Q q

This letter is always followed by "u" and another vowel.

The pronunciation of It. "qui" ( here) is quite similar to the pronunciation of Eng. "queen" without the final "n": [kwi, kwi:n]

It is doubled in one word: "soqquadro" ( mess, havoc); otherwise, the cluster [kkw] is spelt "cqu". The most important word of this kind is "acqua" ( water), with all its derivatives. Another frequent word is "acquistare, acquisto" ( purchase).

Why is the [skw] cluster spelt "scu" in "scuola" ( school) and "squ" in "squalo" ( shark)? There are historical reasons, of course, but they are of little (if any) help for learners. The words where this problem arises are not many and have to be learnt one by one.