Some letters in the Italian language have similar voices so in this lesson, we are going to see what these letters are and give you some examples for each group of letters that have a similar voice so you can practice the difference between each sound.
1. The letters B and P sound.
| B [b] | P [p] |
| Bacco [bakko] (Bacchus) | Pacco [bakko] (Package) |
| Basta [basta] (Enough) | Pasta [pasta] (Pasta) |
| Basso [basso] (Bass) | Passo [passo] (Step) |
| Belle [bɛlle] (Beautiful) | Pelle [pelle] (Skin) |
2. The letters D and T sound.
| D [d] | T [t] |
| Dopo [dɔpo/dopo] (After) | Topo [tɔpo] (Mouse) |
| Tondo [tondo] (Round) | Tonto [tonto] (Tonto) |
| Vendi [vendi] (Sell) | Venti [venti] (Winds) |
| Detto [detto] (Said) | Tetto [tetto] (Roof) |
3. The letters F and V sound.
| F [f] | V [v] |
| Fetta [fetta] (Slice) | Vetta [vetta] (Summit) |
| Fino [fino] (Until) | Vino [vino] (Wine) |
| Foglio [fɔʎʎo] (Sheet) | Voglio [vɔʎʎo] (I want) |
| Fede [fede] (Wedding ring) | Vede [vede] (You see) |
4. The letters c and G sound.
| C [tʃ] | G [ʤ] | C [k] | G [g] |
| Celato [tʃe’lato] (Hidden) | Gelato [ʤe’lato] (Ice-cream) | Cola [kɔla] (There) | Foga [foga] (Fogue) |
| Faccio [fattʃo] (I do) | Faggio [fadʤo] (Beech tree) | Cara [kara] (Dear) | Gola [gola] (Throat) |
| Accetto [at’tʃɛtto] (I accept) | Oggetto [od’ʤɛtto] (Object) | Foca [fɔka] (Seal) | Gara [gare] (Competition) |
5. The letters Gli and Li sound
| Gli [ʎ] | Li [I] |
| Migliore [miʎ’ʎore] (Improve) | Milione [mi’ljone] (Million) |
| Taglia [taʎʎa] (Cut) | Dalia [dalja] (Dahlia) |
| Tagliente [taʎ’ʎɛnte] (Sharp) | Saliente [sa’ljɛnte] (Salient) |