LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "la voce (f.)" in Italian?
VO-cheh, with a soft "ch" sound, not an "s." In IPA: /ˈvotʃe/.
Two syllables, vo and ce, both fully pronounced. The stress sits on the first syllable, and the second one, with its soft c, needs to stay just as clear.
Listen: la voce (f.)
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Sound it out
The one rule to know here: c before e is always a soft "ch" sound in Italian, as in "chess," never the "s" sound the same letters often make in English cognates.
Hear it in a sentence
Ha una voce bellissima.
She has a beautiful voice.
Listen: Ha una voce bellissima.
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"La voce" is the voice, and the example, "Ha una voce bellissima" ("She has a beautiful voice"), showcases the Italian absolute superlative: "bellissima" isn't "the most beautiful" (that would need a comparison, "la più bella"), it's an intensified "extremely beautiful" all on its own, formed by adding "-issimo/-issima" directly onto the adjective stem. English has no single-word equivalent, and typically needs "extremely" or "very" plus the adjective to convey the same intensity.
The indefinite article "una" is used here rather than a definite one because this is a general description, "a beautiful voice," not a reference to one particular, previously established voice.
Where English speakers slip
Because "voce" is the root behind English "vocal" and "voice" itself, and because Italian z and c can both drift toward English "s" sounds in a learner's mind, some English speakers land on "VO-seh" instead of the correct "VO-cheh." Italian c before e is always the soft "ch" of "chess" or "cherry," the same rule that governs "cena" and "cielo," never an "s."
The o also deserves attention: it should stay a pure, closed vowel, not the diphthong an English speaker naturally adds in words like "vocal," which glides from "oh" toward "uh" partway through. Italian o stays level from start to finish.