The Italian Alphabet

Learn about the letters of the Alphabet.

5 Letters Not "Used" In Italian
Five English letters are not present in the Italian alphabet. These letters are: J, K, W, X, and Y. When these letters are used, they are either within foreign words, used for web addresses, or found on car registration plates.

City and Town Names
Similar to how English speakers have a phonetic alphabet, i.e. "Q as in Queen", Italians have their own type of style when communicating on the phone or when clarity is important. Most commonly, a city, or town name is used, but not with every letter.

Letter	Pronunciation	City Name
A	pronounced like "ah" in "father."	Ancona
B	pronounced like "bee"	Bologna
C	pronounced like "chee" before "i" or "e" (e.g., "ciao"), and like "kah" before "a," "o," or "u" (e.g., "casa").	Como
D	pronounced like "dee"	Domodossola
E	pronounced like "ay" in "may."	Empoli
F	pronounced like "effe"	Firenze
G	pronounced like "jee" before "i" or "e" (e.g., "gelato"), and like "gah" before "a," "o," or "u" (e.g., "gatto").	Genova
H	Letter Name "Acca", Silent in Italian.	Firenze
I	pronounced like "ee" in "see."	Imola
J	pronounced "i lungo" (long i)
K	pronounced "cappa"
L	pronounced like "elle."	Livorno
M	pronounced like "emme."	Milano
N	pronounced like "enne."	Napoli
O	pronounced like "oh" in "no."	Otranto
P	pronounced like "pee."	Pisa
Q	pronounced like "koo."	Quadro (Painting)
R	trilled or rolled "r" sound.	Roma
S	pronounced like "esse."	Savona
T	pronounced like "tee."	Torino
U	pronounced like "oo" in "food."	Udine
V	pronounced like "voo."	Venezia
W	pronounced voo doppia/o; (double v).
X	pronounced like "iks"
Y	pronounced like "i greca", (greek i). or "ipsilon"
Z	pronounced like "zee."	Venezia

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