LingoDrop
Italian · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "vivere" in Italian?
VEE-veh-reh, stressed on the first syllable. In IPA: /ˈvi.ve.re/. Both v's are firm and consistent, exactly like the English v.
Three even syllables, vi, ve, and re, each fully pronounced, with the stress up front.
Listen: vivere
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Sound it out
There's nothing hidden in the spelling of "vivere," the challenge is purely in the sounds: Italian v is always a firm, English-style v, and this word repeats it twice back to back, which invites some drift toward a softer sound on the second one.
Hear it in a sentence
Vivo a Milano.
I live in Milan.
Listen: Vivo a Milano.
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"Vivo a Milano" uses the preposition "a" because Milano is a city, Italian's rule is "a" with cities but "in" with countries and regions ("vivo in Italia," "vivo in Toscana"), a distinction that has no consistent English equivalent since "in" covers both in English. The subject pronoun is dropped, as usual, since the -o ending on "vivo" already marks first person.
Worth noting: Italian has two common verbs for "to live," "vivere" (existing, being alive, or living in a broader sense) and "abitare" (residing at a specific address or in a specific place). "Vivo a Milano" leans on "vivere" for residence, which is entirely standard, but "abito a Milano" is equally common and slightly more literal about the address itself.
Where English speakers slip
Some learners let the second v drift toward a softer sound, closer to an English w, an interference pattern common among speakers used to languages like Spanish where b and v blend together. Italian keeps both v's as firm, consistent labiodental sounds, identical to the English v in "van," with no softening in either position.
There's also a pull to reduce the unstressed second e toward a schwa, as English does in similarly-shaped words. Italian keeps it as a full, if short, closed "eh."