Although Italian has gained a reputation as a “phonetic language” – meaning there is a direct relationship between spelling and pronunciation – there are still some pesky letters that aren’t always pronounced the same way. One such letter is C.
In today’s article, we’ll discover the different ways the letter C is pronounced in Italian. Let’s dive right in! 🙂
The first important rule about the Italian letter C is that it represents two different phonemes in Italian, or in other words, it can be pronounced as hard or soft sound.
hard C
International Phonetic Alphabet: /k/
In Italian, hard C, sounds like the C in C CAl or in K Kwebsite, can be represented by the letter C or CH, depending on the vowel that follows. C is used before the vowels A, O, and U, while CH is used before the vowels E and I.
- C+A: aboutsuperior (Room), ○about (Goose)
- C + O: Cooperationsuperior (thing), BianCooperation (white)
- C + U: copperChina (kitchen), cuckoo (Cuckoo Clock)
- CH+E: OneThat (return), sodaThattower (Bruschetta)
- CH+I: ChiLuo (Kilogram), ChiMiko (Chemical)
Home – What – Kitchen – Even – Kilograms
Note that if CH + I is followed by another vowel, such as O or A, the letter I will become [y] Pronounced, similar to the letter Y in “yes”. E.g:
- CHIO in nail (nail) is pronounced KYO, not KEE-OH
- CHIA in dirty (dirty) is pronounced KYA, not KEE-AH
Nails – Stain
It’s always hard if the C is followed by another consonant, an R or an L. E.g:
grow – client – climate – Croce
Growth-Customer-Climate-Cross
soft C
International Phonetic Alphabet: /tʃ/
Italian soft C is represented by a C followed by an E or an I.It sounds exactly like English CH, as in the word chDifferent or chAce.
- C+E: cealready (dinner), ○ceagain (ocean)
- C+I: worddwarf (swan), OnewordDo (acid)
Dinner – Ocean – Swan – Sour
If C + I is followed by another vowel, such as O or A, the letter I becomes silent. E.g:
- Chief Information Officer cat (cat) pronounced like “CHO in”GiveSen” (not CHI-OH)
- CIA in abdomen (abdomen) pronounced like “CHA in”Teance” (not CHI-AH)
Pussy – Belly
Double CC
Sometimes you will come across words that contain double CC. To pronounce this double consonant, all you have to do is hold the C a little longer than usual, as if you had a very brief pause before finishing the word. Listen to the examples below:
sit – table spoon – machine – hills!
Dog Basket – Spoon – Car/Machine – OMG!
loanwords with C
The pronunciation of words borrowed or adopted from another foreign language may vary in Italian.Often, however, the original pronunciation of the C is preserved, as is the case with French imports sports bike and chicand English check in and chewing gum.
