Don’t Embarrass Yourself by Mispronouncing These Italian Words

Have you ever tried to say something in Italian and ended up blurting out something similar-sounding but completely wrong by accident?

Learning a new language is very challenging and it is easy to mispronounce one little syllable in a word and end up saying something completely different than you intended. You might be trying to order pasta with sausage and end up somehow insulting the waiter’s mother, leaving you red faced in front of your new friends.

Here are a few of the most common mistakes that beginner Italian learners make, so that you can avoid an embarrassing situation when speaking the language:

Bruschetta

When you are ordering this traditional Italian dish in a restaurant, you might be tempted to pronounce it “Brushetta”. However, it should actually be pronounced “Brews-ketta”. This is because the ch makes the sound of a hard K such as in other Italian words like zucchini or Chianti. Many people are not aware of this, so you will impress native Italian speakers if you can name the dish in the correct way.

Penne

When you are ordering penne pasta, make sure that you pronounce both of the N’s in the word. It should be a clear two syllable, “Pen-ne”. You might not be able to hear the difference between the two, but an Italian speaker will. The embarrassing thing is that if you fail to pronounce both N’s it will sound like you are saying “pene” which is the Italian word for penis! Be careful with this one, because it would be mortifying to order penis in a restaurant!

Pecorino

This word refers to a type of cheese made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. (Interesting how all of the words so far are about food?) It is simple to pronounce this word, just say it exactly how it is spelled. However, be careful not to change the O at the end into an A. If you say Pecorina, you will be describing “doggy style” sex. Holly Willoughby made this mistake on a cooking demonstration on the show This Morning with Chef Gino D’Acampo, much to the chef’s amusement.

Casalinga

This is the Italian word for housewife. It is also sometimes used in dishes which are made in a simple, comforting and home cooked style. When you are talking about someone’s wife or her cooking, don’t make the mistake of pronouncing the word as “Casalingua” instead. The difference is subtle, all you have to do is change the last syllable to “gwah” instead of “gah” and the meaning suddenly becomes X-rated. To give you a hint, “Lingua” means “tongue” so you can probably figure out what sexual act is being referred to. This little word play is very commonly used in the titles of porn films in Italy.

Scappare

This Italian verb means to escape and when you say “Devo Scopare” this means that you are going to sweep, such as sweeping the floor. This is a very innocent meaning, but if you mispronounce the middle vowel and end up saying scopare instead, you will have said that you are going to go make love and you will have said it in a very vulgar way. Avoid this mispronunciation so that you don’t offend people when all you really want to do is clean your house.

These are a few of the most embarrassing mispronunciations that beginning Italian speakers often make. It takes a little bit of time and careful attention to make sure that you are pronouncing each syllable of the words correctly, but by doing so you will save yourself the red faced shame of saying something completely inappropriate and causing everyone around you to burst out laughing.

Italian is a tricky language to learn, because it is easy to pronounce a word wrong and say something totally different. You can hire an experienced Italian translator or language teacher to give you detailed pronunciation tips to avoid these mistakes.

Tags: bruschetta, cheese, cooking demonstration, gino, goat, holly willoughby, italian dish, italian speakers, italian word, italian words, learners, new friends, new language, pasta, pene, penne, sausage, sheep, syllable, waiter

Category: Travel Tips