Italian pronunciation
Officially, the Italian alphabet has only 21 letters. However, if we include the non-Italian letters, this number increases to 26.
This is because there are 5 foreign letters in Italian: J, K, W, X, and Y. In this lesson, you’re going to see how they are pronounced depending on the loanword in which they appear.
J – i lunga
The J letter is called i lunga or gei in Italian and can be pronounced either as the J in Jack or as the French J (/ʒ/) as in toujours.
| J (i lunga, gei) | J letter | |
| Jackpot, jeans, joystick, jazz | Jackpot, jeans, joystick, jazz |
The soccer team Juventus is pronounced as Iuventus!
K – kappa
The letter K is called kappa in Italian and it is always pronounced as the C in scowl or the K in key. It’s never aspirated.
| K (kappa) | K letter | |
| Karate, karaoke, koala | Karate, karaoke, koala |
W – vu doppia, doppia vu
The letter W is called vu doppia or doppia vu in Italian and its pronunciation, like that for the letter J, depends on the source language of the loanword.
In loanwords from English, such as webcam, it’s pronounced as a U vowel. In loanwords from German, it’s pronounced as the V in vase.
| W (vu doppia, doppia vu) | W letter | |
| Würstel, watt, wafer, wireless, weekend, windsurf | Würstel, watt, wafer, wireless, weekend, windsurf |
X – ics
The letter X is always pronounced as the X in taxi. When it starts a word, make sure the sound is similar to “eeks”, with a clear i as in tea.
| X (ics) | X letter | |
| Xilofono, taxi, boxe, taglia XXL, xenofobia | Xilofono, taxi, boxe, taglia XXL, xenofobia |
Y – ipsilon
The letter Y inherits the pronunciation of the source language of the loanword.
| Y (ipsilon) | Y letter | |
| Yogurt, yacht, yoga, nylon | Yogurt, yacht, yoga, nylon |
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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