Listen and repeat.

There are two different ways of pronouncing letter e in Italian.

The first way is to pronounce it with a wide open mouth and that’s why we call it an open e, like the e in bed.
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, this sound is represented by the symbol [ɛ]:

• venti /’vɛnti/
• pesca /’pɛska/

The second way is to pronounce it with a slightly closed mouth and this is what we call a closed e, like the a in play and its symbol is [e]:

• venti /’venti/
• pesca /’peska/

In Italian this difference is very important because the way we pronounce letter e can completely change the meaning of some words.
For example, the word

• venti /’vɛnti/ – with an open e means winds,

while the word

• venti /’venti/ – with a closed e means twenty.

The word

• pesca /’pɛska/ – with an open e means peach,

while

• pesca /’peska/ – with a closed e means fishing.

Sometimes this difference is not so clear, because in Italy there are so many accents and dialects that in some areas, especially in the south, both the word for peach and for fishing are pronounced with a closed e /’peska/ and it’s the context that can help you figure out what the speaker means.

Leggi queste parole e poi controlla la pronuncia corretta di seguito.
Read these words and then check the correct pronunciation below.