Pronunciation and Spelling

Vowels (Vocali)

Italian uses 5 letters (a, e, i, o, u) to denote its 7 vowels ([a], [], [e], [i], [], [o], [u]).

The letter a denotes a single sound, while the letters e and o may denote either an open ([] and []) or closed ([e] and [o]) sounds (note that open vowels occur in stressed syllables only); the pronunciation of the open and closed sounds may vary from one part of Italy to the other.

The letters i and u, on the other hand, have vocal ([i] and [u]) and semivocal ([j] and [w]) values; moreover the letter i may be silent in its function to palatalize a preceding c, g, or sc.

Italian vowels are short, clear-cut, and are never drawn out. The glide with which English vowels frequently end should be avoided.

The approximate English equivalents are as follows:

• A is like a in the English word ah!, cf.:
amore m love;
antipasto m appetizer;
fama f fame;
sala f hall.

• E has two pronunciations:
• it is closed sound like e in the English word they (without the final i glide), cf.:

bere v to drink;
e conj and;
fede f faith;
me pron me;
• it is open sound like e in the word met (it occurs only in stressed syllable), cf.:

bene adv well;
è v is;
festa f party; holiday;
presto adv soon.

• I is used in 3 cases:
• to denote a vowel like i in machine, cf.:

bimbo m child;
libro m book;
pino m pine;
vino m wine;
• to denote a semivowel [j] like y in yet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

chiamare [kja-] v to call;
fiama f flame;
fiume m river;
piuma f feather;
• the i is not pronounced in the combinations ci, gi, and sci when they are followed by a, o or u, unless the accent falls on the i; in these cases the letter i merely indicates that c, g and sc are palatalized and pronounced, respectively, like the English ch, j and sh, cf.:

arancia [aran'ta] f orange
ciao [tao] interj hello! bye!;
giornale [dor'nale] m newspaper
giusto ['dusto] adj just, right;
lasciare [la'are] v to leave;
scienza ['entsa] f science
NB! The stressed i, however, is pronounced:
biologia f biology;
bugia f lie.

• O has two pronunciations:
• it is closed sound like o in the English word oh!, cf.:

dono m gift;
mondo m world;
nome m name;
o conj or;
• it is open sound like o in or (it occurs only in stressed syllable), cf.:

moda f fashion;
no adv no;
posta f mail;
toga f toga.

• U is used in 2 cases:
• to denote a vowel like u in rule, cf.:

fungo m mushroom
luna f moon
lungo adj long
tubo m tube
• to denote a semivowel [w] like w in wet (it occurs before a vowel only), cf.:

guardare v to guard;
guerra f war.

Diphthongs (Dittonghi)

Diphthongs are two vowels fused to emit a single sound.

A diphthong is formed when an unstressed i or u combines with another vowel (a, e, o) or when the two vowels combine with each other, in which case either the i or u may remain unstressed. In diphthongs, unstressed i and u become semivowels approximating in sound the English consonants y and w, respectively.

• Diphthong examples:

buono adj good;
chiuso adj closed;
fiore f flower;
ieri adv yesterday;
invidia f envy;
più adv more.

Tripthongs (Trittonghi)

Triphthongs also exist. These are sequences of three vowels with a single sound, usually a diphthong followed by an unstressed i, cf.:

buoi mpl oxen
miei pron pl mine
pigliai v (I) took
tuoi pron pl yours

Vocal Sequences

Italian has numerous words that contain sequences of vowels. The following words are not triphthongs (which are rare), but sequences of a vowel and a diphthong:

baia f bay;
febbraio m February;
fioraio m florist;
noia f boredom.

acquaio m sink;
ghiaia f gravel;
gioiello m jewel;
muoio v (I) die.

Elision (Elisione)

The hiatus to be avoided, the function words drop their final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel. In these cases the apostrophe (l'apostrofo) is generally used to indicate this dropping, cf.:

lo amico => l’amico the friend;
la automobile => l’automobile the automobile;
una università => un’università a university;
di Italia => d’Italia of Italy;
dove è => dov’è where is.

fare l'amore => far l'amore to make love;
dottore Nardi => dottor Nardi Dr. Nardi.

Consonants (Consonanti)

The consonants b, f, m, n, v are pronounced as in English.

The other consonants need specal treatment.

• C has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant, it is like the English k, cf.:

cane m dog;
con prep with;
culla f cradle;
credere v to think, believe;
• before e or i it is like the English sound ch in chest, cf.:

aceto m vinegar;
cena f supper;
cibo m food;
cipolla f onion.
• See also mute i.

