The letter “S” is called /esse/ in Italian. While Italian pronunciation is pretty consistent, there are some anomalies and rules to remember while reading or writing the Italian alphabet. 7 Sites That Turn Learning Italian into a Game, Full Throttle: Top 6 Resources to Learn Italian While Driving at Any Skill Level. Wondering “is there a j in the Italian alphabet?” No worries. “B” is named /bi/ and is pronounced as in the English word “big.”, “D” is named /di/ and is pronounced as in the English word “dog.”, “F” is named /effe/ and is pronounced as in the English word “finger.”, “L” is named /elle/ and is pronounced as in the English word “love,” but never as in the world “able.”, “M” is named /emme/ and is pronounced as in the English word “mom.”, “N” is named /enne/ and is pronounced as in the English word “no.”, “P” is named /pi/ and is pronounced as in the English word “pop.”, “Q” is named /ku/ and is pronounced as the hard “k” sound in the English word “kick.”. In fact, I bet you remember the tune and all the words to this day! When consonants are doubled in Italian, the length of the pronunciation is also doubled. The letter C has a hard and soft pronunciation. If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Italian with real-world videos. However, “G” is pronounced softly like a /j/ sound, as in “judge,” when it’s followed by the vowels “I” and “E.” We hear this pronunciation in words like gesto (gesture) and gioia (joy). With a little bit of practice and a catchy song, the Italian alphabet is pretty simple! You already produce this “ts” sound when you pronounce the Italian-borrowed word pizza. “T” is named /ti/ and is pronounced as in the English word “tan.”, “V” is named /vi/ or /vu/ and is pronounced as in the English word “van.”. However, those five additional letters can be seen in Italian only when using foreign words. All will be answered here. How to learn Italian easily? For example, the word città (city) has an accent on the “A” to show that the stress is on the last syllable instead of the second-to-last syllable, which is the normal Italian stress pattern. Listen to the Italian alphabet here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Foreign Letters. How to learn Italian by crafting your first Italian conversations. Cool. However, if you see an S between 2 vowels, then it sounds like the Z in zebra: 7. When it is followed by E or I, it has a soft pronunciation (like the Ch in cheese). There are several differences between Italian and English that you need to look out for. At the beginning of words, however, “Z” is pronounced like a /dz/ sound, as in the Italian word zio (uncle). If you follow everything provided in this page, you will be able to read, write and pronounce the Italian letters quickly and easily. Was it a popular song you heard on the radio or an alternative song that only you seemed to enjoy? Learn Italian Alphabet Letters. Or, perhaps you’re overlooking one song in particular: the alphabet song! Let’s look at some examples: It is important to learn how to achieve the full trill when pronouncing the double R, since not doing so can completely change the meaning of a word. Anyone can learn how to roll the R, but it does take practice. These letters are all shared by the English alphabet, but they are not pronounced the same way. For example, the Italian word hanno (they have) is pronounced /anno/ without the “H” at the beginning. Maybe it was an easy song you learned in kindergarten or one recommended to you by a friend? This guide was written for Italian Beginners that don’t know where to start learning the Italian language. 11. If you want to learn this beautiful language, the first thing you need to do is…. The Italian alphabet has 21 letters (5 vowels and 16 consonants). The letter Z is pronounced like the ts in shirts. 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