Italian vowel
I is always pronounced in the same way, no matter its position in the word. It sounds like the ee in eel, or also see. It’s never pronounced as the i in pin or tin.
Its IPA symbol is /i/.
| I | I sound |
Examples:
| Ivi, fili, istrici, figli, ispidi | There, threads, porcupines, sons, shaggy |
Length of the I sound
The I sound in Italian can be short or long.
It is long if it’s stressed and it’s at the end of the syllable, but not at the end of a word. For example…
| Vicini | Neighbors |
Listen closely. The second “i” in vicini is long, since it’s stressed and is at the end of the syllable (ci).
| Dipinti | Paintings |
The stress is yet again on the second “i” vowel, but its length is short because the syllable ends with an -n (pin).
Other Italian words with the I sound
| Ricci | Hedgehogs | |
| Stili | Styles | |
| Inni | Hymns | |
| Indicibili | Unspeakable | |
| Indizi | Clues | |
| Libri | Books |
Your turn!
Pronounce each given word.
Easy
Hard
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