D is a consonant. How do you pronounce D in Italian? Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
How to pronounce D in Italian
D is always pronounced in the same way, no matter its position in the word. It sounds like the d in duck or dude.
Its IPA symbol is /d/.
D
D sound
Examples:
Dado, dattero, dolce, padella, sandalo
(/ˈdado/, /ˈdattero/, /ˈdolʧe/, /paˈdɛlla/, /ˈsandalo/)
Dice, date, sweet, pan, sandal
Length of the D sound
The D sound in Italian can be single or double.
Italian pronunciation tantrums: what’s up with those double consonants?
These double consonants are called geminates. English uses them only in the written language: a word like tabby, as in tabby cat, is pronounced as if it were actually “taby” and not as “tab-bee”.
Italian geminates, on the other hand, are longer in quality than single consonants, as if they were “doubled”.
Not all Italian consonants can be doubled.
It is double when it’s written as dd. You won’t find a double consonant at the beginning of an Italian word, but always in the middle. For example…
Addurre
(/adˈdurre/)
To put foward, to advance
Listen closely. The “dd” in addurre is double and it has a longer sound. Here are some other examples:
Freddo, reddito, addio
(/ˈfreddo/, /ˈrɛddito/, /adˈdio/)
Cold, income, farewell
Other Italian words with the D sound
Cadere
(/kaˈdere/)
To fall
Decidere
(/deˈʧidere/)
To decide
Bordo
(/ˈbordo/)
Edge
Bandiera
(/banˈdjɛra/)
Flag
Drago
(/ˈdrago/)
Dragon
Sardegna
(/sarˈdeɲɲa/)
Sardinia
Your turn!
Pronounce each given word.
Easy
Hard
What next?
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