La pronuncia

Pronunciation

Pronunciation in Italian is simple, because Italian spelling is phonemic. Words are spelled the way they are pronounced; it’s just a matter of learning the rules…

  • Sometimes double consonants make a difference in the meaning of the word, so accurate pronunciation is essential:
capelli [hair] cappelli [hats]
faro [lighthouse] farro [spelt]
sono [I am] sonno [sleep]
pala [shovel] palla [ball]
rosa [pink; rose] rossa [red]
sete [thirst] sette [seven]
  • There are some special letter combinations:
gi: giro [tour] ghi: ghiaccio [ice] ci: ciao [hi] chi: chiesa [church]
ge: gelato ghe: ghetto ce: celeste [light blue] che: anche [also]
gia: pioggia [rain] ga: gatto [cat] cia: arancia [orange] ca: casa [house]
gio: giocare [to play] go: goccia [drop] cio: cioccolato [chocolate] co: come [how; like]
giu: giusto [just; correct] gu: gusto [taste] ciu: ciuchino [donkey] cu: cucina [kitchen; cuisine]
sci: sciare [to ski] schi: schiuma [foam]
sce: scena [scene] sche: scherzo [joke]
sca: scappare [to run away]
sco: scolapasta [colander]
scu: scuola [school]
gn: gnocchi gli: foglio [sheet]

 

ai: zaino [backpack]

ei: sei [six]

uo: uovo [egg]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Listen to the sound a single “S” makes when it comes between two vowels: casa, rosa, chiesa.

* All pronunciation recordings on this page are from www.forvo.com.

 

Lastly: learn from this Italian guy, Marco, how to pronounce some very important words.

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Spunti: Italiano elementare 1 Copyright © 2018 by Daniel Leisawitz and Daniela Viale is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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