MediumZ / ZZ
Lo zio zozzo di Zeno zappa la zolla nella zona della pizzeria di Enzo.
Zeno's dirty uncle hoes the clod in the area of Enzo's pizzeria.
Pronunciation Focus
Voiced Z /dz/ vs. voiceless Z /ts/ and double ZZ /tts/
Tip for English Speakers
💡Italian Z has two sounds: voiced /dz/ (like 'ds' in 'adze') in 'zio', 'zona', 'Zeno', and voiceless /ts/ (like 'ts' in 'cats') in 'zolla', 'pizza'. Listen for both!
Did You Know?
The letter Z is relatively rare in Italian but appears in some of the language's most iconic words: pizza, piazza, mozzarella, palazzo.
How to Practice
- 1.Read it slowly, word by word
- 2.Speed up gradually
- 3.Try saying it 3 times fast
- 4.Record yourself and compare