How to Pronounce 'L'aeroporto (m.)': Italian Pronunciation Guide

Q: How do you pronounce l'aeroporto (m.) in Italian?

l'aeroporto (m.) is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /la.e.ro.ˈpɔr.to/. It means “airport.” lah-eh-roh-POR-toh , stressed on the fourth syllable. In IPA: /la.e.ro.ˈpɔr.to/ . The "a" and "e" at the start are two separate, fully pronounced vowels, not blended into one "air" sound.

How do you pronounce "l'aeroporto (m.)" in Italian?

lah-eh-roh-POR-toh, stressed on the fourth syllable. In IPA: /la.e.ro.ˈpɔr.to/. The "a" and "e" at the start are two separate, fully pronounced vowels, not blended into one "air" sound.

l'aeroporto (m.) /la.e.ro.ˈpɔr.to/

Written as five syllables, a-e-ro-por-to, and Italian keeps every one of them distinct — including that first "a-e" pair, which stays as two separate vowel sounds rather than collapsing into a single glide.

Listen: l'aeroporto (m.)

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Sound it out

The prefix "aero-" is the part most likely to go wrong: English "aero-" (as in "airplane") tends to blur the a and e together into a single "air" sound, but Italian pronounces them as two clearly separate vowels in a row, one right after the other with no blending.

a-e Two separate vowel sounds in a row, "ah" then "eh" — Italian doesn't blend them into the single "air" sound English speakers expect from "aero-."

ro Plain and unstressed, with a light tapped r.

por The stressed syllable, with an open "aw" vowel — POR, not the flatter English sound in "portable."

-to A short, closed, unstressed final syllable.

Hear it in a sentence

Andiamo all'aeroporto in taxi.

We're going to the airport by taxi.

Listen: Andiamo all'aeroporto in taxi.

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"Andiamo all'aeroporto in taxi" combines "andare" (to go) with the contracted preposition "all'" (a + l', since "aeroporto" starts with a vowel) and then "in taxi" for the method of transport. Italian regularly uses "in" rather than "by" with vehicles — in taxi, in treno, in aereo — so this preposition doesn't translate directly from English "by taxi."

"Aeroporto" is used exactly like English "airport," for the whole facility (terminals, runways, and all), and pairs naturally with directional and transport phrases like this one when talking about travel plans.

Where English speakers slip

The single biggest mistake is collapsing "a-e" into the English "air" sound out of habit from words like "aerobics" or "aerial." Italian treats "aero-" as two distinct syllables, each with its own full vowel, so "ah-eh-ro" is correct where an English speaker's instinct says "air-oh."

The other slip is flattening the stressed "por" into the closed, muffled "or" sound of English "portable" or "import." Italian "por" here is an open vowel, closer to the "aw" in "paw," and getting that openness right keeps the stress landing clearly where it should.