The ultimate guide to the Italian alphabet

The Italian alphabet is simpler than the English alphabet in the sense that it contains fewer letters. But there’s still plenty to learn and master here, from the alphabet’s rich history to the melodic pronunciation of its letters. 

This guide will explore what makes the Italian alphabet distinct: the role of “foreign” letters, how vowels and their combinations create distinct sounds, how certain consonants have soft and hard pronunciations, and how doubling a consonant can change the entire meaning of a word. We’ll go through some handy pronunciation tips and some practical learning strategies, too. 

Get ready to master the building blocks of this beautiful language!

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What makes the Italian alphabet unique?

The Italian alphabet consists of only 21 letters, compared to the 26 letters found in English. 

Italian letters	Pronunciation
A	ah
B	bee
C	chee
D	dee
E	eh
F	ef-eh
G	jee
H	ah-kah
I	ee
L	eh-leh
M	em-meh
N	en-ne
O	oh
P	pee
Q	coo
R	eh-rreh
S	es-seh
T	tee
U	oo
V	voo
Z	tseh-tah

Like many languages, Italian borrows some of its words from other languages. In some of these words, you’ll find so-called “foreign letters,” or letters that aren’t native to the Italian alphabet. These tend to pop up in modern nouns like “jeans,” “ketchup,” “weekend,” “taxi” and “yoga.”

Foreign letters	Pronunciation
J	ee loon-ga (lit. long i)
K	kap-pa
W	voo dohp-pee-ah
X	eex
Y	ee-gre-ka (lit. Greek i)

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Mastering pronunciation of Italian letters

Fortunately, the pronunciation of Italian letters is generally straightforward, so you should be able to sound most words out after learning the basics.

Vowels and their sounds in Italian

Italian vowels have a clear pronunciation. There are seven distinct sounds produced by the five vowels:

‘A’ is always pronounced as in “father”:

• amico (friend)

‘E’ can be either closed (as in “they”) or open (as in “bet”): 

• perché (why) – closed /e/
• bello (beautiful) – open /ɛ/ 

‘I’ is pronounced like the ‘ee’ in “see”:

• vino (wine) /i/ 

‘O’ also has two sounds. It can be closed (as in “go”) or open (as in “or”):

• sole (sun) – closed /o/ 
• corto (short) – open /ɔ/

‘U’ is pronounced like the ‘oo’ in “food”:

• luce (light) /u/

Italian diphthongs are combinations of two vowels in the same syllable. They create a smooth glide between sounds.

‘AI’ sounds like the English “eye”:

• mai (never)
  Tip: Keep the glide smooth — don’t separate the vowels.

‘AU’ sounds like the ‘ow’ in “cow”:

• auto (car)
  Tip: Avoid rounding the ‘i’; it stays sharp.

EI sounds like the ‘ay’ in “say”:

• sei (six)
  Tip: Keep it crisp without stretching the ‘i’.

EU is a sound blending from ‘eh’ to ‘oo’:

• Europa (Europe)
  Tip: Emphasize the transition between ‘e’ and ‘u’.

OI sounds like the ‘oy’ in “toy”:

• poi (then)
  Tip: Don’t let the ‘o’ dominate; balance it with the ‘i’.

IU sounds like the ‘ew’ in “few”:

• più (more)
  Tip: Keep the glide smooth and delicate.

The soft and hard sounds of ‘C’ and ‘G’

The pronunciation of ‘C’ and ‘G’ in Italian can be soft or hard depending on the vowel that follows them:

Soft pronunciation

• ‘C’ sounds like the ‘ch’ in “church”.
• ‘G’ sounds like the ‘j’ in “juice.”
• This happens when they are followed by ‘E’ or ‘I’.

Italian	Pronunciation	English
centro	chen-troh	center
ciao	chow	hello/goodbye
gente	jen-teh	people
gioco	jee-oh-koh	toy

Hard pronunciation

• ‘C’ sounds like the ‘k’ in “cat.”.
• ‘G’ sounds like the ‘g’ in “go.”
• This happens when they are followed by ‘A’, ‘O’, ‘U’ or a consonant.

Italian	Pronunciation	English
casa	kah-sah	house
colore	koh-loh-reh	color
gatto	gah-toh	cat
gomma	goh-mah	rubber

Pronunciation tips for hard and soft consonants

If you want to get the soft sound but the following vowel is ‘A’, ‘O’ or ‘U’, you just need to add an ‘I’ before the vowel:

• ciao (soft ‘C’) vs. casa (hard ‘C’)
• gioco (soft ‘G’) vs. gatto (hard ‘G’)

On the contrary, if you keep the hard sound with ‘E’ or ‘I’, you add an ‘H’:

• cherubino (hard ‘C’) vs. cena (soft ‘C’)
• ghepardo (hard ‘G’) vs. gelo (soft ‘G’)

The curious case of the silent ‘H’

In Italian, the letter ‘H’ is silent when pronounced, but it plays an important role in distinguishing the meaning of words. This is especially noticeable in verb forms and some homonyms.

