Pronunciation Examples" D! P. m6 Z2 d1 N
VOWELS' |0 o4 z7 e0 i' b! U1 I9 R! B
a-a as in father [a] abito (abito)
) ~. h1 M% Z, M) g" ] e-ay as in pay but without the glide [e] eguale (egwale)* J# x% u% d- E4 [$ }7 v) m# w
i-ee as in meet or before a vowel, like y in yes [j] impresa (impreza)
& }1 x/ E |1 y' Q3 E3 n o-o as in go but without the glide [o] oca (oka)( ^% _. P n, f8 P R
u-oo as in moon or before a vowel, like w in water [w] usare (uzare), uo2 g; o' P$ P* F% N0 s: A
vo (wovo)
+ O5 _: h" Z$ k% s4 Z CONSONANTS+ h0 ?6 X3 u. L- h1 i
b-b as in bag bacca (bakka)
( v4 d) d0 ?: Y+ ]5 l c-before a, o, or u like k in key [k] or before i without a vowel after it l
& w# U; C# b p; S+ A. F ike ch in cheese and the i is not silent [t?i] or before i with a vowel afte5 F/ B; j3 b: @# T
r it like ch in cheese and the i is silent [t?] cabina (kabina), cinque (t?i
% B& @1 u) V% g2 s4 }+ P6 J* K3 W4 r nkwe), ciuco (t?uko)( ^0 i$ c0 y& ]7 z
ch-k as in key [k] chimico (kimiko)3 A# f- ^- W4 Y- k8 j
d-d as in dog [d] danno (danno)
9 \! }1 ?0 F, m( H! A f-f as in fair [f] facchino (fakkino)
! m4 |% ~9 S* J9 ]0 |0 v4 i# F g-before a, o, or u like g in go [g] or before i without a vowel after it li" K8 Q1 a* j0 y Y9 p
ke j in joke and the i is not silent [d?] or before i with a vowel after it
# \7 B1 P% h$ }8 {, z like j in joke and the i is silent [d?] galera (galera), ginocchio (d?inokk2 _9 _9 ~% j* Y$ u
jo), giallo (d?allo)
7 C% `1 t1 d+ e" H" W& s" ~ gh-g as in go [g] ghianda (gjanda)6 h" c. }0 O; w) O6 E
gli-like the Portuguese lh, the "official" Spanish ll, or the lli in million2 K& c/ g% u. E; x' e
[?] chiglia (ki?a)
& r. ?! ~# L6 n6 j2 c7 D gn-like the Spanish ? or the ni in onion [?] Spagna (spa?a)
^5 Y' t, e8 T% ]5 q, F Y l-l as in log [l] lo (lo)& G# m/ D! m6 p/ m7 x7 {/ t; i6 G2 Z
m-m as in money [m] madre (madre)0 C3 l9 l' T% i1 U
n-n as in no [n] nascere (na?ere)0 J. @% x6 w# q1 u
p-p as in pay [p] pacco (pakko)
& C& _ u/ V/ W+ z, q! `& ` q-k as in key [k] quadro (kwadro)/ B9 ]. o: G6 L' S& |
r-at the beginning of a word, it is a rolled r, like Spanish rr [r] or elsew" x* k* b1 }2 q- ] r. H
here, like the Spanish r or t in city [r] ragno (ra?o), ora (ora)
; ]9 `8 Z p$ Y9 ?# v+ ]) E$ } rr-a rolled r, like Spanish rr [r] errore (erore)
& G; r4 L7 Q; b8 ?2 U. O s-between vowels or before a voiced consonant at the beginning of a word, li" z1 Y& f* I) {2 I5 S8 o
ke z in zip [z] or like s in sip rosa (roza), sbaglio (zba?o), sabbia (sabja)9 }4 J* ?6 s0 x# ]9 |" s) B
sc-before a, o, or u like sk in ski [sk] or before i without a vowel after i
( z! E6 a- o0 m3 a t like sh in ship, and the i is not silent [?] or before i with a vowel afte+ R' ]( v/ l- N3 A
r it like sh in ship. and the i is silent [?] scala (skala), scintilla (?int illa), sciocco (?okko)5 K: j- ]/ Z- ?
ss-s as in sip essere (esere)
3 X0 j* n) s' I4 _+ i! t. Y% X# B( y t-t as in tea [t] tacere (tat?ere). [' s* t0 ]# k: a+ U0 I9 K( L
v-v as in vampire [v] vacca (vakka)
* p' [' x* _/ T% _1 C z-at the beginning of a word, like ds as in beds [dz] or elsewhere, ts as in2 R/ ` N5 h5 j( y/ A1 e8 M) z
cats [ts] zero (dzero), azione (atsjone)
9 u) W& d* W; V$ b/ y Notes: The accented vowels (à, è, ì, ò, ù) indicate irregular stress. T) a2 B( p- \) W- {
he doubled consonants are pronounced twice (like pen-knife). |