Chapter 3 of 16 · Explore the Italian path
The script · Chapter 3 of 16
Read eight real words from a small sound guide
Put a short sound guide beside eight real words and read them: house, dog, cat, fox, bird, rabbit, tree, wood. Each hint supplies the one thing the spelling does not show.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- The guide below contains only the sounds these eight words need.
- Each hint supplies the one thing the spelling does not show — guided reading, not a test from nothing.
- These eight words come back all the way to the last reading.
The sounds your first eight words need
You do not need every spelling rule yet. This short guide covers only the sounds in the eight words below, so keep it beside you while you work through them.
| On the page | Sound to try |
|---|---|
| a e i o u | one sound each, and the last one is said too |
| c before a, o, u | k |
| c before e, i | the ch of church |
| g before a, o, u | g as in go |
| gli | the lli of million |
| sc before a, o, u | sk |
| s between two vowels | the z of rose |
| a doubled letter | held: stop on it, then finish the word |
| r | tapped once behind the top teeth, never the English r |
| b l n p t v | as in English |
Everything else behaves the way an English reader expects. Work left to right and say the last letter.
Eight words for the first story
Use the guide and the hint. Say the whole word aloud, then reveal.
- casa
c is hard before a, and the s sits between two vowels.
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casaKAH-zah “house” - cane
The final e is said.
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caneKAH-neh “dog” - gatto
Hold the double t.
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gattoGAHT-toh “cat” - volpe
Two pieces; lean on the first.
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volpeVOHL-peh “fox” - uccello
cc before an e is the ch of church — and held.
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uccellooot-CHEHL-loh “bird” - coniglio
gli is the lli of million.
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conigliokoh-NEE-lyoh “rabbit” - albero
This one leans further back than you expect: AL-be-ro.
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alberoAHL-beh-roh “tree” - bosco
sc before an o is sk.
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boscoBOH-skoh “wood”