Chianti is the Key

Everyone knows how to pronounce Chianti, the famous red wine from Tuscany - phonetically it's "key-AHN-tee." Chianti is the "key" that will help you remember how to pronounce Italian words that start with chi, such as chiamare, chiara, chiave, chilo, and chissà. Their pronunciations all begin with the sound "key."

Chianti is also the "key" to pronouncing Italian words with chi elsewhere, such as dichiarare and inchiodare. In all instances, the letter combination chi is pronounced "key."