Learn Italian sounds – the alphabet

Italian is one of the most musical languages in the world. But what are exactly the sounds of this language?

Let’s summarize the main ones in the tables below:

 

ALPHABET	EXAMPLES	PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION	SIMILAR SOUNDS IN ENGLISH
A	Animale (animal)	[ani’male]	Cup
B	Bagaglio (luggage)	[ba’gaʎo]	Bike
C [1]	Cane (dog)	[‘kane]	Cold
D	Domenica (Sunday)	[do’menika]	Darling
E	Estintore (fire-extinguisher)	[estin’tore]	Elephant
F	Folata (gust)	[fo’lata]	Flower
G [2]	Gatto (general)	[‘gat:o]	Game
H [3]	Hotel (hotel)	[o’tɛl]	///
I	Insieme (together)	[in’sjɛme]	Instructions
L	Ladro (thief)	[‘ladro]	Long
M	Malattia (illness)	[mala’t:ia]	Mountains
N	Negozio (shop)	[ne’gɔtsjo]	Nation
O	Ossa (bones)	[‘ɔs:a]	Octagon
P	Pollo (chicken)	[‘pol:o]	Problem
Q	Quadro (painting)	[‘kwadro]	Quotient
R	Reparto (department)	[re’parto]	Rest
S	Soluzione (solution)	[sɔlu’tsjone]	Summer
T	Tovagliolo (napkin)	[tova’ʎɔlo]	Tree
U	Università (university)	[universi’ta]	Book
V	Vicinanza (closeness)	[vitʃi’nanʦa]	Violet
Z	Zona (area)	[‘ʣona]	///

 

OTHER SOUNDS

		EXAMPLES	PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION	SIMILAR SOUNDS IN ENGLISH
C	when followed by e or i	Cena (dinner)	[‘tʃena]	Chain
G	when followed by e or i	Gita (trip)	[‘dʒita]	Jam
GL	when followed by i	Gli (the)	[‘fiʎ]	///
GLI	when followed by a, e, o or u	Moglie (wife)	[‘moʎe]
GN		Sogno (dream)	[‘soɲo]	///
SC	when followed by e or i	Scena (scene)	[‘ʃɛna]	Shoe
SCI	when followed by a, o or u	Prosciutto (ham)	[pro’ʃut:o]

 

[1] When it is followed by H, the sound is the same;

[2] When it is followed by H, the sound is the same;

[3] Letter H in Italian is always silent;

 

EXERCISE

One of the best ways to learn and improve Italian is practising. So, now that you’ve learnt the main Italian sounds, try to read the following words:

Fiore – Bagno – Merenda – Sedia – Zeta – Tavolo – Gente – Antico – Viola – Figlio – Giardino – Questo – Lasagne – Cimitero – Sciarpa – Pesce – Uscita.