LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "il coniglio (m.)" in Italian?
koh-NEE-lyoh, stress on the middle syllable. In IPA: /koˈniʎʎo/. "Gli" is one single palatal sound, not a g followed by an l.
Three syllables, co-ni-glio, stress on "ni." The final "glio" also condenses down to one syllable, since "gli" is a single consonant sound followed by the glide-vowel o.
Listen: il coniglio (m.)
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Sound it out
This is one of Italian's trickiest spelling-to-sound rules for English readers: g, l, and i together represent one palatal sound, close to the "lli" in English "million," with no separate g sound anywhere in it. The instinct to pronounce a hard g here is almost universal among beginners and worth deliberately unlearning.
Hear it in a sentence
Il coniglio ha le orecchie lunghe.
The rabbit has long ears.
Listen: Il coniglio ha le orecchie lunghe.
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"Il coniglio ha le orecchie lunghe" uses "ha" (from "avere," to have) for a physical description, and notably pairs it with the definite article "le" rather than a possessive like "its": Italian says, literally, "has the ears long" where English needs "has long ears" (with no possessive needed either, interestingly, since "the" does the job). This preference for the article over a possessive with body parts and inherent features is a consistent Italian pattern.
"Lunghe" agrees in gender and number with feminine plural "orecchie," following the regular adjective agreement rules.
Where English speakers slip
By far the most common mistake with this word, and with "gli" generally, is pronouncing the g as a hard consonant, something like "GLEE-oh" or "guh-LEE-oh." English has no letter combination that silences a g quite this way, so the instinct to voice it is strong and needs active correction.
The second slip is stressing the first syllable, CO-ni-glio, following the more familiar English rhythm for unfamiliar words. The correct stress sits on the middle syllable, co-NI-glio.