The Italian Language

Learn about the Italian language, grammar, vocabulary and culture

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©2007 Richard Willmer. All rights reserved.

Updated 9 July 2008

Equivalent Letters in Other Languages

This is only a rough guide. Italian sounds do not always correspond to the sounds of other languages. For example, the Italian letter l is not the same as the English one. If you take this into consideration, together with the melody of the full sentences, you will speak Italian (and indeed any other language) like a native.

vowels

letter	Italian	English	French	Spanish	Portuguese	German	Russian	letter
a à	caso felicità	act	acte	acto	acto	Akt	ангел	a à
e è	era piè	pet	près	—	até	Erst	поэт	e è
e é	perché	—	beauté	era	era	Ente	-	e é
i ì	pira	pit	idée	istmo	istmo	Inhalt	кино	i ì
o ò	ora oblò	knot	compotte	montón	cobre	—	кино	o ò
o	italiano	—	hôtel	—	corvo	Ost	-	o
u ù	unione virtù	foot	hibou	unión	união	und	путь	u ù

diphthongs

letter	Italian	English	French	Spanish	Portuguese	German	Russian	letter
ai	mai	light	—	hay	aipo	Meister	май	ai
au	aula	—	—	aula	aula	Auge	—	au
ei	lei	say	—	ley	beira	—	—	ei
eu	Europa	—	—	Europa	Europa	—	—	eu
ia	impianto	yard	Yannick	ya	própria	Jahr	я	ia
ie	lievito	yet	—	leyenda	—	jetzt	привет	ie
io	orologio	yoga	yoga	—	próprio	Joghurt	аkтёр	io
iu	aiuto	youth	—	—	—	Jung	Юрий	iu
oi	poi	toy	—	oiga	depois	Europa	тройка	oi
ua	quarto	quack	oie	cuanto	quadro	—	—	ua
ue	questo	quest	—	—	conseqüencia	—	—	ue
ui	quinto	win	oui	—	argüição	—	здравствуй	ui
uo	scuola	want	—	—	quota	—	—	uo

triphthongs

letter	Italian	English	French	Spanish	Portuguese	German	Russian	letter
iai	trebbiai	—	—	—	—	—	—	iai
iei	miei	say	—	—	—	—	—	iei
iuo	aiuola	—	—	—	—	—	—	iuo
uai	guai	Wye	—	Paraguay	Paraguai	—	—	uai
uoi	suoi	—	—	—	—	—	—	uoi

consonants

Letter	Italian	English	French	Spanish	Portuguese	German	Russian	Letter
b	banco	bank	banque	banco	banco	banke	банк	b
ca	caso	cat	cave	casa	casa	Katze	колбаса	ca
co	cosa	cot	cave	casa	coisa	Katze	колбаса	co
cu	cura	cut	cave	cura	cura	Katze	колбаса	cu
ce	cena	chair	—	churros	tchau	Tschüß	чай	ce
ci	circo		—	churros	tchau	Tschüß	чай	ci
cia	cialda	chair	—	churros	tchau	Tschüß	чай	cia
cio	ciò	choicer	—	churros	tchau	Tschüß	чай	cio
ciu	ciuffo	choose	—	casa	tchau	Tschüß	чай	ciu
che	che	keep	cave	querer	querer	Katze	колбаса	che
chi	chi	kit	cave	quinto	quilo	Katze	колбаса	chi
d	data	day	date	día	dia	Donner	день	d
f	fatto	fact	fait	facto	facto	Fenster	фильм	f
g	gruppo	group	groupe	grupo	grupo	Gast	гость	g
ga	gatto	gap	gant	gato	gato	Gast	гость	ga
go	goccia	go	gant	gato	gota	Gast	гость	go
gu	gusto	good	gant	gato	gato	Gast	гость	gu
ge	gelo	gender	djinn	—	Djalma	—	джульетта	ge
gi	ginepro	ginger	djinn	—	Djalma	—	джульетта	gi
ghe	ghepardo	get	gant	gato	gato	Gast	гость	ghe
ghi	ghiaccio	give	guerre	guerra	guerra	Gast	гость	ghi
h	ho	honest	herbe	hora	hora	—	—	h
l	lupo	light	lobo	lobo	lobo	Lind	луна	l
gli	taglio	—	—	llave	alho	—	мебель	gli
m	mansarda	mat	maison	marca	marca	März	мука	m
n	notte	night	nuit	noche	noite	Nacht	ночь	n
gn	gnomo	sing	gnome	año	Estranho	Singer	день	gn
p	parte	part	partie	parar	parar	Post	перевод	p
qu	quando	quiz	—	cuando	quando	—	—	qu
r	resto	ring	rayon	rey	espera	—	раз	r
s	salto	salt	sel	sal	sal	Gasse	самовар	s
-s-	casa	advisor	maison	—	casa	Sankt	озеро	-s-
sce	scelta	share	chapeau	—	chão	Schuh	шaнc	sce
sci	sci	ship	chapeau	—	chão	Schuh	шaнc	sci
scia	sciarpa	shard	chapeau	—	chão	Schuh	шaнc	scia
scio	sciolto	shore	chapeau	—	chão	Schuh	шaнc	scio
sciu	sciu	shop	chapeau	—	chão	Schuh	шaнc	sciu
t	teatro	tape	table	teatro	teatro	Tisch	театр	t
v	vaso	vase	vase	vazo	vaso	Wagen	ваза	v
z	zio	tsar	zone	zapato	zangão	Zeller	центр	z

The Italian alphabet

Double consonants


Particular letter cases	Stress in the Italian language

Latin and Romance

The Latin Alphabet

The Greek Influence

The Latin Language

Pronunciation Changes

Changes in Grammar

Mediaeval Additions

The Italian Language

The Language in Europe

The Rise of Florence

A common Language

Dialect and Language

The Languages of Italy

Bilingual Regions

Speakers of Italian

Latin Languages of Italy

Non Latin Languages

Italian and Romance

Pronunciation

The Italian Alphabet

Particular Letter Cases

Double consonants

Stress in Italian

Equivalent letters

Cooking Terms

Italian Cooking

Languages of Europe

European Languages

Indo-European Languages

Latin Languages

This site is made possible thanks to the support of Istituto Michelangelo

Italian language school

Italian Culture Abroad

Political Figures

The Prix de Rome

Specific Vocabulary

Italian Literature

Latin Literature

Several Vernaculars

The Sicilian School

Three Great Writers

The Renaissance

The XVI Century

XVII and XVIII Centuries

The XIX Century

The Fascist Era

Post-War Literature

Musical Terms

Mood Indications

Musical Technique

Specifying Terms

Speed Indications

Art Terms

Language Examples

Phrases in Translation

Words in Translation

Original Text Only