How to Pronounce 'Loro': Italian Pronunciation Guide

Q: How do you pronounce loro in Italian?

loro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈlo.ro/. It means “they.” LOH-roh , both syllables with a crisp, closed "oh," never a flat English "uh." In IPA: /ˈlo.ro/ .

How do you pronounce "loro" in Italian?

LOH-roh, both syllables with a crisp, closed "oh," never a flat English "uh." In IPA: /ˈlo.ro/.

loro /ˈlo.ro/

Two clear syllables, lo and ro, each given equal, even weight. English wants to fade the second syllable into a mumbled "-er" or "-uh"; Italian keeps its shape all the way through.

Listen: loro

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Sound it out

Both o's here are the same clean, closed vowel — not the diphthongized "oh" of English "go," and not reduced to a schwa just because it's unstressed. Italian doesn't do the vowel-flattening that English does in unstressed syllables.

l A light, front "l," as in "lay."

o A closed, rounded "oh" with no glide — hold the lips rounded and steady rather than letting the sound drift toward "oo" the way English "go" does.

r A quick, tapped "r," one light flick of the tongue tip against the ridge behind the upper teeth — nothing like the English "r," which never touches the roof of the mouth.

o The same closed "oh" repeats, held to full value even though it's the unstressed syllable.

Hear it in a sentence

Loro arrivano domani.

They arrive tomorrow.

Listen: Loro arrivano domani.

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"Loro arrivano domani" puts loro up front as the subject for emphasis — "they" specifically, as opposed to someone else — even though "arrivano" already carries third-person-plural information in its ending. Dropping loro here would still be grammatically complete and is actually more common in casual speech.

Capitalized as "Loro," the same word is also an old-fashioned formal "you" (plural), historically used by hotel staff, waiters, and shopkeepers addressing groups of guests. It has mostly given way to voi in modern spoken Italian, but it still turns up in very high-register or old-fashioned writing.

Where English speakers slip

The most common slip is treating the first syllable like the English word "lore" — same letters, completely different sound. English "lore" bends its vowel around an English r-colored "or," while Italian "lo" stays a pure, short, closed "oh" followed by a separate, tapped "r."

The second slip is swallowing the final o into an English "-er" sound, the way unstressed "-or" endings behave in words like "actor" or "author." Italian never reduces that final vowel — it stays a full, clear "oh" right through to the end of the word.