Italian consonants are more or less the same as English consonants but the differences are distinct and consistent.
Here we have included the consonant letters that have two different pronunciations depending on the vowel that follows, as well as the consonants that are pronounced differently altogether.
You will then find 3 example words with audio for each consonant to get a really good idea of how the consonant works in each situation.
C
Pronounced as a hard C /k/ (like in ‘cat’) when it comes before A, O, U (same rule as English!)
Carta → paper
Colore → color
Curioso → curious
C
Pronounced as a CH-sound /tʃ/ (like in ‘chest’) when it comes before E or I
Ceci → chickpeas
Città → city
Calcio → soccer, football
G
Pronounced as a hard G /g/ (like in ‘got’) when it comes before A, O, U (same rule as English!)
Gatto → cat
Gola → throat
Guardare → to look
G
Pronounced as a soft G /dʒ/ (like in ‘germ’) when it comes before E or I
Gelato → ice cream
Gente → people
Giorno → day
R
A tap of the tongue behind the front teeth where they meet the ridge of the gums. It’s the same place where you start an ‘L’ sound.
Loro → they, them
Roma → Rome
Andare → to go
RR
The tongue is in the same position as a single R but it pronounced as a trill
Torre → tower
Birra → beer
Arrivo → arrive, arrival
S
At the beginning of words when followed by a vowel and anytime before a voiceless consonant (/k/, /p/, /t/) it is pronounced just like an English /s/
Serio → serious
Pasqua → Easter
Sole → sun
S
Between vowels and before a voiced consonant (/b/, /d/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /v/) an S is pronounced like an English /z/
Casa → house
Isola → island
Snello → slim
Z
The Italian Z can be pronounced in two ways:
◉ With a /dz/ sound, like at the end of the word ‘adds’
◉ With a /ts/ sound, like at the end of the word ‘cats’
Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut pattern about when Z is pronounced in either way, so it’s best to learn the pronunciation of the Z as you learn the word.
◉ Z with a /dz/ sound
Zaino → backpack
Pranzo → lunch
Mezzo → middle
◉ Z with a /ts/ sound
Zio → uncle
Grazie → thank you
Stazione → station
How to Pronounce Italian Double Consonants Correctly
Double consonants are a typical characteristic of Italian! It’s one of the aspects that gives Italian its unique bouncy rhythm and flow. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of pronouncing them correctly! By this we mean that you should imagine that you are almost pronouncing each consonant of the pair on its own.
Take the English example of ‘part-time’. There is a subtle but noticeable gap between the /t/ or ‘part’ and the /t/ of ‘time’. The first /t/ isn’t fully pronounced, it’s actually held for just a split second before saying ‘time’.
Double consonants in Italian work the same way. Read and listen to the following examples, paying attention to the distinct double consonants.
Bello → beautiful
Gonna → skirt
Pizza → pizza
Cappuccino → cappuccino
Gatto → cat
Pronouncing double consonants clearly will help you sound more authentic and natural in your Italian but it is also important for another key reason:
There are quite a few pairs of words in Italian that differ only in a consonant being single in one word and double in another.
This means that if you don’t clearly distinguish between a single and double consonant when you speak Italian then you may cause a misunderstanding and can say something completely different.
Here are some words that differ in single-double consonants only. Can you tell the difference in pronunciation between the two?
Sono – I am, They are VS Sonno – Sleep, sleepiness
Capello – hair VS Cappello – hat, cap
Caro – dear, expensive VS Carro – cart, wagon
Fato – fate, destiny VS Fatto – done,made
Note – notes VS Notte – night
How to Pronounce Those Harder Sounds in Italian
When we say “harder” sounds, we don’t necessarily mean that the sounds may be difficult for an English speaker to pronounce (except for GLI), we also mean that the sounds may be a challenge to know how to pronounce based on their spelling in a word.
GN
GN is pronounced like the NI in ‘onion’.
Gnocchi → gnocchi
Lavagna → blackboard, whiteboard
Legno → wood
GLI
This is one of the harder sounds to get exactly right. It’s similar to an /L/ pronounced from the back of the palate (tongue is pulled back, tip isn’t touching the teeth) and ends with more of a /Y/ sound. It’s often followed by another vowel, forming a diphthong, with the ‘I’ becoming a weak vowel.
Gli → to him, to them, the
Puglia → Apulia
Luglio → July
SCE / SCI
When an SC is followed by and E or an I it becomes a /SH/ sound (like in ‘short’)
Pesce → fish
Conoscenza → knowledge, consciousness
Scemo → fool
Scimmia → monkey
Uscire → to go out, to leave
Liscio → smooth
H
H itself isn’t necessarily a hard sound as it is silent in Italian. The unique aspect of the H is how it is used in writing to change the sound of the preceding consonant. The function of the H is typically to turn a “soft” consonant into a “hard” consonant. So, whenever H follows a C or a G and is followed by an E or an I, it turns the soft C and the soft G into a hard consonant.
Compare the following words that have similar sounds and see how the H changes the preceding C or G.
Ci → us Chi → who
Pesce → fish Pesche → peaches
Getto → jet, spray Ghetto → ghetto
Giro →turn, a walk Ghiro → dormouse