[I suoni italiani]


[l'alfabeto]           [la scrittura]            [la pronuncia]     

                                                               [Hear sound]                                             [Hear sound]                 

 a  

             like awe, as in  Anna            
a [ah]

b 

like band, as in  bacio

bi  [bee]

c

 ['ke] like kite as in caro; [ch] like in cheap as in ciao     

ci [chee]  

d

like date, as in Dante

di [dee]

e

like met, as in metto**

e [e (short)]

f

like fan, as in Franco

effe [effey]

g

 like guy as in gatto; like jet as in gelato***

gi [gee]

h

like haricot as in hanno

acca [akkah]

i

like eel, as in il

i [ee]

* j

like jogging, as in jogging

i lunga [ee  loonga]

k

like kiwi, as in kiwi

kappa [kappah]

l

like Luke, as in Luca

elle [elley]

m

like mine, as in mio

emme [emmey]

 n

like nice, as in penne**

enne [enney]

 o

like old, as in ora

o [owe]

 p

like pest, as in pesto

pi [pee]

 q

like squat, as in quattro

qu [koo]

 r

like Robert, as in Roberto

erre [errey]

 s

like saint, as in santo

esse [essey]

 t

like Tom, as in Tommaso

ti [tee]

 u

like in booze, as Luca

u [oo]

 v

like vine, as in vino

vu [voo]

 w

like wafer, as in wafer

doppia vu [doppia voo]

x

like sex, as in sex

ix [eex]

y

like yoga, as in yoga

i greca [ee greca] 

z

like zebra, as in zaino

zeta [zeytah]

[Hear sound]  Where you see this icon, click on the corresponding word to hear sound.

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* traditionally, J and K were often not considered an integral part of the Italian alphabet.    

        Nowadays, although their usage frequency is quite low with respect to the other letters,  they nonetheless are part of the alphabet for foreign words.   

** double consonants are stressed twice as long as single ones  cfr. carro vs. caro.

*** c/g + i, e = soft (ci, gettone); c/g + H + i,e = hard (chi, ghetto)    

c/g + a, o, u = always hards, therefore, can never have *cha, *cho, *cha  

Eg. cane, gatto, Coca cola, gusto

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