Italian · Difficult words
How to pronounce dente in Italian
dente
Tooth
Standard Italian · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
dente is pronounced /ˈdɛn.te/ in Italian. In dente: Keep the tongue toward the front and sustain a single /e/ vowel. Listen for its exact height in the recording. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in dente
Read dente in these IPA segments: ˈdɛn · te. Dots and stress marks identify the boundaries shown in the reference; these symbols are not English spelling. The mark /ˈ/ comes immediately before the main stressed syllable. Give that syllable a little more prominence without swallowing the others.
1.A steady /e/ vowel
In dente: Keep the tongue toward the front and sustain a single /e/ vowel. Listen for its exact height in the recording.
Watch out: English “ay” often ends with a glide; do not automatically carry that glide into this vowel.
2.The open /ɛ/ vowel
In dente: Keep the vowel open, like the vowel in many pronunciations of English “bed”, without a final glide.
Watch out: Avoid turning this vowel into English “ay”.
Hear it in context
Mi fa male un dente a sinistra.
A tooth on the left hurts.
Listen once, say it aloud, then replay at 1.00×. Keep the word connected to the surrounding sentence rather than giving every syllable equal weight.
Pronunciation and variety
dente is presented using Standard Italian. Regional accents and connected speech can change details. The isolated word and the example let you compare the dictionary form with a short spoken context.
The English-style respelling is approximate. Use the IPA and recording together for vowel quality and consonants that do not have an exact English equivalent.
Meaning and everyday use
Questions about dente
How do you pronounce dente?
dente is pronounced /ˈdɛn.te/ in Italian. In dente: Keep the tongue toward the front and sustain a single /e/ vowel. Listen for its exact height in the recording. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In dente: Keep the tongue toward the front and sustain a single /e/ vowel. Listen for its exact height in the recording. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
