Pronunciation of Italian


Vowels 
ais broad like a in father : casa.
ehas two sounds: closed like ey in they: sera; open like e in egg: sette.
iis like ee in feet: venire.
ohas two sounds: closed like o in show: bocca; open like o in dog: moda.
uis 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.

cbefore a, o, or u and before consonants is like k in king: cane.
before e or i is like ch in church: cena.
chis also like k in king: chiesa.
gbefore a, o, or u is hard like g in got: gufo.
before e or i is like j in jelly: gentile.
ghis like g in gun: ghiaccio.
glwhen followed by a, e, o, or u is like gl in glass: gloria.
gliis like lli in million: figlio.
gnis like ni in onion: bagno.
his silent.
ngis like ng in finger (not singer): ringraziare.
ris pronounced distinctly.
sbetween two vowels is like s in rose: riso.
at the beginning of a word it is like s in soap: sapone.
scbefore e or i is like sh in shell : scienza.
zsounds 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

SimboloEsempioTrascrizione
SymbolExampleTranscription
/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/
SimboloEsempioTrascrizione
SymbolExampleTranscription
/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.