Spelling and pronunciation
Notes:
the letter h is never pronounced, it
- precedes letters c, g, to indicate pronunciation
- appears in exclamations, such as: ahi!, ehi!, mah!
- appears in words of foreign origin: hobby, handicap ...
- is written in the singular and 3rd person plural present indicative of the verb avere (to have) to distinguish these forms from other words.
Compare:
|
avere |
to have |
|
|
|
|
ho |
I have |
but |
o |
or |
|
hai |
you have |
but |
ai |
preposition a + definite article i |
|
ha |
he / she has |
but |
a |
preposition to |
|
abbiamo |
we have |
|
|
|
|
avete |
you have |
|
|
|
|
hanno |
they have |
but |
anno |
year |
the letters which appear in the words of foreign origin: j, k, x, y, w
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/k/ IN ENGLISH |
|
CA CO CU C+consonant CHI CHE |
/k/ |
CASA COSA CURA CREMA CHI CHE COSA |
HOUSE THING CURE CREAM WHO WHAT |
KITE |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/tʃ/ IN ENGLISH |
|
CIA CIO CIU CE CI |
/tʃ/ |
CIAO CIOCCOLATO CIUFFO CENA CIBO |
HELLO CHOCOLATE TUFT DINNER FOOD |
CHECK |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/g/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
GA GO GU G+consonant GHI GHE |
/g/
|
STREGA PREGO GUSTO GRIDO PAGHI STREGHE |
WITCH PLEASE TASTE SCREAM YOU PAY WITCHES |
GO |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/dʒ/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
GI GE GIA GIO GIU |
/dʒ/ |
GIRO GENNAIO GIARDINO GIORNO GIUSTO |
TOUR JANUARY GARDEN DAY JUST |
JOHN |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH
|
/ɲ/,/ʎi/, /gl/ IN ENGLISH |
|
GN
GLI
GL |
/[ɲ]/
[ʎi] in mid position
/gl/ at the beginning of a word, before a, e, i, o, u |
BAGNO
FIGLIO, GLI
GLUTINE, GLADIOLO
|
BATHROOM
SON, TO HIM
GLUTEN, GLADIOLUS |
GNOME
MILLION
GLAD |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/kw/ IN ENGLISH |
|
NG Q |
/ng/ /kw/ |
LUNGO QUESTO |
LONG THIS |
QUEEN |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSL. |
/s/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
S SS |
/s/ at the beginning of a word before vowels and before unvoiced* consonants |
SANO SETTIMANA SPORCO STREGA PRESSO |
HEALTHY WEEK DIRTY WITCH NEAR |
SIT |
*unvoiced/voiceless consonants: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/z/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
S
|
/z/ before *voiced consonants and between vowels (there are some exceptions) |
SNELLO SLITTA SVENIRE CHIESA |
SLIM SLED FAINT CHURCH |
ZERO
|
*voiced consonants: /b/, /d/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /v/
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/sk/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
SCA SCO SCU SCHE SCHI SC+consonant |
/sk/ |
SCARPA FRESCO SCUOLA SCHEDA DISCHI SCRIVERE |
SHOE FRESH SCHOOL CARD CDs WRITE |
SCHOOL |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
/ʃ/ IN ENGLISH
|
|
SCIA SCIO SCIU SCE SCI |
/ʃ/ |
SCIARPA LISCIO SCIUPARE SCEGLIERE SCIVOLARE |
SCARF SMOOTH DAMAGE CHOOSE SLIDE |
FINISH |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
|
Z |
/dz/
|
ZERO ZAINO |
ZERO BACKPACK |
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
|
Z |
/ts/ |
ZUPPA ZIO |
SOUP UNCLE |
There is a tendency to pronounce z as /dz/ even where the traditional pronunciation would be /ts/.
- So, you can hear some words with two pronunciations.
- For example, zio can be pronounced as /tsio/ but also as /dzio/. Other examples of such words are: zuppa, zucchero, etc.
|
LETTERS |
SOUND |
EXAMPLES |
ENGLISH TRANSLATION |
|
TT T NN N |
/tt/ /t/ /nn/ /n/ |
SETTE SETE NONNO NONO |
SEVEN THIRST GRANDPA NINTH |