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Italian words with f where English writes ph

English preserved the Greek spelling ph; Italian simply writes the sound it makes. Pharmacy → farmacia, photo → foto, telephone → telefono, elephant → elefante. Once you apply it, a whole scientific vocabulary opens up.

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How the rule works

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Every verified word in this family (63)

Each pair below was checked on both sides: the Italian word exists in a spell-checker and a frequency list, and the meaning was cross-checked rather than assumed from the spelling. Tap 🔊 to hear it.

  1. acrophobia→acrofobia
  2. agoraphobia→agorafobia
  3. alpha→alfa
  4. aphasia→afasia
  5. aphrodite→afrodite
  6. catastrophe→catastrofe
  7. claustrophobia→claustrofobia
  8. daphne→dafne
  9. drosophila→drosofila
  10. eosinophilia→eosinofilia
  11. ephedra→efedra
  12. ephemera→efemera
  13. euphorbia→euforbia
  14. euphoria→euforia
  15. euphrasia→eufrasia
  16. gerontophilia→gerontofilia
  17. graphite→grafite
  18. iphigenia→ifigenia
  19. mephisto→mefisto
  20. metaphase→metafase
  21. multiphase→multifase
  22. nephrite→nefrite
  23. ophelia→ofelia
  24. pantophobia→pantofobia
  25. phalange→falange
  26. phantasmagoria→fantasmagoria
  27. phantasy→fantasy
  28. pharaoh→faraone
  29. pharmacist→farmacista
  30. pharmacology→farmacologia
  31. pharmacy→farmaciaLatin pharmacia
  32. phase→faseAncient Greek phásis ‘appearance’
  33. pheasant→fagianoLatin phāsiānus
  34. phenomenon→fenomeno
  35. phenotype→fenotipo
  36. pheromone→feromone
  37. phil→fil
  38. philanthropist→filantropo
  39. philanthropy→filantropia
  40. philosopher→filosofo
  41. philosophy→filosofia
  42. phobia→fobia
  43. phoenix→fenice
  44. phon→fon
  45. phosgene→fosgene
  46. phosphate→fosfato
  47. phosphorus→fosforo
  48. photo→foto
  49. photograph→fotografia
  50. photographer→fotografo
  51. photography→fotografia
  52. photon→fotone
  53. photophobia→fotofobia
  54. photosynthesis→fotosintesi
  55. phrase→frase
  56. physicist→fisicoLatin physicus
  57. physics→fisica
  58. prophase→profase
  59. schizophrenia→schizofrenia
  60. sophia→sofia
  61. telephoto→telefoto
  62. xenophobia→xenofobia
  63. zoophilia→zoofilia

Traps in this family

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FAQ

Does Italian ever keep ph?
Only in unadapted foreign names and brands. Italian orthography does not use ph for the f sound.

What about -graph words?
They land on -grafo / -grafia: photograph → fotografo (photographer), photography → fotografia.

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