Try it · 01
How many syllables does pane have?
Choose an answer.
See this question in the courseIntroducing Italian · A course for beginners
You can already read the letters.
Learn how Italian says them.
Italian is said the way it is written. Learn the rules on 19 sound cards, see how words and sentences are built, and read a nine-line story.
Free course · Taught from English · Zaban account required
5 short sections22 pages to explore1 first story
Course outline
From 19 sounds to a nine-line story
The course starts with how Italian spelling sounds, then shows what the ending of a word tells you: masculine or feminine, one or many. From there it moves to sentences and 25 everyday words, and ends with a short story you read in Italian.
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Sound cards
Say a word
the way it is written.
Nineteen sound cards cover the five vowels, hard and soft c and g, letter groups like gli and gn, double letters and stress. Each card comes with words that use the sound, like pasta and vino.
aaah, as in father
Word cards
Pane means bread.
A pantry was once the bread room.
A word card gives the meaning, how to say the word (vino is VEE-noh) and, where there is one, a link to a word you know from English. The cards run from mamma and papà to the verbs you meet in the final story.
Cards are added to your collection as you reach them in the course. You can go back and practise them at any time.
Practice questions
Try two questions from the course
These two questions come straight from the course pages. Choose an answer and you will see if it is right.
Try it · 02
Where does the verb go?
Choose an answer.
See this question in the courseCourse questions · This preview doesn’t save your answers.
Begin with one page
Your first Italian story starts here.
No Italian needed to begin.
Just a little curiosity, and a Zaban account.
Free course · Your place is kept as you go