Basic Italian

Pronunciation Guide

• Vowels
  a – long ah, like in “father” – mamma
  e – like e in set, a in say – bello, serai – like ee in meet – amico

   

  o – like o in open – sole

  u – like oo in food – uno

  • Consonants – Most are pronounced as they are in English, except the following:

  ​ci or ce – like church – ciao, cello, piacere

  c – like c in car – come

  gi or ge – like g in general – giorno, gelato

  g – like goal – gatto, gusto

  h – always silent – ho, hai, hotel

  r – rolled like a Spanish r – treno

  s between vowels – like a z sound in rose – casa, rosa

  s – like sit – pasta

  z starting a word – like ds in pads – zero, zucchini

  z – ts in cats – grazie, stazione

Combinations

ch – like the k in key – chiave

gh – like goal – spaghetti

gn – like ny in canyon – signora, gnocchi

gli – like lli in million – figlio

sci or sce – like shut – pesce, sciare

sc – like sk in skip – scusi

 

 

Helpful words trickier to explain:

• Allora — so, then, well
  You’ll hear this all. the. time. Allora is a great filler word that Italians use all the time. Kind of like how we use the word ‘so’ in English. You’ll pick up on the meaning as you hear it.
• Quindi — so, therefore, next
  It basically means ‘therefore’ as in: Sta per sole, quindi indossa la protezione solare (It’s going to be sunny, so wear sunscreen.) But quindi also means next, or then as in: Ho messo le scarpe, quindi sono uscita.
• Va bene — very well, all right
  You’ll also hear this all the time!
• Ecco — here, voila
  The Italian equivalent of ‘here you are or ‘there we go.’
• Aspetta — wait
  This is definitely handy to know, especially with kids!
• Boh — um, hmm, I don’t know
  Super informal word for ‘I don’t know’
• Cavolo — cabbage (crap)
  A milder word instead of cazzo (s***) that means basically the same thing. Kind of like our ‘crap’ in English.

Note: You can take mini Italian lessons with Duolingo — and it’s free!