To me, the most important part of learning a language is understanding how to pronounce the letters and words. When I first came to Italy and tried to read the signs I saw on the road, I didn't have a clue how to pronounce them. Fortunately, it only took a few short lessons on pronunciation for me to be able to perfectly (ok maybe not perfectly...) read and pronounce signs, advertisements, and even some books (kids' books of course ;-) ). Before we start on pronunciation, know that the alphabet is generally the same as ours, although lacking the letters J, K, W, X, and Y. These letters are still found in words that have been adapted from other languages, so they still exist in modern Italian, but they are not part of the traditional alphabet.
Here is the alphabet:
A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V Z
The first part of pronunciation we will look at is the vowels. I've learned that it is difficult to describe the sound that each vowel makes, because it is different from any sound we have in English. Italian vowels are more open and you have to open your mouth wider to say them. The following sounds listed are what these vowels are most similar to, although they may not be exact.
A - ah as in bar
E - ay as in ate
I - ee as in feet
O - o as in sold (this one is especially difficult to describe as it is a sound between Oh and Ah)
U - oo as in boot
The rest of the consonants are pronounced similarly to English, with some exceptions.
C is pronounced differently depending on the vowel that follows it. C followed by an I or E is pronounced with a "ch" sound. C followed by A, O, or U is a hard "k" sound.
Ci - chee as in Prosciutto and Cappuccino
Ce - chay as in Cello and Concerto and Cesare
Ca - ka as in Calamari
Co - ko as in Broccoli and Confetti
Cu - koo as in Cupola
To make a hard C in front of E or I, C must be followed by an H, giving it a hard "k" sound.
Chi - key as in Machiavelli and Zucchina
Che - kay as in Orchestra
G is the same way. G followed by an E or I is pronounced with a "j" sound. G followed by A, O, or U is a hard "g" sound like in go.
Gi - jee as in Arpeggio or Adagio
Ge - jay as in Algebra or Gelato
Ga - ga as in Galleria
Go - go as in Gondola
Gu - goo as in Gusto or Arugula
To make a hard G in front of E or I, G must be followed by an H, giving it a hard "g" sound.
Ghe - gay as in Spaghetti and Ghetto
Ghi - hard g as in geek and Ghirardelli (gear-ar-delly)
In addition, though, it is important to know the sound G makes when with certain consonants.
- Gli is a difficult word for English speakers to pronounce (at least it was for me since we don't have any sound like it!). It makes the sound lyee. It is used in words like famiglia (fuh-meal-ya), biglietto (bill-yet-toe), maniglia, conchiglia, Pugliese (pool-yay-say)
- Gn sounds like the ñ in Spanish if you are familiar with that sound or a nya sound in English. It is used in words like Foligno (Fo-leen-yo), lasagna, Bologna (the city, not the meat), and bagno (bahn-yo).
A few things to remember about Italian:
- There is a difference in pronunciation for double consonants versus single consonants. For example, rossa (red) sounds different than rosa (pink) and Nonno (grandpa) sounds different than nono (ninth). When pronouncing words with double consonants, make sure to articulate longer and stronger consonant sounds!
- If you see a word written with a double C and aren't sure how to pronounce it, just follow the pronunciation rules for C's and vowels. Having two C's in a word doesn't change the way the C is pronounced when a certain vowel follows it, so don't get confused... remember the rules and you will know how to properly pronounce words like Pasticceria and Parrucchiere.
- All R's in Italian are rolled. Good luck. It took me two months to be able to roll my R's, accomplished only by reading lots of signs out loud while walking outside and freaking out everyone around me because I was talking to myself. :)
- Almost all Italian words end in vowels. It's difficult for Italians to understand and pronounce words ending in consonants, thus the typical Italian accent, "It's-uh for-uh me-uh!"
- There are dozens of ways to write and say the. For masculine words, il and lo (singular), i and gli (plural). For feminine, la (singular) and le (plural). For nouns beginning with a vowel, l'. The rules are also the same for a. For masculine words, un or uno. For feminine words, una or un' (before a vowel). For some, it gets even more complicated: dei and degli for masculine and delle for feminine. You don't have to memorize all these for basic Italian, but being familiar with them will at least help you to recognize them and know the meaning when you see them.
- To make words plural in Italian, don't add an S! For masculine words, like bambino (child), change the o to an i to make bambini (children). For feminine words like bambina, change the a to an e to make bambine. That means that words like pepperoni and zucchini are actually plural. Pepperoni, however, is actually spelled peperoni and means a bell pepper, not what we think of as pepperoni. Zucchini is not a word. It is zucchina, referring to one, meaning that more than one zucchina is zucchine.
