Las vocales (vowels)
In English, a vowel can have more than one sound. i.e. fat, and fate
Spanish is 100% phonetic, this means once you learn the sound, you always pronounce that vowel in the same way, every time you find it in a new word. So let’s learn the vowels…
A (ah) as in ¨fa,la,la,la,la¨ i.e.: Caracas (kah’rah’kas) the capital of Venezuela
E (eh) (as in pen). i.e: Pelele – peh-leh-leh (puppet).
I (ee) (as in seen, but shorter. I.e: piña (pee-nyah) pineapple.
O (oh) (sounds like the o in floor but shorter). i.e.: Orinoco (oh-ree-noh-koh) a river.
U (oo) (like oo in moon). i.e.: Cuna (koo-nah) cradle, Cúrcuma (koor-koo-mah) turmeric
| Letter | Spanish Name | Phonetic Sound (English Approximation) |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | /ɑː/ as in “father” |
| B | be | /b/ as in “bat” |
| C | ce | /k/ before a, o, u as in “cat”; /s/ before e, i as in “see” |
| D | de | /d/ as in “dog” |
| E | e | /eɪ/ as in “day” |
| F | efe | /f/ as in “fun” |
| G | ge | /g/ before a, o, u as in “go”; /h/ before e, i as in “happy” |
| H | hache | Silent (often, e.g., “hombre” = “om-bre”) |
| I | i | /iː/ as in “see” |
| J | jota | /h/ as in “hat” |
| K | ka | /k/ as in “kit” |
| L | ele | /l/ as in “let” |
| M | eme | /m/ as in “man” |
| N | ene | /n/ as in “no” |
| Ñ | eñe | /nj/ as in “canyon” |
| O | o | /oʊ/ as in “go” |
| P | pe | /p/ as in “pat” |
| Q | cu | /k/ as in “kit” (followed by ‘u’ and a vowel) |
| R | erre | /ɹ/ as in “red” (stronger, trilled in some cases) |
| S | ese | /s/ as in “see” |
| T | te | /t/ as in “top” |
| U | u | /uː/ as in “food” |
| V | ve | /b/ or /v/ as in “very” (often /b/) |
| W | uve doble | /w/ as in “water” (rare, mostly in borrowed words) |
| X | equis | /ks/ as in “box” (or /s/ or /h/ in some cases) |
| Y | ye | /j/ as in “yes” (or /i/ as in “happy” in some contexts) |
| Z | zeta | /s/ as in “see” (in Spain, /θ/ as in “think”) |
Las consonantes – consonants
The consonants in Spanish sound are the same as in English, and there are also only 27 letters – except that Spanish has one more – the letter ñ.
Note: The Spanish alphabet no longer has the CH, LL and RR.
The letters B and V =====These letters are pronounced the same, they sound like a combination of the two letters “bv” sound (position your lips and teeth to make a V sound, then try to make a b sound) i.e. cabeza (kah-bveh-sah) head, vida (bvee-dah) life.
The letter C
In front of the vowels a, o and u it sounds like the letter K in English. i.e.: acabar (ah-kah-bvahr) to finish, café (kah-feh) coffee, casa (kah-sah) house
• In front of the vowels e and i, it sounds like the S in English. i.e. acero (ah-she-roh) steel, cero (seh-roh) zero, cine (see-neh) cinema.
The letter G
Has a double personality, like the letter c.
In front of the vowels A, O & U – it sounds like “g” in goose. i.e.: begonia, gato, gracias.
Combined with the letters e and I, G sounds like the Spanish J. i.e.: agenda, gerente
To hear the sound g(as in goat), in front of the vowels E and I, you must insert U to make it gue and gui. Examples: guía, Guerra.
The letter H
Is mute. Examples: hueso (ooeh-soh) bone, huevo (ooeh-bvoh) egg
The letter J
Sounds like an h. i.e.: Cajeta (kah-heh-tah), cajón (kah-hohn) big box.
The letter K
Is only used in words with a foreign origin. i.e. kilo (kee-loh)
The letter Y
At the beginning of word it sounds like “LL”. Ejemplo: Yo, Yucatan.
At the end of a word it sounds like “I”. Ejemplo: Voy, Soy.
The letters S and Z
In all 19 Latin American speaking countries where Spanish is spoken, the s and the Z have the same sound – they sound like the S in the English language. i.e. : Asiento, Sol.
• In Spain, the letter Z is pronounced like a th (as in thesis, or thanks).i.e. Sol (Th-ohl),
The letter Q
It’s not used much in the Spanish language. It sounds like a K sound in front of the letters e and I, like in queso (cheese). Examples: pequeño, tequila
The letter Ñ
Pronounced (Eh-nyeh), like in the English word onion. The wiggly line is called a Tilde (teel-deh). Examples: Cuñado, mañana, nina
The letter Y
This letter is always a consonant, never a vowel. Examples: Playa, yema, yodo
2. Practice the following words.
mapa, la casa blanca, pasa, bananas ————-
bolos, bandana, bebé, bien, Bolivia——————-
Alicia, cenote, centro, cinco—————————-
Inca, cucú, loca, como, color—————————
Dolores, don, dia, dos, ciudad————————-
pelo, Seco, El té, el elefante, pepe, excelente——-
foto, familia, fin, fatal, fiesta—————————
Geología, ingeniero, general (“h” sound) ————
gusto, Guatemala, gol (“G” sound) ——————
Habana, hotel, hospital, chihuaha———————
Mimí, Misisipi, Miami, sí, aspirina, tímido————
Jorge, frijoles, jade, jaguar, Méjico——————-
Kilómetro (origen Inglés) ——————————
Lana, lodo, luna, lino————————————
Mapa, mamá, mono, mal——————————-
nene, no, nido, nada———————————–
cuñado, Niño, mañana, español, señora————
Rodolfo, nosotros, color, ocho, poco—————–
Peso, para, pelo, pila, primo—————————
Quito, queso, tequila, quince—————————
Pero, caro, cero, rápido, rata, Enrique, Israel——-
alrededor, enredo—————————————-
mesero, mesa, sala, seis, siete————————
techo, tabaco, tapa————————————-
curioso, fruta, luna————————————-
Vaso, Verónica, vaca, vino, vídeo———————
William, Wilfredo (origen Inglés) ——————–
externo, texto, examen——————————–
Yucatán, yo ——————————————–
Zarzuela, cerveza, zócalo, diez———————–