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Figuring out how to pronounce written Italian words is a fairly easy task. The
following charts summarize the symbols used in this book to help you pronounce them.
VOWELS
Alphabet
Letters
English
Equivalents
a
father
“ah”
casa / house
acqua / water
a
e
bet
“eh”
bene / well
esame / exam
e
i
machine
“eeh”
o
sorry
“oh”
ile
le
f
Sa
mp
u
Examples
boot
“ooh”
Symbols Used
vini / wines
indirizzi / addresses
i
otto / eight
oro / gold
o
uva / grapes
gusto / taste
u
Speakers in various parts of Italy pronounce e and o differently. In some
parts, these vowels are pronounced with the mouth relatively more open. In others, they are pronounced with the mouth relatively more closed. In many areas,
however, both pronunciations are used.
To get an idea of what this means, consider how the a in “tomato” is pronounced in North America. In some areas, it is pronounced like the a in “father.”
In other areas, it is pronounced like the a in “pay.” However, whether it is pronounced one way or the other, no one will have much difficulty understanding
that the word is “tomato.” This is exactly what happens in the case of Italian
e and o.
The letters i and u can also stand in some words for semivowel sounds.
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SEMIVOWELS
Alphabet
Letters
English
Equivalents
Examples
Symbols Used
i
say
yes
ieri / yesterday
poi / then
y
u
way
how
uomo / man
causa / cause
w
CONSONANTS: I
The following Italian consonants should cause you few problems:
English
Equivalents
boy
d
day
f
fun
ile
b
Examples
bello / beautiful
bravo / good
le
f
Alphabet
Letters
Symbols Used
b
d
forte / strong
frutta / fruit
f
love
latte / milk
alto / tall
l
more
matita / pencil
mondo / world
m
nice
naso / nose
nono / ninth
n
price
porta / door
prezzo / price
p
q
quick
quanto / how much
quinto / fifth
k
r
Like a “rolled” r
sound (as in some
Scottish dialects).
rosso / red
raro / rare
r
t
too
tardi / late
tu / you
t
v
vine
vino / wine
vero / true
v
l
m
n
p
Sa
mp
dopo / after
ladro / thief
Note that the letter h does not represent any sound. It is like the silent h of
“hour”: ho (“I have”), hai (“you have”).
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CONSONANTS: II
The following letters are pronounced in different ways, as indicated in the chart:
Alphabet
Letters
c
English
Equivalents
cat
Examples
Used in front of a, o,
u, and any consonant.
Symbols Used
k
cane / dog
come / how
cuore / heart
classe / class
cravatta / tie
chemistry
Used in front of
e and i.
ile
ch
k
chin
Used in front of
e and i.
Sa
mp
c
le
f
che / what
chi / who
chiesa / church
cˇ
cena / dinner
cinema / movies
ci
chat
Used in front of
a, o, u.
cˇ
ciao / hi, bye
cioccolata / chocolate
g
good
Used in front of a, o,
u, and any consonant.
g
gatto / cat
gola / throat
guanto / glove
gloria / glory
grande / big, large
gh
get
Used in front of e and i.
spaghetti / spaghetti
ghiaccio / ice
g
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Alphabet
Letters
g
xviii
English
Equivalents
just
Examples
Symbols Used
Used in front of e and i.
j
gente / people
giro / turn, tour
gi
Belgian
Used in front of a, o, u.
j
giacca / jacket
giorno / day
giugno / June
scale
Used in front of a, o,
u, or any consonant.
sk
ile
sc
school
Used in front of e and i.
Sa
mp
sch
le
f
scala / staircase
scopa / broom
scuola / school
scrivere / to write
sk
scherzo / prank
schifo / disgust
sc
shine
Used in front of e and i.
sˇ
scena / scene
sciocco / unsalted, flavorless
sci
shuffle
Used in front of a, o, u.
sˇ
sciopero / labor strike
sciupare / to waste
s
soul
sapone / soap
specchio / mirror
s
s
present
Used in front of b, d,
g, l, m, n, r, v; and
between vowels.
z
sbaglio / mistake
casa / house
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Alphabet
Letters
English
Equivalents
Examples
Symbols Used
gn
canyon
sogno / dream
giugno / June
ny
gli
million
figlio / son
luglio / July
ly
z
cats
dogs
zio / uncle
zucchero / sugar
ts
dz
CONSONANTS: III
fato (“fate”) =
caro (“dear”) =
fa-to
ca-ro
fatto (“fact”)
carro (“cart”)
Sa
mp
SYLLABICATION
le
f
ile
Most of the above consonants can have a corresponding double articulation. The
pronunciation of double consonants lasts twice as long as that of the corresponding single consonant. In this book, double consonants will be indicated with
double symbols, belonging to separate syllables:
=
=
fat-to
kar-ro
Syllables will be separated by hyphens, and the stressed syllable will be indicated with a preceding mark.
amico (“friend”)
=
a-mi-ko