Italian Vowel
When by itself or accented, the Italian letter I is pronounced "ee," as in see or fee, but without the "y" sound at the end.
 |
Per esempio… |
| the letter i | ||
| inverno | winter | |
| biscotti | cookie | |
| mi scusi | excuse me | |
| sì | yes | |
When I is unaccented and preceded or followed by a strong vowel, it diphthongs with that vowel and is thus pronounced more like "y":
|
Per esempio… |
| piacere | nice to meet you | |
| grazie | thank you | |
| vaniglia | vanilla | |
| voi | you |
Hard vs soft
I is a soft vowel.
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