Italian Vowel
The Italian letter O has two pronunciations. The explanation and equivalents provided here are based on the closest sounds that exist in American English, which are sometimes not very close at all. Phonetic symbols are provided in [brackets].
1. The closed o sound (la o chiusa) is similar to English’s long o sound as in "go," but without the diphthong to a "w" sound at the end. Phonetic symbol: [o].
 |
Per esempio… |
| the letter o | ||
| ottobre | October | |
| cioccolato | chocolate | |
| voi | you | |
| inverno | winter | |
| ciao | hi, bye | |
2. The open o sound (la o aperta) is similar to the vowel sound in the English word "lost." Phonetic symbol: [ɔ].
|
Per esempio… |
| biscotti | cookie | |
| tuoni | thunder | |
| carota | carrot | |
| no | no |
Hard vs soft
O is a hard vowel.
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