Italian grammar · Beginner
Italian Alphabet
The Italian alphabet has 21 letters, plus five foreign letters (j, k, w, x, y) used in borrowed words and names. Italian spelling is phonetic, so each letter or letter pair has a predictable sound, and you can read a word aloud once you know a few rules for c, g, h, and double consonants.
What it is
The Italian alphabet has 21 letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, z. Five more letters (j, k, w, x, y) appear only in foreign words and names. Italian spelling is very regular: once you know the sound of each letter and a few letter pairs (ch, gh, gn, gli, sc), you can pronounce almost any word you read. The main traps for English speakers are c and g, which change sound before e and i, the silent h, and double consonants, which you hold longer.
Come si scrive? Ci, i, a, o: ciao. (How do you spell it? C, i, a, o: ciao.)
How to spot it
To pronounce c or g, look at the next letter. Before a, o, or u, the sound is hard (casa, gatto). Before e or i, it is soft (cena, gelato). An h after the c or g keeps it hard (chi, ghiaccio), and an i before another vowel keeps it soft without adding a syllable (ciao, giallo).
- casa / cena (house / dinner (hard c, soft c))
- gatto / gelato (cat / ice cream (hard g, soft g))
- chiave / ciao (key / hi (hard ch, soft ci))
- ghiaccio / giallo (ice / yellow (hard gh, soft gi))
To spell a word aloud, Italians often use city names: A come Ancona, B come Bologna, C come Como. This is the Italian version of the phonetic alphabet.
Alphabet & Pronunciation Quick Reference
The 21 Italian letters, the 5 foreign letters, and the key letter pairs
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | ah, as in father | amore (love) |
| B b | bi | b, as in boy | bello (beautiful) |
| C c | ci | k before a, o, u, h; ch as in church before e, i | casa (house), cena (dinner) |
| D d | di | d, with the tongue against the teeth | dove (where) |
| E e | e | eh, as in bet (open or closed) | bene (well) |
| F f | effe | f, as in fun | fiore (flower) |
| G g | gi | g as in go before a, o, u, h; j as in jam before e, i | gatto (cat), gelato (ice cream) |
| H h | acca | always silent | ho (I have), che (what) |
| I i | i | ee, as in machine | isola (island) |
| L l | elle | l, as in love | luna (moon) |
| M m | emme | m, as in man | mare (sea) |
| N n | enne | n, as in no | nonna (grandmother) |
| O o | o | oh, as in or (open or closed) | oggi (today) |
| P p | pi | p, with no puff of air | pane (bread) |
| Q q | cu | kw, always followed by u | quando (when) |
| R r | erre | a tapped or rolled r | Roma (Rome) |
| S s | esse | s as in sun, or often z as in rose between vowels | sole (sun), rosa (rose) |
| T t | ti | t, with the tongue against the teeth and no puff of air | tavolo (table) |
| U u | u | oo, as in food | uva (grapes) |
| V v | vu (or vi) | v, as in voice | vino (wine) |
| Z z | zeta | ts as in cats, or dz as in adds | pizza (pizza), zero (zero) |
| J j | i lunga | y as in yes, or j in foreign words | jeans (jeans) |
| K k | cappa | k, in foreign words only | kiwi (kiwi) |
| W w | doppia vu | w or v, in foreign words only | weekend (weekend) |
| X x | ics | ks | taxi (taxi) |
| Y y | ipsilon (or i greca) | ee or y, in foreign words only | yogurt (yogurt) |
| ch, gh | – | hard k and g before e and i | chiesa (church), spaghetti (spaghetti) |
| ci, gi + vowel | – | soft ch and j, with a silent i | ciao (hi), giorno (day) |
| gn | – | ny, as in canyon | bagno (bathroom) |
| gli | – | ly, as in million | famiglia (family) |
| sc + e, i | – | sh, as in shoe | pesce (fish) |
| sch + e, i | – | sk, as in sky | scherzo (joke) |
| Double consonants | – | held longer than a single consonant | nono, nonno (ninth, grandfather) |
All 5 alphabet & pronunciation lessons
The alphabet is the fastest win in Italian, because the spelling tells you the pronunciation almost every time. The first group covers the sounds: the seven vowel sounds, the consonants and letter pairs that surprise English speakers, and the rules for word stress. The second group covers writing: when a word takes an accent mark, and how Italian punctuation differs from English.
Sounds
How each letter and letter pair sounds, how the vowels work, and which syllable takes the stress.
- Pronunciation: Italian pronunciation is very regular: once you know a handful of spelling rules, you can read almost any word aloud correctly. The key rules are the five pure vowels, the soft and hard c and g, the combinations ch, gh, gli, gn, and sc, and double consonants, which are held longer than single ones. English spelling is far less predictable, so the main task is to stop reading Italian with English habits.
- Word Stress: Italian word stress is the syllable you say more strongly. Most Italian words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable (a-MI-co), many are stressed on the third-to-last (MAC-chi-na), and a smaller group on the last syllable, which always has a written accent (cit-TÀ). Only that last group is marked in writing, so for the others you learn the stress with the word.
- Vowels: Italian has five vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u) and seven vowel sounds, because e and o each have an open and a closed version in stressed syllables. Every Italian vowel is short, clear, and pure: it never glides into another sound and never weakens to the uh sound English uses in unstressed syllables. Getting the vowels right does more for your accent than any other single change.
Writing
Accent marks such as è, perché, and città, and the punctuation rules for writing Italian.
- Punctuation: Italian punctuation uses the same marks as English, with a few differences that English speakers notice quickly. Italian writes decimals with a comma and thousands with a point (2,50 euro; 1.000), often uses angle quotation marks « » for dialogue, and does not put a comma before e in a list. The apostrophe also has a grammatical job: it marks elision, as in l'amico and un'amica.
- Accent Marks: Italian accent marks show stress, and on e they also show the vowel sound. They are required in two places: on the final vowel of any word of more than one syllable stressed on that vowel (città, perché), and on a short list of one-syllable words that would otherwise look like another word (è and e, sì and si). Italian uses the grave accent (à, è, ì, ò, ù) for most words and the acute accent (é) for a closed e.
Alphabet & Pronunciation FAQs
- How many letters are in the Italian alphabet?
- The Italian alphabet has 21 letters. It does not include j, k, w, x, or y, but these five letters appear in foreign words and names such as jeans, kiwi, weekend, taxi, and yogurt, so many textbooks list 26 letters in total.
- How do you say the letters of the Italian alphabet?
- The names are a, bi, ci, di, e, effe, gi, acca, i, elle, emme, enne, o, pi, cu, erre, esse, ti, u, vu (or vi), and zeta. The foreign letters are i lunga (j), cappa (k), doppia vu (w), ics (x), and ipsilon or i greca (y).
- Is the letter h silent in Italian?
- Yes, always. It has two jobs. After c or g, it keeps the sound hard: chi, ghiro. At the start of a word, it separates forms of avere from other words that sound the same: ho (I have) and o (or), ha (has) and a (to), hanno (they have) and anno (year).
- How does Italian write the sounds of k, j, and w?
- Italian uses its own letters for these sounds. The sound of k is spelled c or ch (casa, chilo), the sound of English j is spelled g before e or i (giorno, gelato), and the sound of w usually appears as u before a vowel (uomo, uovo). This is why the foreign letters are rare in native Italian words.
- Why do double consonants matter in Italian?
- A double consonant is held longer, and the length can change the meaning of a word. Nono means ninth, but nonno means grandfather. Sete means thirst, but sette means seven. Caro means dear, but carro means cart. Pause slightly on the double consonant, as in the English phrase book case.