LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "la cucina (f.)" in Italian?
lah koo-CHEE-nah, with a hard "k" at the start and a soft "ch" in the middle — the same letter c, two different sounds. In IPA: /la kuˈtʃi.na/. Stress falls on the second syllable.
Three syllables, cu, ci, and na, stressed on the middle one. The two c's in this word aren't pronounced the same way — that's the whole trick to reading it correctly.
Listen: la cucina (f.)
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Sound it out
"Cucina" is the clearest possible illustration of Italian's c rule: c is hard before a, o, and u, but soft before e and i. This one word has both environments back to back, first a hard c before u, then a soft c before i.
Hear it in a sentence
La cucina è molto grande.
The kitchen is very big.
Listen: La cucina è molto grande.
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The example, "La cucina è molto grande" (The kitchen is very big), again pairs "molto" with the adjective to mean "very," the same intensifying pattern seen with "molto buono" earlier. "Grande" doesn't change form between masculine and feminine singular nouns, one of a small set of Italian adjectives (ending in -e rather than -o/-a) that only change for number, not gender.
"Cucina" also does double duty in Italian for both the room (kitchen) and the activity or style of cooking ("la cucina italiana," Italian cuisine) — context, not a different word, tells a listener which sense is meant.
Where English speakers slip
The most specific mistake this word invites is applying the same c sound throughout, producing "koo-KEE-nah" with a hard k both times, or the reverse, softening both. The rule is mechanical and depends entirely on the following vowel: c before u is always hard, c before i is always soft, with no exceptions — "cucina" simply puts both rules in the same word.
The stressed i is also occasionally lengthened into something closer to "ay," perhaps by analogy with English "cuisine." It should stay a short, pure "ee," the same vowel quality as the i in "cibo" or "pizza."