Italian · Food & drink
How to pronounce gelato in Italian
gelato
Ice cream
Standard Italian · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
gelato is pronounced /d͡ʒeˈla.to/ in Italian. In gelato: Use a voiced “j” sound as in “jam”, joining the stop and release into one consonant. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in gelato
Read gelato in these IPA segments: d͡ʒe · ˈla · to. 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.The affricate /dʒ/
In gelato: Use a voiced “j” sound as in “jam”, joining the stop and release into one consonant.
Watch out: A hard English g gives a different consonant.
2.A steady /e/ vowel
In gelato: 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.
3.A steady /o/ vowel
In gelato: Round the lips and keep the tongue toward the back for a steady /o/. Follow the length indicated in the transcription.
Watch out: Avoid automatically turning a single /o/ into the moving vowel of English “go”.
Hear it in context
Prendo un gelato al pistacchio, grazie.
I'll take a pistachio ice cream, thanks.
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
gelato 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 gelato
How do you pronounce gelato?
gelato is pronounced /d͡ʒeˈla.to/ in Italian. In gelato: Use a voiced “j” sound as in “jam”, joining the stop and release into one consonant. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In gelato: Use a voiced “j” sound as in “jam”, joining the stop and release into one consonant. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
