The Italian Alphabet: 21 Letters, Letter Names and How to Spell Your Name
A0 · Lesson 05 · The alphabet
Twenty-one letters, five guests, one silent H, and a map of Italy to spell your name.
Quick answer
The Italian alphabet has 21 letters, plus 5 “foreign” letters for borrowed words: J (i lunga), K (cappa), W (doppia vu), X (ics) and Y (ipsilon). The H is silent, and every other letter is read. To spell a name, Italians use cities: A come Ancona, B come Bologna…
The Italian alphabet: 21 letters
Big letter, Italian name, how to say it.
A
a
AH
B
bi
BEE
C
ci
CHEE
D
di
DEE
E
e
EH
F
effe
EF-feh
G
gi
JEE
H
acca
AHK-kah
I
i
EE
L
elle
EL-leh
M
emme
EM-meh
N
enne
EN-neh
O
o
OH
P
pi
PEE
Q
cu
KOO
R
erre
EHR-reh
S
esse
ES-seh
T
ti
TEE
U
u
OO
V
vu
VOO
Z
zeta
DZEH-tah
💡 In simple words
Watch out for E and I: the Italian e sounds like the e in “bed” (EH), the Italian i sounds like the English letter “E” (EE).
And G is gi (JEE), C is ci (CHEE).
The 5 guest letters: J, K, W, X, Y
They live in borrowed words like jeans, kiwi, whisky, taxi, yogurt.
J
i lunga
EE LOON-gah
“long i”
K
cappa
KAHP-pah
W
doppia vu
DOHP-pyah VOO
“double v”
X
ics
EEKS
Y
ipsilon
EEP-see-lohn
J is not “jay”: it is i lunga, the long i. And W is not “double u” but doppia vu, a double V.
Two golden rules: H is silent, every letter is read
📌 Rule 1 · H is silent
hotel = oh-TEL · ho = OH
Never breathe out an English h. The H is there only for the eyes.
📌 Rule 2 · Every other letter is read
pane = PAH-neh · notte = NOHT-teh
No silent final e like in English “cake”. Italian is written the way it sounds: see it, say it.
Spell your name the Italian way: A come Ancona
On the phone or at a hotel desk, Italians spell with city names (and a few everyday words). Come (KOH-meh) = like.
A
Ancona
ahn-KOH-nah
B
Bologna
boh-LOH-nyah
C
Como
KOH-moh
D
Domodossola
doh-moh-DOHS-soh-lah
E
Empoli
EM-poh-lee
F
Firenze
fee-REN-tseh
G
Genova
JEH-noh-vah
H
hotel
oh-TEL
or simply “acca”
I
Imola
EE-moh-lah
L
Livorno
lee-VOHR-noh
M
Milano
mee-LAH-noh
N
Napoli
NAH-poh-lee
O
Otranto
OH-trahn-toh
P
Palermo
pah-LEHR-moh
Q
Quadro
KWAH-droh
R
Roma
ROH-mah
S
Savona
sah-VOH-nah
T
Torino
toh-REE-noh
U
Udine
OO-dee-neh
V
Venezia
veh-NEH-tsyah
Z
Zanzara
dzahn-DZAH-rah
For J, K, W, X, Y Italians usually just say the letter name: i lunga, cappa, doppia vu, ics, ipsilon. For a double letter, say doppia: Anna = A, doppia enne, A.
Your turn: spell it
S come Savona
ES-seh KOH-meh sah-VOH-nah · S as in Savona
Swap the pair: M · Milano T · Torino R · Roma
In real life: at the hotel desk
Giada
receptionist
Buonasera! Il nome?
Good evening! The name?
you
Smith.
Smith.
Giada
receptionist
Come si scrive?
How do you spell it?
you
S come Savona, M come Milano, I come Imola, T come Torino, H acca.
S as in Savona, M as in Milano, I as in Imola, T as in Torino, H.
Giada
receptionist
Perfetto, grazie!
Perfect, thank you!
Five cities, zero mistakes in your booking.
Common mistakes English speakers make
Saying hotel: HOH-tel → oh-TEL
The H is silent. Always.
Spelling J: jay → i lunga
J is the “long i” in Italian.
Spelling the letter I: “eye” → i (EE)
The Italian i sounds like the English “ee”. And e sounds like “eh”.
Did you know? Italian has only 21 letters
🔤 21, not 26
J, K, W, X and Y appear only in foreign words: jeans, kiwi, whisky, taxi, yogurt. Italian words don’t need them.
📞 A whole map
The city alphabet is a tiny tour of Italy: from Como in the north to Palermo in Sicily. Spell your name and you have traveled the country.
Tip: practice spelling your own name and surname with cities. You will need it at every hotel.
My name is Max. In Italy it’s emme, a, ics. I asked for the city with X. They said there isn’t one. I’m still upset.
Step 7 · Practice
🍕 Your turn
Start with a quick warm-up, then press Check. Want more? Open the extra exercises below. Mistakes are part of it. No pressure.
Warm-up · 5 questions
What is the Italian name of the letter?
1. H
2. J
3. R
4. G
5. Z
See more exercises · 42 questions ▾Hide the extra exercises ▴
1 · Which letter is it?
You hear the Italian name. Choose the letter.
1. e (EH)
2. i (EE)
3. ci (CHEE)
4. cu (KOO)
5. doppia vu
6. ipsilon
7. cappa
8. ics
9. vu
10. elle
2 · Complete the city alphabet
Choose the city.
1. A come…
2. B come…
3. F come…
4. G come…
5. M come…
6. N come…
7. P come…
8. R come…
9. T come…
10. V come…
3 · Right or wrong?
Is it true?
1. The Italian alphabet has 21 letters.
2. In “hotel” you say the H like in English.
3. In “pane” you say the final e.
4. J is called “jay” in Italian.
5. K, W, X and Y appear in foreign words like kiwi, whisky, taxi, yogurt.
6. “Come” in “A come Ancona” means “like” / “as in”.
7. The Italian letter i sounds like English “eye”.
8. W is called “doppia vu” (double v).
4 · What word is it?
Someone spells a word. Choose it.
1. erre, o, emme, a
2. ci, i, a, o
3. acca, o, ti, e, elle
4. ti, a, ics, i
5. pi, i, doppia zeta, a
6. gi, e, elle, a, ti, o
5 · Write it in Italian
Type the answer. Capital letters don’t matter.
1. The Italian name of H
2. The Italian name of J
3. The Italian name of X
4. The Italian name of F
5. A come ___
6. S come ___
7. How do you spell it?
8. Spell MAX with the Italian letter names (with spaces)
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Ci vediamo la prossima settimana! – Sì, alla prossima lezione! Ciao!
See you next week! – Yes, see you at the next lesson! Bye!
Written by Luciana
Native Italian teacher, CEDILS certified, 10,000+ lessons since 2020.
