Italian grammar
Double letter sounds
Double consonants are held longer in Italian, and they can change a word's meaning. Learn how to say them, plus how to read two vowels in a row.
Italian has lots of double consonants, as in mamma, notte and pizza. They are not just spelling: you can hear them, and they can change what a word means.
Hold the Sound
A double consonant is held longer than a single one. Linguists call this gemination.
English has the same sound between words. Say "bookcase": the "k" is held for a moment. Or compare "a name" with "unnamed". Italian does this inside a word.
- mamma - mom: "MAHM-mah"
- bello - beautiful: "BEL-loh"
- notte - night: "NOHT-teh"
- pizza - pizza: "PEET-tsah"
With sounds like p, t and k, you briefly stop the air before letting it go. With sounds like m, n, l, r, s and f, you simply keep the sound going a little longer.
Double Letters Change Meaning
Some words differ only in a single or double consonant. If you don’t hold the double sound, you may say a different word.
| Single | Double |
|---|---|
| capello - a hair | cappello - hat |
| sete - thirst | sette - seven |
| nono - ninth | nonno - grandfather |
| caro - dear | carro - cart |
| fato - fate | fatto - fact, done |
| pala - shovel | palla - ball |
The vowel before a double consonant is also a little shorter, which helps your ear tell the two apart.
Double C and Double G
Doubling c or g keeps the same hard or soft sound you’d expect from the next vowel. You just hold it longer.
- faccia - face: "FAHT-chah"
- oggi - today: "OHJ-jee"
- macchina - car: "MAHK-kee-nah"
- giacca - jacket: "JAHK-kah"
Double z is very common and sounds like a long "ts" or "dz": ragazzo ("rah-GAHT-tsoh") - boy, mezzo ("MED-dzoh") - half.
Two Vowels in a Row
Double vowels are rare in Italian. When two vowels meet, say each one clearly. Two of the same vowel are two separate sounds, not one long one.
- idee - ideas: "ee-DEH-eh"
- zii - uncles: "TSEE-ee"
Two different vowels usually blend into a single smooth syllable when one of them is an unstressed i or u: piede ("PYEH-deh") - foot, uomo ("WOH-moh") - man. Otherwise each vowel keeps its own syllable: paura ("pah-OO-rah") - fear.