Chapter 2 of 16 · Explore the Italian path
The script · Chapter 2 of 16
Five vowels, and the two letters that change sound
Italian is written the way it is said. Learn the five vowel sounds, then the one rule that trips up every English speaker: when c and g go hard, and when they go soft.
≈ 3 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Italian is written the way it is said, so knowing the letters lets you say a word you have never seen.
- Five vowels, one sound each, and every one is pronounced — including the last one.
- c and g are hard before a, o, u and soft before e, i.
- h has no sound of its own; its job is to keep c and g hard.
- You already say several of these correctly at dinner: ciao, spaghetti, bruschetta.
Italian is written the way it is said. Once you know the letters you can say an Italian word out loud from its spelling, even one you have never seen. The spelling withholds only one thing — which piece of the word you lean on — and a section two steps from here deals with it.
Five vowels, one sound each
Vowels are the a, e, i, o and u sounds. Each one in Italian has a single sound that never changes. Read across a row, then say the example word aloud.
| Letter | Sound to try | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | ah, as in father | casa |
| e | eh, as in bed | verde |
| i | ee, as in machine | piccolo |
| o | oh, as in more | sole |
| u | oo, as in food | uno |
English swallows its vowels; Italian gives each one its full value, including the one at the end of the word. cane
When c and g go hard, and when they go soft
These two letters each have two sounds, and the vowel written after them decides which one you say. Take one row at a time.
| Letter | before a, o, u | before e, i | with an h put back in |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | hard k — casa | soft ch — cielo | hard k again — chi |
| g | hard g — gatto | soft j — giorno | hard g again — spaghetti |
This is the one rule that trips up every English speaker, and these six cells are all of it. The h is not a sound: it is a wall that stops the e or the i from softening the letter in front of it. The same wall is why bruschetta is “broo-SKEHT-tah” and never “-shetta”. The full letter table, with the rarer letter teams, is in the script lookup — you do not need it yet.
Say three words you half-know already
Try each one aloud before revealing it.
- ciao
c before an i is soft; the i is there only to soften it.
Show answer +Hide answer −
ciaochow “hello; bye” - chi
The h is a wall.
Show answer +Hide answer −
chikee “who” - giorno
g before an i.
Show answer +Hide answer −
giornoJOR-noh “day”