Italian culture has made a name for itself all across the globe. We love Italian food, Italian fashion, Italian cars – the list goes on! When I want to splurge at the grocery store, I treat myself to name brand Barilla pasta, and sometimes a big jar of Nutella to top my favorite breakfast breads. When dressing to impress, you probably wish you had more Armani or Prada in your closet. Car-aficionados dream about owning their very own Ferrari. There’s just something about the word “Italian” that makes us think of luxury, and we all want a taste of that special little indulgence in our own home countries. These luxurious brands are internationally-renowned; everybody knows their names.
So it may come as a surprise to you that the pronunciation of these brand name is not internationally known. We English-speakers tend to pronounce these Italian brand names with an English accent – as would make sense. It is completely natural to pronounce foreign names with your native accent when speaking in your native language. But even amongst English-speakers, we cannot always agree upon one English pronunciation of Italian brand names. Is it “new-tella” or “nut-ella”?
While studying the Italian language, however, or simply while trying to impress friends with your worldly knowledge, it would be useful to know how to pronounce Italian brand names correctly – as Italians would. If you travel to Italy and want to buy a Gucci bag straight from its flagship store in Firenze, the store clerk would be delighted to hear you pronounce the brand name as the original founder intended. Not only that, but practicing the correct pronunciation of famous Italian brand names is also a great way to practice using accurate Italian vowels when studying the Italian language.
With that said, let’s take a moment to learn the correct pronunciation of the 25 most famous Italian brand names known internationally.
How to pronounce “Gucci” in Italian
Gucci is a high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy.
Helpful tip: Gucci contains a double consonant (two Cs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Versace” in Italian
Gianni Versace S.r.l., usually referred to as Versace, is a luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.
Helpful tip: Don’t pronounce the word-final E like the EA in “eat”. It should be pronounced EH as in “elephant”.
How to pronounce “Prada” in Italian
Prada S.p.A. is a luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada.
Helpful tip: Don’t forget to roll that R!
How to pronounce “Armani” in Italian
Giorgio Armani S.p.A., commonly known as Armani, is a luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani.
Helpful tip: Don’t forget to roll that R!
How to pronounce “Fendi” in Italian
Fendi is a luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances and so on.
How to pronounce “Bottega Veneta” in Italian
Bottega Veneta is a luxury fashion house based in Milan, Italy
Helpful tip: Bottega contains a double consonant (two Ts), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Valentino” in Italian
Valentino S.p.A. is a luxury fashion house founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani.
How to pronounce “Moschino” in Italian
Moschino is a luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan.
Helpful tip: The SCH consonant cluster is always pronounced as a hard SK sound in Italian, as in the English words “skate” and “sky”.
How to pronounce “Dolce & Gabbana” in Italian
Dolce & Gabbana, also known by initials D&G, is a luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano.
Helpful tip: Gabbana contains a double consonant (two Bs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Missoni” in Italian
Missoni is a luxury fashion house based in Varese, known for its colorful knitwear designs.
Helpful tip: Missoni contains a double consonant (two Ss), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Bvlgari” in Italian
Bulgari is a luxury fashion house founded in 1884, known for its jewellery and watches.
Helpful tip: Bvlgari is written with a “v” rather than a “u”, in accordance with the classical Latin alphabet, but it should be pronounced as if it were a “u”. It is derived from the surname of the company’s founder, Sotirios Voulgaris.
How to pronounce “Lamborghini” in Italian
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is a brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Helpful tip: The GH consonant cluster is always pronounced as a hard G sound in Italian, as in the English words “geese” and “gate”.
How to pronounce “Ferrari” in Italian
Ferrari S.p.A. is a luxury sports car manufacturer founded by Enzo Ferrari.
Helpful tip: Ferrari contains a double consonant (two Rs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound. And don’t forget to roll them like a true Italian!
How to pronounce “Nutella” in Italian
Nutella is a brand of sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread, manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero.
Helpful tip: Nutella contains a double consonant (two Ls), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Ferrero” in Italian
Ferrero SpA more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy.
Helpful tip: Ferrero contains a double consonant (two Rs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound. When saying Ferrero Rocher, the sub-brand of chocolate, you need to pronounce Rocher in the French way.
How to pronounce “Barilla” in Italian
Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. is a multinational food company and the world’s largest pasta producer.
Helpful tip: Barilla contains a double consonant (two Ls), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “Chicco” in Italian
Chicco is a manufacturer of children’s clothing and toys with retail outlets worldwide.
Helpful tip: Chicco, which means “bean” or “grain” in Italian, contains a double consonant (two Cs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound. Also, keep in mind that CH in Italian is pronounced like a K, which means that the “chi” in Chicco sounds like the English “key”.
How to pronounce “Pirelli” in Italian
Helpful tip: Barilla contains a double consonant (two Ls), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “S.Pellegrino” in Italian
A natural mineral water brand, owned by the company Sanpellegrino S.p.A, part of Swiss company Nestlé since 1997.
Helpful tip: Pellegrino contains a double consonant (two Ls), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound. The single S is usually pronounced “san”.
How to pronounce “Alfa Romeo” in Italian
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is a luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis.
Helpful tip: Don’t pronounce Romeo like the name of the character in “Romeo and Juliet”. The emphasis should fall on the ME, not the RO.
How to pronounce “LAVAZZA” in Italian
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. shortened and stylised as LAVAZZA, is a manufacturer of coffee products.
Helpful tip: The double ZZ sound in Italian isn’t pronounced like the English Z but rather like the “ts” in “tsunami”.
How to pronounce “Peroni” in Italian
Peroni Brewery is a brewing company, best known worldwide for its pale lager.
How to pronounce “Birra Moretti” in Italian
Birra Moretti was a brewing company, founded in Udine in 1859 by Luigi Moretti. In 1996 the company was acquired by Heineken N.V.
Helpful tip: Birra Moretti contains two double consonants (two Ls and two TTs), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
How to pronounce “De’Longhi” in Italian
De’Longhi S.p.A. is a small appliance manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy.
Helpful tip: the GH sound in Italian is always pronounced as a hard G. This means “ghi” is pronounced like “gee” in the word “geese”.
How to pronounce “illy” in Italian
Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is a coffee company specialising in espresso, based in Trieste.
Helpful tip: illy contains a double consonant (two Ls), so you must pronounce them more forcefully and with a longer sound.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
