Ever dreamed of wandering through a sun-drenched Italian piazza, confidently ordering an espresso, or striking up a conversation with a local? Starting your Italian journey is much easier than you might think. The secret is that Italian is a “sincere” language—once you learn the rules, it is almost always read exactly as it is written.
Here is your guide to mastering the basics of the Italian alphabet and the social graces that will make you feel right at home.
Mastering the Italian Sound
The Italian alphabet is concise, consisting of just 21 letters. You will also encounter five “foreign” letters—J, K, W, X, and Y—primarily used in words borrowed from other languages, like “jeans” or “web”.
One of the most important things to remember is the mystery of the letter H. In Italian, the acca is silent. You won’t hear it in words like hotel or when using the verb avere (to have), such as in ho or hanno. Its main job is actually structural: it acts as a signal to make the sounds of C and G “hard” when they are followed by the vowels E or I.
Speaking of C and G, they are the chameleons of the language. When followed by A, O, or U, they have a “hard” sound, like the “c” in casa or the “g” in gatto. However, if they are followed by E or I, they become “soft,” sounding like the “ch” in church (as in cena) or the “j” in jump (as in giorno).
To really sound like a local, you will want to practice the unique sounds of GLI, which sounds like the “gl” in famiglia, and GN, which is pronounced like the “gn” in lasagna.
