Consonantic Digraphs

• CH (found only before e or i): Its sound is like the English "k" sound; as "ki" sound in king. Examples:
  • Chiave  »  key.
  • Chiesa  »  church.
  • Anche  »  also.
  • Che  »  that, what.
  • Chi  »  who.
  • Perché  »  because.

• GH (found only before e or i): Its sound is like the "g" in get, gift, gitar. Examples:
  • Spaghetti  »  spaghetti.
  • Ghiaccio  »  ice.
  • Ghirlanda  »  wreath.
  • Funghe  »  (he) escapes.
  • Ghetto  »  ghetto.
  • Laghi  »  lakes.
  • Maghi  »  magicians..

• GLI : This sound is approximately like "ll" in million. Examples:
  • Aglio  »  garlic.
  • Bottiglia  »  bottle.
  • Famiglia  »  family.
  • Meglio  »  better.

• GN: This sound is pronounced as the English "ny" like in canyon. The sound is actually the same as in the Spanish word "señorita" (seh-nyoh-ree-tah) (miss). Examples:
  • Bagno  »  bath.
  • Signora  »  lady.
  • Signore  »  gentleman.
  • Signorina  »  young lady.

• SCH: This occurs only before e or i, and is pronounced like the English sk in diskette, sky, asking (remember the sound of italian vowels). Examples::
  • Dischi  »  disks, records.
  • Fiaschi  »  flasks.
  • Lische  »  fishbones.
  • Tasche  »  pockets.

Important: When ci, gi, and sci are followed by a, o, or u, unless the accent falls on the i, the i is not pronounced. The letter i merely indicates that c, g, and sc are pronounced, respectively, like the English ch, g (as in gem), and sh.

• Arancia  »  orange.
• Giornale  »  newspaper.
• Ciliegia  »  cherry.
• Ciao  »  hello.
• Salsiccia  »  sausage.
• Camicia  »  shirt.
• Lasciare  »  to leave.
• Scienza  »  science.