- In Italian, the words in, at, and to are used very differently than in English. Instead of saying "Welcome to Italy" you say "Benvenuti in Italia." If you live in Rome, you "vive a Roma." If you are going to Firenze, you "va a Firenze," but you "va in Italia." If something is found in Milan, it is "si trova a Milano." Confused yet? Don't worry... it's just as confusing for Italians when they are speaking English!
I - Io
You - Tu
He - Lui
She - Lei
We - Noi
You plural - Voi
They - Loro
And two helpful verb conjugations to know are the present tense forms of to be and to have:
Essere - to be Avere - to have
Io sono Io ho (silent h)
Tu sei Tu hai
Lui/Lei è Lui/Lei ha
Noi siamo Noi abbiamo
Voi siete Voi avete
Loro sono Loro hanno
Interrogatives:
Who - Chi
What- Che cosa
When - Quando
Where - Dove
Why - Perché
How - Come
How much - Quanto
Which one - QualeCounting to 10:
1 - uno
2 - due
3 - tre
4 - quattro
5 - cinque
6 - sei
7 - sette
8 - otto
9 - nove
10 - dieci
C'é - there is
Ci sono - there are
Eccolo/Eccola - Here it is
Here are some common words that I use on a daily basis:
Ciao - hello
Grazie - thank you
Prego - you're welcome or go ahead
Guarda - look
Basta - enough/no more
Bella/o - beautiful
Andiamo - let's go
Senti - listen (or feel or smell or hear... basically a verb for experiencing something through the senses)
Cinema - movie theater
Film - movie
Bambini - children
Ragazzi - guys
Ragazza - a girl
Bacio - kiss
Caldo - hot
Freddo - cold
Dopo - later or after
Niente - nothing
Aperto - open
Chiuso - closed
Buona - good
Male - bad
Bene - well
Qua/Qui - here
Vieni - Come
Dai - Come on
Vai - Go
Piano - slow down
Attenti - Careful
Arrivo - I'm coming
Scusa - I'm sorry (to a friend)
Scusi - Pardon me (to a stranger)
Permesso - Excuse me (when trying to get through a crowded spot)
Saldi - Sale
Adesso - now
Certo - sure/of course
Arrivederci - Good bye
A conversation upon greeting someone could go something like this:
Ciao bella! Come stai? - Hello beautiful! How are you?
Sto bene e tu? - I'm well and you?
or like this:
F: Ciao, come ti chiami?
S: Io sono Sara, e tu?
F: Mi chiamo Francesca. Piacere.
S: Piacere. Quanti anni hai?
F: Ho 25 anni. Di dove sei?
S: Vengo dagli Stati Uniti.
Common phrases
Va bene (pronounced BEH-nay) - It's okay
Io lo so - I know
Non lo so - I don't know
Non parlo italiano - I don't speak Italian
Dov'è il bagno? - Where is the bathroom?
Ho freddo or sento freddo - I am cold
Ho caldo or sento caldo - I am hot
Ho capito - I understand
Non capisco - I don't understand
Mi capisci? - Do you understand me?
Mi piace - I like it
Ti piace? - Do you like it?
Quanti anni hai? - How old are you?
Ho 22 anni. - I am 22 years old.
Come ti chiami? - What's your name (you informal)
Come si chiama? - What's your name (formal)
Buona Fortuna - Good luck
Non importa - It doesn't matter
Ti voglio bene - I love you
Ti amo - I love you (only to a lover)
Another thing that is helpful to remember is the frequent use of the verb fare. In Italian, fare means to do or to make, and is used for a wide variety of actions and phrases. You do pee, you do a shower, you do a walk, you make a picture, you make a trip... and the list goes on and on and on. I actually just came across a very extensive list of these idioms from a website online, so I will post it here for you to see:
| fare i compiti | to do one's homework |
| fare il biglietto | to purchase a ticket |
| fare la fila / la coda | stand on line / wait on line |
| fare la spesa | to go grocery shopping |
| fare le spese | to go shopping |
| fare vedere | to show someone something |
| fare una domanda | to ask a question |
| fare una fotografia | to take a picture |
| fare una passeggiata | to take a walk |
| fare colazione | to have breakfast |
| fare un viaggio | to take a trip |
| fare un capello in quattro | to split hairs |
| farsi la barba | to shave |
| farsi coraggio | to take heart |
| fare castelli in aria | to daydream |
| fare fingere | to pretend, make believe |
| fare male | to be painful, to ache |
| farsi in là | to step to one side |
| fare di tutto | to do everything possible |
| fare del proprio meglio | to do one's best |
| farsi degli amici | to make friends |
| fare alla romana | to split the check |
| fare il pieno | to fill up the gas tank |
| fare passare | to let through |
So hopefully all of this information will enlighten you a little into the world of the Italian language! It's a little complicated at times, but having a basic understanding of the structure, pronunciation, and rules of the language helps immensely and will possibly even enable you to have a clue what people are talking about around you. Buona fortuna!!
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