Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 1
Benvenuti! L'italiano si leggeWelcome! Italian reads as written
Your first chapter — and the first piece of good news: Italian reads the way it is written. No silent letters, no hidden surprises: you learn a few reading rules and from then on you can pronounce any new word. Today you hear the sound of the language, greet with ciao and buongiorno, say thanks with grazie — and meet Marco, Giulia and Mike, who stay with you for the whole course.
Dialogue
i
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Ciao!— Hi!
- MikeCiao!Hi!
- MarcoCiao! Benvenuto!Hi! Welcome!
- MikeGrazie!Thanks!
Dialogue
i
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Buongiorno!— Good morning!
- GiuliaBuongiorno, Marco!Good morning, Marco!
- MarcoCiao, Giulia! Benvenuta!Hi, Giulia! Welcome! (To Mike it was benvenutO, to Giulia benvenutA — Italian words quietly change their ending. Chapter 4 explains.)
- GiuliaGrazie! Ciao!Thanks! Bye!
Vocabulary
i
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- ciao
inter.hi / bye (informal, both ways)
- buongiorno
inter.good morning / good day
- grazie
inter.thank you
- benvenuto / benvenuta
adjectivewelcome (to a man / to a woman)
- sì
adverbyes
- no
adverbno
Grammar
i
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Italian reads the way it is written
Explanation
Today's most important rule: in Italian every letter is pronounced, and almost always the same way. The vowels are pure and stable: a e i o u — five clear sounds, always the same, even at the end of a word (ciao, grazie, buongiorno). No silent letters. Read casa exactly as written: c-a-s-a. Read bene: b-e-n-e. Only two notes for now: ci/ce reads soft (ciao = «cha-o») and a written accent tells you where the voice lands (sì, è). The few remaining reading rules come over the next chapters — after that, you can read EVERYTHING.
Examples
- casa → c-a-s-ahouse — read letter by letter, exactly as written
- bene, graziefine, thanks — every vowel clear and pure, including the final e
- ciao = «cia-o»ci reads soft — more on the c/g pair in chapter 4
- sì / èthe written accent marks where the voice lands — and tells sì «yes» from si, è «is» from e «and»
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