• D is somewhat more explosive than in English, with the tongue near the tip of the upper teeth but with no aspiration, cf.:
data f date;
denaro m money;
donna f woman;
dove adv where.

• G has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, u or a consonant it is as in the English word go, cf.:

gamba f leg;
gomma f eraser;
gusto m taste;
grande adj great;
• before e or i it is like the j in jam, cf.:

gelato m ice cream;
gente f people;
gita f outing;
pagina f page.
• See also mute i.

• H is always silent; it is written in some form of the verb avere to have, in few other Italian words, and mainly in foreign words and names, cf.:
ho v (I) have;
hai v (you) have;
ha v (he / she / it) has;
hanno v (they) have;
ahi! interj ouch!;
hotel m hotel.

• L is sharper and more forward in the mouth than in English, similar to l in link, cf.:
lingua f language;
luna f moon;
lungo adj long;
olio m oil.

• P is as in English, but without the aspiration that sometimes accompanies this sound in English, cf.:
pane m bread;
pasto m meal;
pepe m pepper;
ponte m bridge.

• Q is always followed by a consonantic u [w] and this combination is pronounced like the English qu in quest, cf.:
quadro m picture;
quale adj which;
quanto adv how much;
questo pron this.

• R is pronounced with one flip of the tongue against the gums of the upper teeth. This is the trilled r and it is different from the English r; cf.:
albergo m hotel;
arte m art;
ora adv now;
orologio m watch.

• S has two pronunciations:
• between vowels or before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v it is like the English z in zoo, cf.:

casa f house;
sbaglio m mistake;
sgridare v to scold;
svelto adj quick.
• in all the other cases it is like the English s in set, cf.:

passare v to pass;
soggiorno m living room;
stanza f room;
stufato adj stew.

• T is approximately the same as in English, but no escaping of breath accompanies it in Italian, cf.:
antipasto m appetizer;
carta f paper;
matita f pencil;
testa f head.

• Z has two pronunciations:
• sometimes it is voiceless, like English ts is assets, cf.:

dizionario m dictionary;
grazie fpl thank you;
negozio m store;
pizza f pizza.
• sometimes it is voiced, like English ds in beds, cf.:

pranzo m lunch;
romanzo m novel;
zanzara f mosquito;
zebra f zebra.

Consonantic Digraphs

• GH (found only before e or i) is like the g in get, cf.:
funghe v (he) escapes;
ghetto m ghetto;
laghi mpl lakes;
maghi mpl magicians;

• GLI is approximately like ll in million, cf.:
aglio m garlic;
bottiglia f bottle;
famiglia f family;
meglio adv better.

• GN is approximately like ny in canyon, cf.:
bagno m bath;
signora f lady;
signore m gentleman;
signorina f young lady.

• CH (found only before e or i) is like the English k, cf.:
anche adv also;
che conj that;
chi pron who;
perché adv because.

• SC has two pronunciations:
• before a, o, or u is like the English sk in ask, cf.:

ascoltare v to listen;
pesca f peach;
scaloppine fpl cutlets;
scarpa f shoe;
• before e or i is like the English sound sh in shell, cf.:

conoscere v to know;
crescere v to grow;
pesce f fish;
scena f scene.

• SCH occurs only before e or i, and is pronounced like the English sk, cf.:
dischi mpl disks; records;
fiaschi mpl flasks;
lische fpl fishbones;
tasche fpl pockets.

Double Consonants

In Italian, all consonants except h and q can be doubled.

Double consonants are pronounced much more forcefully than single consonants. With double f, l, m, n, r, s, and v, the sound is prolonged; with double b, c, d, g, p, and t, the stop is stronger than for the single consonant. Double z is pronounced almost the same as single z. Double s is always unvoiced.

• Double consonant examples:

albicocca f apricot;
anno m year;
assai adv a lot;
babbo m dad;
basso adj short;
bello adj beautiful;
bistecca f beefsteak;
cavalletto m easel;
espresso m espresso coffee;
evviva adv hurrah;
ferro m iron;
fetta f slice;
filetto m filet;
mamma f mama;
pennello m paint brush;
ragazzo m boy;
spaghetti mpl spaghetti;
tavolozza f palette.

The sound [n] may be assimilated in a single word or in a syntactic group:

• before [k] and [g] it sounds like English ng in mingle, cf.:

banco desk, congresso congress;
un cavallo a horse, in campagna in field;
• before [f] and [v] it sounds as a nasalized [m], cf.:

inverno winter, infrastruttura infrastucture;
un vento a wind, un frate a friar;
• before [p] and [b] it sounds like [m], cf.:

un bambino a child, un po' some quantity of...