Basics of Italian Pronunciation: 5 Rules You Must Know

Hi! Today we’ll talk about Italian pronunciation.

Overall Italian pronunciation is easier than the English one, and that’s because Italian is a phonetic language. What does it means? It means that you read a word the same way you write it.

In other words, once you know some basic rules, you should be able to read most of the words without checking the vocabulary. You’ll still find some tricky sounds, but for those practice is key!

So in this lesson, I’ll show you 5 basic pronunciation rules to boost your confidence when speaking with your Italian friends 🙂 

Italian Pronunciation (for BEGINNERS)

5 Basic Rules 

When I approached the English language for the first time, pronunciation has always been my biggest challenge! Not only for the unfamiliar sounds, but mostly because you can never tell for sure how to say a new word.

This doesn’t happen in Italian, because you read words the same way they’re written. Amazing, isn’t?

Now there’s one problem … you must know the Italian alphabet as well as some essential rules.

So today you’ll learn 5 basic rules that every Italian beginner should be aware of. Keep reading to find out them out.

1 – Letter “H” in Italian: always SILENT

The letter “H” is always silent in Italian, so you never pronounce it even in foreign words, like “hotel”.

Here you can find some common Italian words with the letter “H”. The majority come from English but we largely use them in Italian.

• HO = I have
• HANNO = they have
• HORROR
• HOT DOG
• HOBBY

Listen to the audio below to see how to say the letter H in Italian. 

Italian “H” to make a Hard Sound

We’ve seen that the letter “H” is silent but sometimes it has a function. Let’s see exactly when.

If in between the letters C/G and the vowels E/I, the “H” helps to make a hard sound. That means that you say the “C” as a “K” and a “G” with a guttural sound. 

Here you are some examples to better understand this rule:

• CHIAVE = key
• CHE = that
• GHEPARDO = cheetah
• GHIACCIO = ice

Listen to the words below to see the role of letter H in combination with the consonants C and G.

Tricky Words: WATCH OUT!

Because the H is silent in Italian, some words can have same pronunciation, but different meaning.

So watch out!

Here you are some example:

1. HANNO (they have) and ANNO (year)
2. HO (I have) and O (or)
3. HAI (you have) and AI (to the)

2 –  Letters C and G: HARD SOUND

In Italian, the letters C and G get a hard sound when followed by a consonant or one of the following vowels: A, O, U. 

But what does it mean exactly? It means that they have a strong sound, so for example the C will sound the same as the letter K in English.

Look at the following words: 

• CASA = house
• COSA = thing
• CUORE = heart
• GATTO = cat
• GOLA = throat
• GUAIO = mess

The same applies when these letters are followed by a consonant. Listen to the pronunciation of these words below.

3 – Letters C and G: SOFT SOUND

Sometimes the letters C and G get a soft sound instead of a hard sound. This happens when they’re followed by the vowels E and I. 

Therefore you no longer say the C as a “K” but in the following way: /tʃ/; the letter G, instead, sounds as follows: /dʒ/.

Here you are some examples:

• CENTO = one hundred
• CINA = China 
• GENERE = gender
• GITA = trip

Listen to the following recording. 

4 – Two Consonants in a row: “DOUBLE CONSONANTS”

In Italian, we have what we call “consonante doppia” (double consonant). In simple words, it’s when you see two consonants in a row, one soon after the other, like in the word “BELLO”.

To pronounce a double consonant you just need to hold the consonant for a little longer.

The double consonant is probably one of the biggest struggles for nonnative when it comes to Italian pronunciation. But in my view, you just need to practice a lot both your listening and your reading.

With this being said, let’s see some examples:

• TETTO = roof 
• GRASSO = fat
• NOTTE = night
• GIALLO = yellow

To learn more about the double consonants you can check out this lesson (or watch the following video).

Careful with these Words …

Before we move on, I just want to give you a heads up on double consonants.

It’s extremely important that you say it properly because some words only differ by a consonant in the way you write them, but have completely different meaning.

So you could potentially change the meaning of a whole sentence because of a missing letter! Or saying something that doesn’t make sense at all …

Let’s see what are some of these words. It’s actually a pretty long list so I’ll only mention some of the most common ones. 

• NOTTE (night) and NOTE (notes)
• FATTO (done) and FATO (destiny)
• CARRO (cart) and CARO (expensive)
• PALLA (ball) and PALA (shovel)
• ROSSA (red) and ROSA (pink)
• SETTE (seven) and SETE (thirst)

Listen to the pronunciation below to recognize the difference.

5 – VOWELS WITH AN ACCENT 

In Italian, you can find words where the last letter (always a vowel) has a accent on it (à, è, ì, ò, ù). The way you say these words is by simply putting the stress on this last letter.

Let’s see some examples to clarify.

• CITTA’ = city
• PERCHE’ = because
• LI’ = there
• PERO’ = but
• PIU’ = plus

These words all have an accent on the last vowel, so make sure you put an emphasis on it.

Let’s Wrap up

Basics of Italian Pronunciation

In this lesson, we’ve seen that Italian is a phonetic language so you generally say words the same way you write them. So when you find a new word you can say it without always checking the vocabulary for its pronunciation.

However, to get there, you must know the Italian alphabet along with some basic pronunciation rules.

Today, we’ve focused on 5 basic aspects of Italian pronunciation every beginner needs to know.

1 – The Letter “H” is Silent

The letter “H” is always silent in Italian, even with foreign words. In other words, this letter doesn’t have a sound in Italian.

So you simply don’t pronounce it, like for example in the words: HOTEL (Hotel) or HANNO (they have).

However, careful with some words with the same sound but different meanings e.g. HANNO (they have) and ANNO (year).

2 – Letters C and G: Hard Sound

The letters C and G get a hard sound if followed by a consonant or by one of the below vowels: A, O, U.

Some examples are: CHE, GHIACCIO, CASA, GOLA. 

3 – Letters C and G: Soft Sound

The letters C and G get a soft sound, when followed by the vowels: E and I.

Like for example in the below words: CENTO, CENA, GENERE, GITA. 

4 – Two Consonants in a Row: Double Consonant

In Italian, with “double consonants” we refer to consonants that appear twice in a row. You need to hold the sound of this consonant for longer than what you’d normally do. Some examples of double consonants are the words “BELLO” (nice) or “ROSSO” (red).

Watch out for those words that can change the meaning of a sentence if you don’t say the double consonant properly. For example NOTTE (night) and NOTE (notes).

Check out my lesson on the double consonant to know more about this topic.

5 – Last Vowel with an Accent (à, è, ì, ò, ù) 

This last rule is pretty straight forward. When you see an accent on the last vowel of a word you must stress it. 

Some examples are CITTA’ (city), PERCHE’ (because), LI’ (there), PERO’ (however) and PIU’ (more).

Want to know more about Italian Pronunciation?

These are some additional resources about Italian pronunciation:

1. The Letter C in Italian

Check out this lesson to know exactly how to say Italian words with the letter C.

No more doubts on hard or soft sound!

2. The Sounds “GLI” and “GN” 

The sounds “GLI” and “GN” in Italian can be quite tricky for foreign learners..

Check out the secret to say them the right way!

• SOUND GN IN ITALIAN: ARE YOU SAYING IT RIGHT? 
• THE SECRET TO SAY THE SOUND “GLI” IN ITALIAN