Pronunciation of Italian
| Vowels | |
| a | is broad like a in father : casa. |
| e | has two sounds: closed like ey in they: sera; open like e in egg: sette. |
| i | is like ee in feet: venire. |
| o | has two sounds: closed like o in show: croma; open like o in dog: bocca. |
| u | is like oo in moon: luna. |
When two or more vowels come together each vowel is pronounced separatelyL buono: baia.
Consonants
b, d, f, l, m, n, p, t, v are pronounced as in English. When these are double they are sounded distinctly: bello.
| c | before a, o, or u and before consonants is like k in king: cane.
before e or i is like ch in church: cena. |
| ch | is also like k in king: chiesa. |
| g | before a, o, or u is hard like g in got: gufo.
before e or i is like j in jelly: gentile. |
| gh | is like g in gun: ghiaccio. |
| gl | when followed by a, e, o, or u is like gl in glass: gloria. |
| gli | is like lli in million: figlio. |
| gn | is like ni in onion: bagno. |
| h | is silent. |
| ng | is like ng in finger (not singer): ringraziare. |
| r | is pronounced distinctly. |
| s | between two vowels is like s in rose: riso.
at the beginning of a word it is like s in soap: sapone. |
| sc | before e or i is like sh in shell : scienza. |
| z | sounds like ts within a word: fazione; like dz at the beginning: zoo. |
The stress is shown by the sign ' printed before the stressed syllable.
Simboli fonetici/Phonetic Symbols
| Simbolo | Esempio | Trascrizione |
|---|
| Symbol | Example | Transcription |
|---|
| /a/ | gatto | /ˈgatto/ |
| /ʌ/ | cup | /kʌp/ |
| /ɑ/ | arm | /ɑːm/ |
| /æ/ | hat | /hæt/ |
| /e/ | ten | /ten/ |
| | verde | /ˈverde/ |
| /ɛ/ | letto | /ˈlɛtto/ |
| /ɜː/ | first | /fɜːst/ |
| /ə/ | about | /əˈbaʊt/ |
| /i/ | vino | /ˈvino/ |
| /iː/ | see | /siː/ |
| /ɪ/ | bit | /bɪt/ |
| /o/ | monte | /ˈmonte/ |
| /ɔ/ | corpo | /ˈkɔrpo/ |
| /ɔː/ | saw | /sɔː/ |
| /ɒ/ | hot | /hɒt/ |
| /ø/ | liseuse | /liˈzøz/ |
| /u/ | luna | /ˈluna/ |
| /uː/ | too | /tuː/ |
| /ʊ/ | put | /pʊt/ |
| /y/ | würstel | /ˈvyrstel/ |
| /aɪ/ | five | /faɪv/ |
| /aʊ/ | now | /naʊ/ |
| /eə/ | hair | /heə(r)/ |
| /eɪ/ | page | /peɪdʒ/ |
| /əʊ/ | home | /həʊm/ |
| /ɪə/ | near | /nɪə(r)/ |
| /ɔɪ/ | join | /dʒɔɪn/ |
| /ʊə/ | pure | /pjʊə(r)/ |
| /b/ | bad | /bæd/ |
| | barca | /ˈbarka/ |
| /d/ | did | /dɪd/ |
| | dono | /ˈdono/ |
| /dz/ | zaino | /ˈdzaino/ |
| /dʒ/ | jam | /dʒæm/ |
| | gente | /ˈdʒɛnte/ |
| /f/ | fall | /fɔːl/ |
| | faro | /ˈfaro/ |
|
| Simbolo | Esempio | Trascrizione |
|---|
| Symbol | Example | Transcription |
|---|
| /g/ | get | /get/ |
| | gara | /ˈgara/ |
| /h/ | how | /haʊ/ |
| /j/ | yes | /jes/ |
| | ieri | /ˈjɛri/ |
| /k/ | cat | /kæt/ |
| | caro | /ˈkaro/ |
| /l/ | leg | /leg/ |
| | lana | /ˈlana/ |
| /ʎ/ | figlio | /ˈfiʎʎo/ |
| /m/ | man | /mæn/ |
| | mano | /'mano/ |
| /n/ | not | /nɒt/ |
| | notte | /ˈnɔtte/ |
| /ŋ/ | sing | /sɪŋ/ |
| /ɲ/ | gnocco | /ˈɲɔkko/ |
| /p/ | pen | /pen/ |
| | porta | /ˈpɔrta/ |
| /r/ | red | /red/ |
| | re | /re/ |
| /s/ | sad | /sæd/ |
| | sella | /ˈsɛlla/ |
| /ʃ/ | shop | /ʃɒp/ |
| | scena | /ˈʃɛna/ |
| /t/ | tea | /tiː/ |
| | torre | /ˈtorre/ |
| /θ/ | thin | /θɪn/ |
| /ð/ | then | /ðen/ |
| /ts/ | zappa | /ˈtsappa/ |
| /tʃ/ | chin | /tʃɪn/ |
| | cena | /ˈtʃena/ |
| /v/ | voice | /vɔɪs/ |
| | vero | /ˈvero/ |
| /w/ | wet | /wet/ |
| | fuori | /fwɔri/ |
| /x/ | loch | /lɒx/ |
| /z/ | zoo | /zuː/ |
| | rosa | /ˈrɔza/ |
| /ʒ/ | vision | /ˈvɪʒn/ |
|
L'accento principale e quello secondario sono indicati rispettivamente dai segni ˈ e ˌ premessi alla sillaba accentata.
The primary and secondary stress are shown respectively by the signs ˈ and ˌ in front of the stressed syllable.
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