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Sound like an Italian
Italian pronunciation is more straightforward than English—what you see is what you say. Master these rules and you'll be understood anywhere in Italy.
Master these and you're 80% there
Unlike English, there are no silent letters in Italian (except H). What you see is what you say.
Italian vowels don't glide like English. "A" is always "ah", never "ay" or "uh".
They change meaning: anno (year) vs ano (anus). Hold the sound longer.
Unless there's an accent mark telling you otherwise.
It's only used to harden C and G sounds: che, chi, ghe, ghi.
The Italian R is trilled. Practice with "birra" (beer) until it flows.
Le Cinque Vocali
"ah"
casa
house
Like "a" in "father"
"eh"
bene
well
Like "e" in "bed" (can also be more closed like "ay")
"ee"
vino
wine
Like "ee" in "see"
"oh"
sole
sun
Like "o" in "more" (can also be more closed)
"oo"
luna
moon
Like "oo" in "boot"
Key difference from English: Italian vowels are "pure"—they don't glide into other sounds. English "no" sounds like "noh-w", but Italian "no" is just "no".
The tricky ones explained
They change everything
In Italian, double consonants are held longer and can completely change the meaning of a word. This is one of the most important aspects to master!
ninth
NOH-no
grandfather
NON-no
shovel
PAH-la
ball
PAHL-la
dear/expensive
KAH-ro
cart/wagon
KAHR-ro
penalty/pain
PEH-na
pen
PEN-na
Where to put the emphasis
This is the default pattern
The accent tells you where to stress
Less common but important words
Usually stressed on second-to-last
What to avoid
H is always silent: hotel = oh-TEL, not hoh-tel
Italian vowels are pure, not diphthongs
anno ≠ ano (very different meanings!)
Ciao is "chow", not "see-ow"
Rolled R is distinctive Italian
Italian is syllable-timed, not stress-timed
Put your skills to the test
Thank you
GRAH-tsyeh
Goodbye
ar-ree-veh-DEHR-chee
Good day
bwon-JOR-no
You're welcome
PREH-go
Cappuccino
kap-poo-CHEE-no
Bruschetta
broo-SKET-ta
Gnocchi
NYOH-kee
Prosciutto
pro-SHOOT-toh
Family
fa-MEE-lya
Garlic and oil
AH-lyo eh OH-lyo
Chianti (wine)
KYAHN-tee
Tagliatelle (pasta)
tah-lyah-TEHL-leh
How to improve your accent
Scioglilingua - Fun practice for pronunciation
"Trentatré trentini entrarono a Trento, tutti e trentatré trotterellando."
Thirty-three people from Trento entered Trento, all thirty-three trotting.
"Sopra la panca la capra campa, sotto la panca la capra crepa."
On the bench the goat lives, under the bench the goat dies.
"Tre tigri contro tre tigri."
Three tigers against three tigers. (Practice those rolled R's!)