Consonants
The Italian language has sixteen consonants, fewer than English. We're now facing pronunciation of Italian Consonants and we're going to take it to the next level.
Let's focus on pronouncing the Italian consonants in a very clear and open way in a consistent fashion.
Reading Italian consonants inside a word is pretty easy.
Here you have a table of Italian consonants and their pronunciation. You can either click on the Italian consonants or words to hear their pronunciation.
| Consonants | Name | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | (bi) [bee] | [b] | bocca, bambino |
| d | (di) [dee] | [d] | denti, dopo |
| f | (effe) [effeh] | [f] | fatto, fieno |
| h | (acca) [akka] | silent | ho, hanno |
When it comes to the Italian consonants C and G they have two pronunciations.
They are the only Italian consonants which can either have a hard or soft sound.
Think about the word "cappuccino". You may have noticed that you have two different sounds for the same letter "c": the first one "ca" has a hard sound [k] (like "cat") whilst the second one "ci" has a soft sound [tʃ] (like "church").
Now think about the word "gelato". The "g" has a soft sound [dʒ] like "gender".
When the Italian consonants "c" and "g" are right before the vowels "e" or "i" you'll have the soft sounds:
Soft Sounds
c = [tʃ] (like church)
g = [dʒ] (like gender)
| c [tʃ] | g [dʒ] |
|---|---|
| cinema | Gino |
| cena | gelato |
Hard Sounds
c = [k (like cat)
g = [g] (like ghost)
How do I get "c" and "g" pronounced with a hard sound with the vowels "e" or "i"?
Easy! Just add an "h" before the vowel.
| c [k] | g [g] |
|---|---|
| chitarra | spaghetti |
| che | ghisa |
What about "c" and "g" in front of the other vowels "a", "o" and "u"? → You'll always have hard sounds.
The letter "c" has the same sound of "c" in "cat", which is a hard sound [k] when the "c" is in front of the vowels "a", "o" or "u" (and also in front of "he" and "hi", as we've seen previously)
You'll probably instinctively know how to pronounce "ca", "co" and "cu".
When it comes to the "g" it's going to be pretty much the same. You'll have a hard sound [g] like in "ghost" when the "g" is in front of the vowels "a", "o" or "u" (and also in front of "he" and "hi", as we've seen previously).
Again, you'll probably know how to pronounce "ga", "go" and "gu".
| c [k] | g [g] |
|---|---|
| cane | spaghetti |
| corso | gorilla |
| cuore | gufo |
Common mistake: Don't read the Italian "ch" (for example "chitarra") the same way you'd read the English "ch" in "church". Remember that the Italian "ch" is read with the hard sound [k] like in "cat".
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