Italian Pronunciation Guide

Letters marked inbluehave two sounds.

Pronunciation in Italian is quite simple compared to other languages, as many of the words mimic English ones.

As Australians, we tend to be lazy with our pronunciation, cutting off endings of words, with Italian, you must pronounce ever letter that is presented to you.

Fun fact: Theres no word in Italian for spelling, as the language is based on the sounds that letters make together to make up a word.

If youre ever stuck on a word, refer to the tables to help you along (:

And if youre really struggling to remember, it may help to write out the word phonetically, just as a reminder.

Vowels

Italian has just 7 vowel sounds. When two or more vowels occur in a row, they are always pronounced separately, as in Australia [a-u-stra-li-a]

English equivalent

Example

a

long likeain "father"

mamma

e

1. (open) likeein set2. (closed) likeain say

1. bello2. sera

i

likeeein meet

amico

o

1. (open) likeoin pot2. (closed) likeoin post

1. otto2. sole

u

likeooin foot

uno

Consonants

Most consonants are pronounced as in English, except the following:

English equivalent

Example

c

1. before "i" or "e" - likechinchurch2. otherwise - likecincar

1.ciao, piacere2.casa,come,cuoco

g

1. before "i" or "e" - likegingeneral2. otherwise - likegingoal

1.giorno,gelato2.gatto,gonna,gusto

h

his always silent

ho,hai,hanno,hotel

r

rolled likerin Spanish

Roma, treno

s

1. between vowels - likesinsnake2. otherwise - likesinsit

1. casa, rosa2.scala, pasto

z

1. at beginning of words - likedsin pads2. otherwise - liketsin cats

1.zero,zucchero2. grazie, stazione

Combinations

English equivalent

Example

ch

likecincar

anche,chilo

gh

likegingoal

spaghetti, funghi

gn

likenyin canyon or likein Spanish

signora,gnocchi

gli

likelliin million

figlio, moglie

sc

1. before "i" or "e" - likeshinshut2. otherwise - likeskinskip

1.sciare, pesce2.scala,scusi, tedeschi