Italian pronunciation guide
How to pronounce Italian double consonants
Italian writes a consonant twice when it is held longer, and the length changes the word: pala is a shovel and palla is a ball, nono is ninth and nonno is grandfather. English has no long consonants inside words, so learners tend to say both the same. The fix is timing, not force.
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Single and double
A double consonant is held for roughly twice as long, and the vowel before it is a little shorter.
pala, palla, caro, carro
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Double stops
For pp, tt, cc and the like, close your mouth and hold the silence for a beat before you release.
fatto, cappello, accanto, bocca
How to make the sounds
- Say the word slowly and split it at the double consonant: pal-la, non-no, fat-to.
- For sounds you can hold (l, m, n, r, s, f, v), keep the sound going for an extra beat.
- For p, t, k and b, d, g, close your mouth and pause for a beat before releasing. The silence is the double consonant.
- Shorten the vowel before a double consonant slightly: the a in palla is shorter than the a in pala.
Minimal pairs
Only the length of the consonant changes, and so does the meaning.
- pala palla shovel · ball
- nono nonno ninth · grandfather
- caro carro dear · cart
- sete sette thirst · seven
- casa cassa house · till
- fato fatto fate · done
- pena penna pain · pen
- sono sonno I am · sleep
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Il nonno gioca a palla con i bambini. Grandad plays ball with the children.Practice
- Ho sette anni e ho sete. I am seven and I am thirsty.Practice
- Mi passi la penna, per favore? Could you pass me the pen, please?Practice
- La mamma prepara la cena alle otto. Mum makes dinner at eight.Practice
- Abbiamo fatto una bella passeggiata. We went for a lovely walk.Practice
- Questo cappello è troppo piccolo. This hat is too small.Practice
- Il gatto dorme sul letto. The cat sleeps on the bed.Practice
- Domani mattina andiamo in città. Tomorrow morning we are going into town.Practice
Common mistakes
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Every consonant short
The most common mistake for speakers of English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Sette sounds like sete, and seven turns into thirst.
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Stress instead of length
Some learners hit the syllable harder instead of holding the consonant. Keep the stress where it is and simply hold the consonant longer.