
\nchitarra<\/em> (guitar)
\n
\ncibo<\/em> (food)
\ncentro<\/em> (center)
\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/strong><\/em><\/td>A hard \/g\/<\/strong> sound when followed by A<\/em>, O<\/em>, U<\/em> or most consonants (including H<\/em>).
\n
\nA soft \/j\/<\/strong> sound when followed by I<\/em> or E<\/em>.
\n
\nA \/ny\/<\/strong> sound when followed by N<\/em>.<\/td>		gallina<\/em> (hen)
\ngonna<\/em> (skirt)
\ngufo<\/em> (owl)
\nghiacciolo<\/em> (icicle\/popsicle)
\n
\ngiallo<\/em> (yellow)
\ngemello<\/em> (twin)
\n
\ngnomo<\/em> (gnome)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/strong><\/em><\/td>Never pronounced.<\/td>hockey<\/em> (hockey)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/strong><\/em><\/td>A trill<\/strong>, also known as a \"rolled R.\"<\/td>birra<\/em> (beer)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S<\/strong><\/em><\/td>A hard \/s\/<\/strong> sound in most instances.
\n
\nA \/z\/<\/strong> sound when between two vowels.<\/td>		settimana<\/em> (week)
\n
\nrosa<\/em> (pink\/rose)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Z<\/strong><\/em><\/td>A \/ts\/<\/strong> sound within a word.
\n
\nA \/dz\/<\/strong> sound when at the beginning of a word.<\/td>		piazza<\/em> (square\/plaza)
\n
\nzaino<\/em> (backpack)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Non-native Italian Consonants<\/h3>\n

In addition to the letters of the alphabet, there are some additional ones that aren\u2019t native to Italian.<\/p>\n

So while these consonants aren’t part of the official Italian alphabet, they’re sometimes used in writing and speech for words adopted from other languages.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, they’re pronounced in Italian the same way they’re normally pronounced in their loanwords<\/strong> from other languages\u2014the meanings of which are also typically clear.<\/p>\n

Take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Letter<\/th>Sound<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
J<\/em><\/td>juh<\/td>jazz<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
K<\/em><\/td>kuh<\/td>kayak<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
W<\/em><\/td>vuh<\/td>wafer<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
X<\/em><\/td>sss<\/td>xenofobia<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Y<\/em><\/td>yuh<\/td>yacht<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Italian Pronunciation<\/h2>\n

Vowels<\/h3>\n

The Italian vowels are the same as English: A<\/em>, E<\/em>, I<\/em>, O<\/em> and U<\/em>.<\/strong> The main difference is that, in Italian, the pronunciation you just learned never changes.<\/p>\n

Yep\u2014Italian vowel sounds are invariable. <\/strong>For example, let’s take the word “May” in English. If this word were to exist in Italian, you wouldn’t hear “ay” pronounced as “ey,” as it is in English. The vowels would retain their sounds and this word would be pronounced as “m-a-i.” A similar example in Italian is the word mais <\/em>(corn).\u00a0<\/p>\n

When two vowels are placed next to each other in English, they often combine their pronunciation, such as in “bread” or “boat.” Not so in Italian.<\/p>\n

Even when two vowels are next to each other, both retain their sounds.<\/strong> For example, in mischiare\u00a0<\/em>(to mix), you can distinctly hear both the second I<\/em> and the A<\/em>.<\/p>\n

English speakers also have a tendency to add another vowel sound at the end of individual vowels, especially at the ends of words\u2014like pronouncing “hello” as “he-llou.”<\/p>\n

In Italian, vowels have very crisp sounds<\/strong> (it’s “mis-kee-ahr-e<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and not “mis-kee-ahr-ey<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Consonants<\/h3>\n

As we went over above, Italian lacks several of the English consonants and only uses them in loanwords<\/a> adopted from other languages. However, it can still make those sounds by combining the letters that it does have.<\/p>\n

The Italian alphabet also has a few of its own special sounds, made by placing two consonants or a combination of consonants and vowels together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are the main Italian consonant and consonant-vowel combinations, along with some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Letter Combo<\/th>Sound<\/th>Examples<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CC<\/em><\/td>kuh
\nchuh (when followed by I<\/em> or E<\/em>)<\/td>		occhi<\/em> (eyes)
\npiccione<\/em> (pigeon)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GG<\/em><\/td>guh
\njuh (when followed by I<\/em> or E<\/em>)<\/td>		aggrottare<\/em>\u00a0(knit)
\noggi<\/em> (today)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
QU<\/em><\/td>kwuh<\/td>quando<\/em>\u00a0(when)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GLI<\/em><\/td>yee<\/td>gli<\/em> (the [masculine plural])<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SC<\/em><\/td>skuh<\/td>scuola<\/em>\u00a0(school)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SCH<\/em><\/td>skuh<\/td>dischi<\/em> (discs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Now, have you noticed anything about Italian consonants when two of the same appear next to each other?<\/p>\n

You got it\u2014if Italian consonants are doubled, so is the length of the pronunciation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a listen:<\/p>\n