Italiano — Spelling of c and g
In Italian, the letters c and g are pronounced hard (like k and g in "go") before a, o, u, and soft (like ch and j) before e and i. The vowels and the silent letters h and i control which sound you get, so casa has a hard c but cena has a soft one.
How it works
Before a, o, u the sound is hard: casa, cosa, cura, gatto, gonna. To keep the hard sound before e or i, insert an h: che, chi, ghetto, ghiro. Before e, i the plain letter is soft: cena, città, gelo, giro. To make a soft sound before a, o, u, insert an i (which is not pronounced): ciao, cioccolata, giacca, giostra.
Examples
| Hard (before a, o, u / with h) | Soft (before e, i / with i) |
|---|---|
| ca, co, cu — casa, cosa, cura | cia, cio, ciu — ciao, cioccolata, ciuffo |
| che, chi — che, chilo, chiave | ce, ci — cena, città, cinema |
| ga, go, gu — gatto, gonna, gufo | gia, gio, giu — giacca, giostra, giusto |
| ghe, ghi — ghetto, ghiro, aghi | ge, gi — gelo, giro, gente |
| sca, sco, scu — scala, scopa, scuola | scia, scio, sciu — sciare, sciopero, asciutto |
| sche, schi — pesche, schiena, mosche | sce, sci — scena, sci, pesce |
Good to know
The i that makes a soft sound before a, o, u is silent — ciao is "chao", not "chi-ao". But when the i carries the stress it is pronounced, as in farmacia or bugia. The h is always mute: it only exists to keep c and g hard before e and i, as in spaghetti and amiche.