The five vowels and m, n, l, p, t

Ten letters, read the Italian way

Italian is written with the Latin letters you already know. Twenty-one of them are its own; five more (j, k, w, x, y) appear only in foreign words – lesson 3. The good news: Italian spelling is honest. Almost every letter is read, and a word is said the way it is written. Today: the five vowels a, e, i, o, u and the consonants m, n, l, p, t, capital and small. These ten letters already make real words: mano (hand), luna (moon), pane (bread).

Capital A: two slanted legs that meet at the top, then the bar. Small a: the round part, then a short line down its right side. Capital E: a post and three bars. Small e: the little bar first, then curl up, over and round to the left.

Capital I: one straight line. Small i: a short line, then the dot. O is one round stroke that closes where it started.

Capital U: down, round at the bottom, and up again. Small u: the same curve, then a short line down its right side.

Capital M: two posts with a V between them. Small m: a short post and two arches. Capital N: two posts joined by one slant. Small n: a short post and one arch.

Capital L: the post, then the foot to the right. Small l: one tall line with a small turn at the bottom. Capital P: the post and one belly at the top. Small p: a line that drops below the row, then the belly.

Capital T: the bar on top, then the post down the middle. Small t: a tall line that turns right at the bottom, then a short bar across.

m, n and l sound as in English; l stays clear at the end of a syllable too. p and t are softer than in English: no puff of air after them, and for t the tip of the tongue touches the back of the upper teeth – tempo, pianta. And every vowel keeps its full sound, even when it is not stressed: in English an unstressed vowel goes vague (“banana”), in Italian never. pane ends in a clear e, molto in a clear o.

la mano, la luna, il panethe hand, the moon, the bread

Una mela e un limone.An apple and a lemon.