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Alphabet & Pronunciation

Mostly phonetic, with a few tricky sounds

Italian is largely phonetic

Words are pronounced as written; the five vowels are pure.

💬 Examples
ciao
CHOW
hello / bye
📝 ci = a 'ch' sound
grazie
GRAH-tsyeh
thank you
📝 z is often 'ts'
c and g are soft before e/i

Hard before a/o/u, soft (ch/j) before e/i.

📊 c and g sounds
Before c sound g sound
a, o, u hard (k) hard (g)
e, i soft (ch) soft (j)
+ h (che, ghe) hard hard
💬 Examples
casa / cena
KAH-za / CHEH-na
house / dinner
📝 c hard (ca) vs soft (ce)
gatto / gelato
GAHT-to / jeh-LAH-to
cat / ice cream
📝 g hard (ga) vs soft (ge)
Special clusters gli, gn, sc

Distinctive Italian sounds.

💬 Examples
famiglia
fah-MEE-lyah
family
📝 gli = a 'ly' sound
gnocchi
NYOHK-kee
gnocchi
📝 gn = 'ny'; double consonants are lengthened