Italian vowels (i vocali) are short, clear–cut, and are never drawn out. The "glide" with which English vowels frequently end should be avoided. It should be noted that a, i, u, are always pronounced the same way; e and o, on the other hand, have an open and a closed sound that may vary from one part of Italy to the other.

The approximate English equivalents are as follows:

a is like a in the English word ah!

Italian	English
casa	house
antipasto	appetizer
ama	loves
banana	banana
sala	hall
Papa	Pope
fama	fame
pasta	pasta; dough; pastry

e is sometimes like e in the English word they (without the final i glide).

e is sometimes like e in the word met. This is the open e.

Italian	English
è	is
lento	slow
bene	well
festa	party; holiday
sedia	chair
presto	soon
vento	wind
tè	tea

i is like i in machine.

Italian	English
libri	books
bimbi	children
vini	wines
violini	violins
tini	vats
pini	pines

o is sometimes like o in the English word oh!.

o is sometimes like o in or. This is the open o.

Italian	English
moda	fashion
toga	toga
no	no
oro	gold
posta	mail
brodo	broth
cosa	thing
trono	throne
rosa	rose
olio	oil

u is like u in rule.

Italian	English
luna	moon
fungo	mushroom
uno	one
lungo	long
fuga	fugue
mulo	mule
uso	use
tubo	tube