Italian consonant
F is always pronounced in the same way, no matter its position in the word. It sounds like the f in fun or often.
Its IPA symbol is /f/.
F
F sound
Examples:
Faro, filo, afa, sfera, perfetto
(/ˈfaro/, /ˈfilo/, /ˈafa/, /ˈsfɛra/, /perˈfɛtto/)
Lighthouse, wire, sultriness, sphere, perfect
Length of the F sound
The F 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 ff. You won’t find a double consonant at the beginning of an Italian word, but always in the middle. For example…
Afferrare
(/afferˈrare/)
To grab
Listen closely. The “ff” in afferrare is double and it has a longer sound. Here are some other examples:
Muffa, scaffale, ruffiano
(/ˈmuffa/, /skafˈfale/, /rufˈfjano/)
Mold, shelf, sycophant
Other Italian words with the F sound
Fortuna
(/forˈtuna/)
Luck
Profondo
(/proˈfondo/)
Deep
Soffio
(/ˈsoffjo/)
Breath, puff
Fretta
(/ˈfretta/)
Haste
Gonfio
(/ˈgonfjo/)
Swollen
Fragola
(/ˈfragola/)
Strawberry
Your turn!
Pronounce each given word.
Easy
Hard
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