Even though Italian and English share many similarities, there are plenty of words that trip up Italian students repeatedly – and not all of them are false friends! One of the biggest headaches for learners is the double consonant, which is pronounced differently to a single consonant in that the sound is lengthened and more …
Even the most talented of poets may find themselves at a loss when writing traditional rhyming poetry, especially if one of the lines ends with an uncooperative word such as “Italian”! The good news is that there are a handful of words that rhyme, or partially rhyme, with Italian. (But let’s be honest, the real …
While Italian is supposedly an easy language to learn for English speakers, most learners face pronunciation challenges at some point, in part because there are so many Italian loanwords in English whose pronunciation has changed to suit the cadence of the English language. To speak with confidence and be understood in Italy, it is a …
When words sound similar in a language, it is extremely easy to confuse them, especially if you are a learner of that language! Three terms that learners (and sometimes even native speakers) struggle to distinguish in Italian are a posto, apposto and apposta. In this article, our aim is to explain the difference between them! …
In all languages, including Italian, we can describe a person in two different ways. On one hand, we can describe their physical appearance and on the other, their character. Let’s take a look at how we can do this in Italian using the most common adjectives to describe a person. Describing a person with adjectives: …
There are two basic types of sounds in Italian, and any language for that matter – vowels and consonants. Consonants are created when you use different parts of your mouth, such as your lips, tongue or palate, to obstruct the airflow. Vowels, on the other hand, are produced when you allow air to flow unobstructed. …