The Italian alphabet — 21 letters
A
a
B
bi
C
ci
D
di
E
e
F
effe
G
gi
H
acca
I
i
L
elle
M
emme
N
enne
O
o
P
pi
Q
qu
R
erre
S
esse
T
ti
U
u
V
vu
Z
zeta
Borrowed letters — appear in foreign words only
J
i lunga
K
cappa
W
doppia vu
X
ics
Y
ipsilon
Key pronunciation rules
Hard vs soft C
Before A, O, U → hard K sound. Before E or I → soft CH sound.
caffè (hard) · ciao (soft) · arancia (soft)
Hard vs soft G
Before A, O, U → hard G as in “go”. Before E or I → soft J sound.
gatto (hard) · gelato (soft)
H is always silent
Unlike English, H makes no sound at all in Italian. It’s mainly used to harden C and G before E and I.
ho (I have) · chiesa (church)
GL makes a “LY” sound
The combination GLI sounds like the “lli” in “million” — a soft liquid sound with no real English equivalent.
gli (the, plural) · figlio (son) · voglio (I want)
GN makes a “NY” sound
Like the “ni” in “onion” or “ny” in “canyon”.
gnocchi · signore · bagno (bathroom)
SC changes before E and I
Before A, O, U → SK sound. Before E or I → SH sound.
scuola (school, SK) · scena (scene, SH) · pesce (fish, SH)
Z can be TS or DZ
Z is pronounced either as “ts” (like “bits”) or “dz” (like “beds”) — it varies by word and region.
pizza (TS) · zero (DZ) · grazie (TS)
R is always rolled
The Italian R is rolled — the tongue taps the roof of the mouth. It never sounds like the English R.
Roma · arrivederci · rosso