Italian Pronunciation: Tips on How to (Almost) Speak Like a Native

Mastering Italian pronunciation is often the hardest thing about learning Italian. Don’t get discouraged if you’re having a hard time pronouncing words and phrases as it takes time and a lot of practice to get it right. Below, Italian teacher Delilah B. provides some tips on how to speak like a native Italian…

A lot of students ask me what is the best and easiest way to pronounce Italian words. While Italian pronunciation can be difficult for beginners, it’s actually quite easy to pick up once the rules are understood. All it takes is some practice and perseverance!

Italian is a phonetic language, which means it’s spoken the way it’s written. Luckily, Italian and English share the Latin alphabet; however, the sounds represented by the letters often differ.

To help you understand more, check out this video from Italian teacher Liz. T on the basic rules of Italian pronunciation. We’ll dive deeper into these rules below the video.

Consonants

In Italian, the consonants B, F, M, N, L, T, and V are pronounced the same as there are in English. The following consonants, however, are pronounced slightly different. Read the examples below and practice saying the consonants out loud, making sure to concentrate on the pronunciation of each letter.

• C before a, o, u and consonants is pronounced like the k in “kite,” whereas c before e and i is pronounced like the ch in “chin.”
• G before a, o, and u and consonants is pronounced like the g in “good,” whereas g before e and i is pronounced like the g in “generous.”
• Gli is pronounced like the y in “yes,” and Gn is pronounced like the ny in word “canyon.”
• H is silent.
• P is pronounced almost the same as it is in English, but without the aspiration.
• Qu is always pronounced like the qu in “question.”
• R is pronounced with a roll of the tongue similar to Spanish.
• Initial S before vowels and unvoiced consonants (c, f, p, q, s, t) is pronounced like the s in “sunburn.”
• S between vowels is pronounced like the s in “rose.”
• Z can be pronounced like the ds in “pads,” or like the ts in “bets.”

Vowels

Italian has seven vowel sounds (one each for a, i and u; two each for e and o). When two or more vowels occur in a row, they’re always pronounced separately. Also, vowels (a,e,i,o,u) always retain their value in diphthongs. Below is how you would pronounce the Italian vowels. Review the list and practice saying the vowels out loud, again making sure to concentrate on the pronunciation of each vowel.

• U: sounds like the u in “rude” or the oo in “food.”
• A: sounds like the long a in “father.”
• I: sounds like the ee in “meet.”
• E: has two sounds: e (open) sounds like the e in “set,” while e (closed) sounds like the a in “say.”
• O: has two sounds: o (open) sounds like the o in “pot,” while the o (closed) sounds like the o in “post.”