← Back
Alphabet & Pronunciation
Italian alphabet, vowels, double consonants, c/g rules and stress
a, e, i, o, u
the five vowels
ah, eh, ee, oh, oo
Italian vowels are pure and always pronounced clearly
c + a/o/u = [k]; c + e/i = [tʃ]
c hard vs soft
casa [kaza], cena [chena]
c is hard before a/o/u, soft (ch) before e/i
g + a/o/u = [g]; g + e/i = [dʒ]
g hard vs soft
gatto [gatto], gelato [jelato]
g is hard before a/o/u, soft (j) before e/i
ch / gh = hard [k]/[g]
ch/gh keep the hard sound
chi [kee], ghiro [geero]
h after c/g keeps them hard before e/i
gli — [ʎ]
gli sound
famiglia [fameelya]
gli is a palatal sound like 'lli' in million
gn — [ɲ]
gn sound
gnocchi [nyokkee]
gn is like 'ny' in canyon
sc + e/i = [ʃ]
sc soft sound
pesce [pesheh], sci [shee]
sc before e/i is like English sh
Doppie consonanti
Double consonants
nonno vs nono
Double consonants are held longer; they change meaning
Accento tonico
Word stress
perché, città, caffè
Stress usually on second-to-last syllable; accent marks final stress
Ciao / Buongiorno / Arrivederci
Hi / Good morning / Goodbye
chow / bwon-JOR-no / a-ree-veh-DER-chee
Basic greetings
