Italian z (ts/dz)

/ts / dz/

Accent-Specific Coaching

For American Speakers

You have both sounds: 'ts' from 'cats' and 'dz' from 'adze'. In Italian, z can be either voiceless (ts: pizza, grazie) or voiced (dz: zero, pranzo). The challenge is knowing which words use which — there's no reliable rule; it's word-by-word.

For British Speakers

Both sounds available from 'cats' and 'adze'. Apply to Italian z.

For Australian / NZ Speakers

Same — both sounds from 'cats' (ts) and 'adze' (dz). Apply to Italian z words.

For Irish Speakers

Both sounds from 'cats'/'adze'. Apply to Italian z.

For Scottish Speakers

Both sounds from 'cats'/'adze'. Apply to Italian z.

For Indian Speakers

You have both sounds readily available. Some Indian English speakers naturally produce z as more affricated. Hindi ज़ is close to dz. The ts from 'cats' covers the voiceless variant. This should be straightforward.