Italian · Difficult words
How to pronounce metropolitana in Italian
metropolitana
Subway (metro)
Standard Italian · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.
metropolitana is pronounced /me.tro.po.liˈta.na/ in Italian. In metropolitana: Use the tip of the tongue near the ridge behind the upper teeth. A light contact or brief trill is different from a curled English r. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
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Find the sounds in metropolitana
Read metropolitana in these IPA segments: me · tro · po · li · ˈta · na. 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 Italian r
In metropolitana: Use the tip of the tongue near the ridge behind the upper teeth. A light contact or brief trill is different from a curled English r.
Watch out: Avoid pulling the tongue back into an English “r” shape.
2.A steady /e/ vowel
In metropolitana: 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 metropolitana: 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 la metropolitana per andare in centro.
I'm taking the subway to go downtown.
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
metropolitana 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 metropolitana
How do you pronounce metropolitana?
metropolitana is pronounced /me.tro.po.liˈta.na/ in Italian. In metropolitana: Use the tip of the tongue near the ridge behind the upper teeth. A light contact or brief trill is different from a curled English r. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.
What should I listen for first?
In metropolitana: Use the tip of the tongue near the ridge behind the upper teeth. A light contact or brief trill is different from a curled English r. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.
