The alphabet is at the basis of the spelling. If someone doesn’t understand your name, can you tell them how to spell it in Italian? If not, you should spend a couple of minutes learning the Italian alphabet!

In this lesson, I’ll show you the Italian alphabet and its pronunciation so you can spell any Italian word.

What’s the Word for “Alphabet” in Italian?

The Italian word for alphabet is “Alfabeto” and it’s masculine. You always refer to the alphabet in the singular form and you can listen to its pronunciation below.

The Italian alphabet is made of 21 letters, but additional 5 letters have been added in a later stage due to the influence of foreign words. These letters not originally part of the Italian alphabet are: “J“, “K“, “W“, “X“, “Y“.

So, the Italian and English alphabet are basically the same, except for their pronunciation. Listen to audio below to see how to say it.

Watch out!

There are some letters that can cause confusion with the English pronunciation. Here they are: 

• A : when you spell it in Italian, it’s /’a/ while in English it’s /’eɪ/
• E : in Italian is /’e/ whereas in English is /’i:/
• I : in Italian is /’i/ and in English, instead, you say /’aɪ/

pretty confusing, right?

How to ask in Italian: “How do you Spell it?” 

The question “how do you spell it?” can be quite useful when you don’t understand someone’s name or any other Italian word.
In Italian you ask: “Come si scrive?” and you answer: “Si scrive” + [letters e.g. A, M, ..]

Listen to the example below where I spell my name.

Congratulations!

You know now how to spell your name in Italian. 

Remember that the Italian alphabet is the same as the English one, but you need to pay attention to its pronunciation. Listen to the audio to make sure you know how to say each letter.

In particular, the letters “A”, “E” and “I” can cause some confusion. 

What to do next?

First of all, try to spell your name now! Then, you can also check out the following lessons:

• How to introduce yourself in Italian in 3 easy steps
• 5 Basic Pronunciation Rules in Italian
• 15 Essential Words in Italian (For Beginners)