‘O’ vs. ‘HO’

• O means “or”: Vuoi tè o caffè? (Do you want tea or coffee?).
• Ho is the first-person form of avere (to have): Ho fame. (I am hungry.)

‘A’ vs. ‘HA’

• A means “to”: Vado a casa. (I’m going home.)
• Ha is the third-person singular of avere: Lei ha un cane. (She has a dog.)

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‘S’ and ‘Z’:  soft and hard sound

The distinction between soft and hard ‘S’ or ‘Z’ often depends on regional accents (in some areas, the rules may blur slightly). Nevertheless, what follows are the generally accepted pronunciations:

Soft ‘S’ is voiceless, much like the ‘s’ in “snake.” You’ll find it:

• At the start of a word before a vowel: sera (evening)
• Before voiceless consonants (p, t, c, f): Spagna (Spain)
• After a consonant: falso (false)

Hard ‘S’ is voiced like the ‘z’ sound in “rose.” It occurs:

• Usually between vowels: cosa (thing)
• Before voiced consonants (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v): sbaglio (mistake)

Soft ‘Z’ is voiceless when it’s not the first letter of the word. It sounds like ‘ts’ in “bits”:

• pizza (pizza), stanza (room)

Hard ‘Z’ is voiced when it’s the first letter of the word. It sounds like ‘dz’ in “adze”:

•  zero (zero), zaino (backpack)

‘Le doppie’ (Double sounds)

In Italian, double consonants (called le doppie) are pronounced with a longer, more emphatic sound compared to single consonants. They can change the meaning of a word, so it’s important to get the pronunciation right!

Italian	Pronunciation	English
pala	pah-lah	shovel
palla	pahl-lah	ball
casa	kah-sah	house
cassa	kahs-sah	box
sete	seh-teh	thirst
sette	set-teh	seven

Why does Italian only have 21 letters?

Italian evolved directly from Latin, which does not use the following letters in its classical form:

• J
• K
• W
• X
• Y

The Italian alphabet reflects this heritage, focusing on the letters essential for representing sounds in Latin and early Italian. Since Italian is a highly phonetic language, the sounds associated with the “foreign” letters were already represented by other letters or combinations, so the adoption of the graphemes was unnecessary:

The ‘J’ sound (as in “jeans”) was covered by the combination of ‘G’ with ‘I’ or ‘E’:

• gioia (joy)
• gelato (ice cream)

The ‘K’ sound was handled by ‘C’ (or ‘CH’ when followed by ‘I’ or ‘E’):

• chiaro (clear)
• casa (house)

How to practice the Italian alphabet

Incorporating listening and repetition through audio resources like podcasts or pronunciation apps can be helpful. Listen carefully, repeat aloud and memorize the sounds. 

You can also boost your rhythm and recognition with Italian alphabet songs, which can be a fun way to internalize pronunciation patterns, or by engaging in spelling games like word scrambles or flashcards. Practice daily by writing out Italian words and saying them aloud to reinforce the connection between letters and sounds. 

If you feel inspired and committed to learning Italian with professional help, we also recommend starting with Lingoda’s online Italian classes, where expert teachers can guide you through pronunciation and practical exercises!

FAQs

What five letters aren’t in the Italian alphabet?

J, K, W, X and Y are considered “foreign” letters and are not found in the Italian alphabet.

Why does ‘Juventus’ start with ‘J’?

‘The Italian word Juventus starts with ‘J’ because it reflects the archaic Latin spelling, where ‘J’ was used as a variant of ‘I’ for a consonant sound. Modern Italian now uses ‘GI’ for this sound, but older spellings like Juventus remain in proper names.

Why is there no ‘W’ in the Italian alphabet?

There’s no W in the Italian alphabet because it isn’t native to Latin, which Italian descends from. W appears only in loanwords or foreign names.

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The ABCs of the Italian language

Learning the Italian alphabet is about more than just memorizing letters — it’s about understanding the sounds, rules and quirks that make the language so beautiful. We’ve explored the 21-letter alphabet, the role of “foreign” letters, and how Italian vowels are musical and stable sounds you can always rely on. We’ve also learned the nuances of certain consonants that can sound hard, soft, doubled or simply vary depending on their position in the word. Ready to take your Italian to the next level? With Lingoda, you can start speaking from Day One, guided by native-level teachers in flexible, online classes. Gain confidence with interactive lessons designed to fit your schedule and help you speak like a pro!

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