Italian: spelling → sound
Italian spelling is regular with two famous twists: c and g are soft (/t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/) before e/i and hard before a/o/u — and an inserted silent i or h flips them (ciao, ghetto). Double consonants are genuinely held longer (pala/palla, ano/anno) and shorten the vowel before them. Every vowel is pronounced; e and o each have an open and a closed version (è/é, ò/ó) that the spelling only marks on the final syllable — the tracer shows the closed one by default. Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.
Trace a word
Every box is one rule firing. Hover a box (or open the table) to see why. Rules are applied in order, first match wins — that order is the spelling system.
Consonants & glides
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| p | p | pane ˈpane bread |
| b | b | bene ˈbɛne well |
| t | t | tavolo ˈtavolo table |
| d | d | dove ˈdove where |
| k | c, ch, q | chiave ˈkjave key — h after c/g = 'keep it hard'. |
| ɡ | g, gh | gatto ˈɡatto cat |
| m | m | mano ˈmano hand |
| n | n | naso ˈnazo nose |
| ɲ | gn | gnocchi ˈɲɔkki gnocchi |
| f | f | fame ˈfame hunger |
| v | v | vino ˈvino wine |
| s | s, ss | sole ˈsole sun |
| z | s (before voiced consonant, often between vowels) | sbaglio ˈzbaʎʎo mistake — Between vowels northern speakers say [z] (casa → kaza), Tuscany [s]. |
| ʃ | sc(i), sce | pesce ˈpeʃʃe fish |
| t͡ʃ | c(i), ce | ciao ˈt͡ʃao hi/bye |
| d͡ʒ | g(i), ge | giorno ˈd͡ʒorno day |
| t͡s | z, zz | pizza ˈpit͡tsa pizza — z is /t͡s/ or /d͡z/ — lexical. Default here: /t͡s/. |
| d͡z | z, zz | zero ˈd͡zɛro zero |
| l | l | latte ˈlatte milk |
| ʎ | gl(i) | figlio ˈfiʎʎo son — Like the 'lli' in million, but one palatal sound. |
| r | r, rr | Roma ˈroma Rome — Rolled (trill); single r is often a tap [ɾ]. |
| j | i+vowel | piano ˈpjano slowly / piano |
| w | u+vowel | uomo ˈwɔmo man |
Vowels
The rules, in order
54 rules. The left column is a pattern (regular expression) matched at the current position of the word; (?=…) looks ahead, (?<=…) looks behind, $ is the end of the word.
| # | Pattern | Sound | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sci(?=[aeou]) | sc + i before a vowel: the i is only a softener | |
| 2 | sc(?=[eiéè]) | sc before e/i = sh | |
| 3 | sch | h keeps sc hard | |
| 4 | gli(?=[aeou]) | gl + i before a vowel: the i is only a softener | |
| 5 | gli | gli = palatal l + i | |
| 6 | gn | ||
| 7 | cch | double c + h = long hard k | |
| 8 | cci(?=[aeou]) | ||
| 9 | cc(?=[eiéè]) | double c before e/i = long ch | |
| 10 | cc | ||
| 11 | ch | h keeps c hard | |
| 12 | ci(?=[aeou]) | c + i before a vowel: the i is only a softener | |
| 13 | c(?=[eiéè]) | c before e/i = ch | |
| 14 | c | ||
| 15 | ggi(?=[aeou]) | ||
| 16 | gg(?=[eiéè]) | ||
| 17 | gg | ||
| 18 | gh | h keeps g hard | |
| 19 | gi(?=[aeou]) | g + i before a vowel: the i is only a softener | |
| 20 | g(?=[eiéè]) | g before e/i = j | |
| 21 | g | ||
| 22 | qu | ||
| 23 | h | h is silent | |
| 24 | zz | ||
| 25 | z | z = ts (sometimes dz — lexical) | |
| 26 | ss | ||
| 27 | s(?=[bdgvlmnr]) | s voices before a voiced consonant | |
| 28 | s | ||
| 29 | bb | ||
| 30 | dd | ||
| 31 | ff | ||
| 32 | ll | ||
| 33 | mm | ||
| 34 | nn | ||
| 35 | pp | ||
| 36 | rr | ||
| 37 | tt | ||
| 38 | vv | ||
| 39 | i(?=[aeouàèéòóù]) | i before a vowel becomes a glide | |
| 40 | u(?=[aeioàèéìòó]) | u before a vowel becomes a glide | |
| 41 | è | ||
| 42 | é | ||
| 43 | ò | ||
| 44 | ó | ||
| 45 | à | ||
| 46 | ì | ||
| 47 | ù | ||
| 48 | [aeiou] | e/o: closed by default; open (ɛ/ɔ) is lexical | |
| 49 | [pbtdfvlmnr] | ||
| 50 | k | ||
| 51 | w | ||
| 52 | j | ||
| 53 | x | ||
| 54 | y |