Italian · Difficult words
How to pronounce gentile in Italian
gentile
Kind
Standard Italian · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
gentile is pronounced /d͡ʒenˈti.le/ in Italian. In gentile: 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 gentile
Read gentile in these IPA segments: d͡ʒen · ˈti · le. 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 gentile: 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 gentile: 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.Front-vowel position
In gentile: Listen for the distinction between the closer /i/ and the more relaxed /ɪ/ when shown. Keep your tongue toward the front.
Watch out: Do not decide vowel quality from English spelling alone.
Hear it in context
Sei davvero gentile, grazie.
You're really kind, thank you.
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
gentile 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 gentile
How do you pronounce gentile?
gentile is pronounced /d͡ʒenˈti.le/ in Italian. In gentile: 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 gentile: 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.
