LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "sembrare" in Italian?
sehm-BRAH-reh, with the stress on the second syllable. In IPA: /semˈbra.re/. The "br" stays fused as one tight cluster, never broken apart.
Three syllables, sem, bra, and re, with the consonant cluster "br" held together at the start of the stressed syllable rather than split across two beats.
Listen: sembrare
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Sound it out
The only real challenge in "sembrare" is the consonant cluster "br": English speakers often want to ease into clusters like this with a small extra vowel sound, but Italian pronounces b and r as a single, tight unit, no gap between them.
Hear it in a sentence
Sembra una buona idea.
It seems like a good idea.
Listen: Sembra una buona idea.
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"Sembra una buona idea" uses the impersonal third person, "sembra" (it seems), with no subject pronoun at all, Italian simply doesn't need an equivalent of "it" here. "Buona" agrees in gender with the feminine noun "idea" that follows it. Structurally, "sembrare" attaches directly to the noun phrase, "sembra [una buona idea]," with no equivalent of English "like" required, unlike "it seems like a good idea."
Where English speakers slip
Seeing "br" together, English speakers often insert a small vowel to ease the transition, saying something like "seh-buh-RAH-reh" instead of keeping the cluster tight. Italian pronounces b and r as one seamless unit, the same way it appears in "bravo" or "libro."
Because "sembrare" resembles "similar" in meaning, some learners also import an extra syllable or misplace the stress by analogy, saying something closer to "SEM-bruh-reh." The correct stress sits squarely on the second syllable, sem-BRA-re.