Italian alphabet and pronunciation: letters and sounds

Italian spelling is very regular. Once you know a small set of rules, you can read almost any Italian word aloud, even one you have never seen.

Three habits make the biggest difference. Say every written vowel, including the last one: «pane» (bread) has two syllables, pa-ne. Hold double consonants longer than single ones. And learn the few letter groups that do not sound the way English speakers expect: «cinema» starts with the “ch” of “church”.

A syllable is a part of a word with one vowel sound. The stress is the syllable you say more strongly. Most Italian words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: a-MI-co, Mi-LA-no. When the stress falls on the last vowel, Italian writes an accent on it: «città», «caffè».

The alphabet: 21 letters and their names

The traditional Italian alphabet has 21 letters. J, k, w, x and y appear only in words and names from other languages, such as «jeans» and «weekend». Their names are «i lunga», «cappa», «doppia vu», «ics» and «ipsilon».

You need the letter names to spell your name on the phone or at a hotel desk. To make spelling clearer, Italians add a word for each letter, usually a city: «B come Bologna», “B as in Bologna”. The table shows the usual words, though people sometimes choose others. Two phrases are especially useful: «Si scrive con l’acca» “It is spelled with an h”, and «con due t» “with a double t”.

• Come si scrive il suo cognome? · How do you spell your surname? (formal)
• Rossi: erre, o, doppia esse, i. · Rossi: R, O, double S, I.

Vowels: say every one, clearly

Italian has five vowel letters, and their sounds are short and pure: your mouth does not glide, as it does in English “day” or “go”. Never weaken a vowel to the “uh” of English “sofa”. The last vowel often carries the grammar: «ragazzo» (boy), «ragazza» (girl), «ragazzi» (boys). When two vowels stand side by side, you hear both: «Europa» starts with e + u (eu-ro-pa), not with the “yoo” of English “Europe”.

The letters e and o each have an open and a closed sound. These vary from region to region and the spelling does not show them, so either sound will be understood.

One exception matters a lot. After c, g and sc, an unstressed i before a, o or u is not said as a vowel: it only makes the consonant soft. So «ciao» sounds like “chow”, and «giorno» like “jor-no”. When the i is stressed, you say it: «farmacia» is far-ma-CI-a.

C and g: hard or soft

The letters c and g are hard, like English k and the g of “go”, before a, o, u and before a consonant: «casa», «gatto», «grande». They are soft, like English “ch” and “j”, before e and i: «cena», «gelato».

Spelling uses two tricks to get the other sound. To keep c and g hard before e or i, add h: «chi», «spaghetti». To make them soft before a, o or u, add an unpronounced i: «ciao», «giallo». This is why «amiche» (female friends) needs its h.

The pair sc follows the same logic. Before e and i it sounds like “sh”: «pesce» (fish), «uscita» (exit). Before a, o and u it sounds like “sk”: «scuola». To keep “sk” before e or i, write sch: «tedeschi» (Germans).

Two more groups have their own sound. «Gn» is the “ny” of “canyon”: «bagno». «Gli» is close to the “lli” of “million”: «figlio». Elsewhere, g and l are said separately, as in «inglese».

• Chiara mangia un gelato al cioccolato. · Chiara is eating a chocolate ice cream.
• Scusi, dov’è l’uscita? · Excuse me, where is the exit?

Double consonants: hold them longer

Almost any consonant can be written double: tt, ll, nn, ss and so on. You hold a double consonant longer, with a tiny pause before you release it. English has the same long sounds, but only across two words: the k sound in “bookcase”, or the n in “ten names”.

The difference changes the meaning, so it is worth practising. «Sono» means “I am”, but «sonno» means “sleepiness”. «Nono» is “ninth”, and «nonno» is “grandfather”. With c and g, a double letter keeps the same hard or soft rule: «accento» has a long “ch” sound, and «leggere» (to read) a long “j”.

Stress, accents and apostrophes

Most words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: CA-sa, ra-GAZ-zo. Quite a few are stressed one syllable earlier: TA-vo-lo (table), MAC-chi-na (car), te-LE-fo-no. The spelling does not show this, so learn the stress with each new word.

When the stress falls on the last vowel, Italian must write an accent: «città», «perché», «lunedì», «più». Most accents are grave (à, è, ì, ò, ù); the acute é marks a closed e, as in «perché». Some short words need an accent to tell them apart from another word: «è» (is) and «e» (and), «sì» (yes) and «si» (oneself), «là» (there) and «la» (the). Others never take one: «qui», «qua», «tre», «blu». At the start of a sentence, «è» becomes «È», not «E’».

An apostrophe shows that a vowel has been dropped before another vowel. This is called elision: «lo» + «amico» gives «l’amico», «una» + «amica» gives «un’amica», and «dove è» becomes «dov’è». The apostrophe also marks the cut syllable in «un po’», short for «un poco». It is never written «pò».

• Lunedì vado all’università in autobus. · On Monday I’m going to the university by bus.
• Perché non prendi un caffè? · Why don’t you have a coffee?