Index / Language / Records / Italian / Regional dialects
Fiorentino Italian
The dialect standard Italian grew out of, with one famous difference: the c between vowels becomes an h.
Florence and Tuscany
5sound rules11words and phrases9everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1C between vowels becomes h
Called the gorgia. A hard c after a vowel, even across words, becomes a breathy h.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| la hasa | la casa | the house |
| hoha-hola | Coca-Cola | Coca-Cola |
| amiho | amico | friend |
NoteStart here. It is the Tuscan sound every Italian knows.
S2T and p soften too
Between vowels, t moves towards th and p towards f, more weakly than c.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| pathate | patate | potatoes |
| capitho | capito | understood |
S3Soft c and g slide
Ci and ce become sh, and gi and ge become a soft zh, between vowels.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| la shena | la cena | dinner |
| dieshi | dieci | ten |
| la zhente | la gente | people |
S4Uo becomes o
Tuscany drops the diphthong the standard kept.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| bòno | buono | good |
| nòvo | nuovo | new |
| l'òmo | l'uomo | the man |
S5Si for we, and the subject pronoun
Noi si va replaces andiamo, and the pronoun te or gli is said as the subject.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| noi si va | andiamo | we're going |
| icché tu dici? | che cosa dici? | what are you saying? |
| gli è bello | è bello | it's nice |
Words and phrases
11 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Reactions and people
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| bischero | sciocco | fool (often fond)casual |
| ganzo | bello, figo | coolcasual |
| il bimbo / la bimba | il ragazzo | kid, also for adultscasual |
| il babbo | il papà | dadneutral |
| mi garba | mi piace | I like itneutral |
| maremma maiala | accidenti | damn! (the Tuscan curse)vulgar |
W2Food
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| il lampredotto | il lampredotto | stewed tripe in a rollneutral |
| la schiacciata | la focaccia | Tuscan flatbreadneutral |
| la bistecca alla fiorentina | la bistecca alla fiorentina | the T-bone steakneutral |
| il vin santo | il vin santo | sweet dessert wineneutral |
| la ribollita | la ribollita | bread and vegetable soupneutral |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the lampredotto stand
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Un panino col lampredotto, bagnato | Un panino con il lampredotto, bagnato | a tripe roll, dipped in the broth |
| Con la salsa verde e piccante | Con la salsa verde e piccante | with green sauce and chilli |
| E un bicchiere di rosso | E un bicchiere di rosso | and a glass of red |
L2At the trattoria
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Un quartino della casa | Un quarto di litro di vino della casa | a quarter litre of house wine |
| La fiorentina è per due | La fiorentina è per due | the steak is for 2 |
| Il conto, per piacere | Il conto, per favore | the bill, please |
L3Out and about
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Noi si va in piazza | Andiamo in piazza | we're going to the square |
| Gli è un bel posto | È un bel posto | it's a lovely place |
| O bimbi, icché si fa? | Ragazzi, che facciamo? | guys, what are we doing? |