Consonants
z=ts/dz
- zero pizza mezzo-soprano zebra
- cello ciao Cinzano cappucino
- geloso geografia giusto
- Chianti chilo Machiavelli bruschetta
- ghetto ghinea
- tagliatelli bottiglia
- signora magnifico gnocchi
- scienza sci
- donna cello
- karate jazz
- hai ha ahora
Vowels
Each vowel has only one sound, although 'e' and 'o' can be open or closed according to their position
a: as in 'car' but slightly shorter
a: as in 'car' but slightly shorter
- camera sala
- letto mela
- vino cappucino
- posta sotto
- luna cura
Stress
The stress in Italian falls on the syllable before last. There are some exceptions, particularly with verbs in the third person plural. Where a vowel has an accent over it, this indicates that the stress is on this syllable. Otherwise, exceptions need to be learnt as words are met. Stress marks for irregular words are shown in most dictionaries