LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "il ragazzo (m.)" in Italian?
rah-GAHT-tsoh, stress on the middle syllable, with the double z landing as a sharp "ts" — like the end of "cats" — not a buzzing z. In IPA: /raˈɡat.tso/.
Three syllables, ra, gaz, and zo, stressed on the middle syllable, with the doubled z held noticeably longer than a single z would be.
Listen: il ragazzo (m.)
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Sound it out
This word uses the same z rule as "senza," just doubled: Italian zz here is the voiceless affricate /ts/, the sound at the end of English "cats," and because it's a doubled letter, it's held a beat longer than a single z would be.
Hear it in a sentence
Il ragazzo studia molto.
The boy studies a lot.
Listen: Il ragazzo studia molto.
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"Il ragazzo studia molto" places "molto" after the verb it modifies, the normal Italian word order for adverbs of quantity — "studia molto," not a fronted "a lot he studies" the way English sometimes allows for emphasis.
"Ragazzo" sits at an interesting age range in Italian, covering both "boy" and, more loosely, "young man" well into someone's twenties in casual speech — broader than the narrower English "boy" the dictionary translation suggests.
Where English speakers slip
The doubled z is the main trap: English speakers often voice it into a buzzing "dz" or English z, saying "rah-GAH-zoh." Standard Italian keeps this pair voiceless, closer to "rah-GAHT-tsoh," with a clear "ts" sound and audible length.
Stress also tends to drift to the first syllable, "RAH-gaz-zo," following English's habit of front-loading stress in longer or less familiar-looking words. Italian stresses the middle syllable: ra-GAZ-zo.