LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "grande" in Italian?
GRAHN-deh, stressed on the first syllable. In IPA: /ˈɡran.de/. The "gr" stays fused as one crisp cluster.
Two syllables, gran and de, clearly separated, with all the stress up front.
Listen: grande
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Sound it out
Like "sembrare" elsewhere in this set, "grande" opens with a consonant cluster, "gr," that Italian pronounces as one tight unit, plus a nasal "an" that shouldn't be confused with the clipped, diphthongized vowel English uses in the similar-looking word "grand."
Hear it in a sentence
Abitano in una casa grande.
They live in a big house.
Listen: Abitano in una casa grande.
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"Abitano in una casa grande" places the adjective after the noun, "casa grande," the default word order for descriptive adjectives like size in Italian. Placement can actually shift meaning with "grande": after the noun it keeps its literal, physical sense (a big house), while before the noun it can take on a more figurative sense of "great" ("un grande uomo," a great man, versus "un uomo grande," a big/tall man). The verb here is "abitano" (from "abitare," to reside), a useful contrast with "vivere" (to live) elsewhere in this vocabulary set: both translate as "live" in English, but "abitare" leans specifically toward residing at a place.
Where English speakers slip
English speakers often break up the "gr" cluster with a small inserted vowel, the same interference pattern as with "br" in "sembrare," producing something like "guh-RAHN-deh." Italian keeps g and r fused tightly together.
The "an" is also a trap: English "grand" clips its vowel short and glides it slightly. Italian "gran" keeps a full, open, nasal "ahn" with no glide, held for its full value before the d.