Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation
The Spanish Alphabet
There are 27 letters in the Spanish alphabet (el alfabeto). They are pronounced as described in the table below.
In terms of learning to speak Spanish, the great thing about Spanish alphabet pronunciation is that the letter sounds rarely change, as they do in English. This makes not only learning to speak Spanish accesible, it also makes Spanish much easier to read: the beginner will not experience the same sort of difficulties faced by people learning French, for example.
If you would like to know more about Spanish Pronunciation in general, click here. For a guide to Spanish alphabet pronunciation (or to help you learn the Spanish alphabet), seethe table below.
Learn the Spanish Alphabet
The table below shows the phonetic pronunciation of letters in the Spanish alphabet. N.B. It is worth spending some time to learn how to pronounce letters correctly, as this makes it much easier for native speakers of Spanish to understand you.
Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation
| a | "a" is like the "a" in "bad". |
| b | "b" is pronounced in a hard or a soft way. At the beginning of a word and after the letters "m" or "n", the hard "b" is used, sounding like the "b" in the word "bat". In other cases, "b" is pronounced like an English "b" in which the lips barely touch. N.B. The Spanish "b" and "v" are pronounced in the same way. |
| c | In Spain, "c" followed by the letters "e" and "i" is pronounced like the English "th" in the word "think". "e" followed by the letters "a", "o" and "u" is like the letter "c" in the word "cut". N.B. In Latin America "c" followed by the letters "e" and "i" is pronounced like the English "s" in the word "sit". |
| ch | Like the "ch" in "channel" or "chain". |
| d | "d" is pronounced in a hard or a soft way. At the beginning of a word and after the letters "n" and "i", the hard "d" is used, sounding like the "d" in the word "dirt". In other cases, "d" is much softer, sounding more like the "th" as in the word "them". |
| e | "e" is like a short version of the "a" in "hay". |
| f | "f" is like the "f" in "fit". |
| g | "g" has a hard, soft and "h" sound. When it follows "a", "o", "u" and "n" the "g" has a hard sound, as in "gone". The soft "g" occurs between vowels. When "g" is precedes an "e" or "i" it is pronounced like a raspy version of the "h" sound in the word "hat"… almost a cross between cat and hat. This is difficult for native English speakers. |
| h | "h" is always silent in Spanish, like "h" in "honour". |
| i | "i" is like the "i" in pizza. |
| j | "j" is like a raspy version of the "h" sound in the word "hat"… almost a cross between cat and hat. |
| k | "k" is like the English "k". |
| l | "l" is like the "l" sound in the word "tell". |
| ll | "ll" is like the "y" in the words "you"or the "lli" in the word "million". |
| m | "m" is like the "m" in the word "meat". |
| n | "n" is like the "n" in the word "note". |
| ñ | "ñ" is like the "nyo" in the word "canyon". |
| o | "o" is like the "o" in the word "hope". |
| p | "p" is like the "p" in the word "paint". |
| q | "q" is always followed by a "u". It is pronounced like the English letter "k". |
| r | "r" at the beginning of a word is rolled. This is difficult for native English speakers. In the middle of a word the "r" is pronounced more like a soft English letter "d". |
| s | "s" is like the "s" in the word "sing". |
| t | "t" is like a soft version of the English "t". |
| u | "u" is like a short version of the "ue" sound in the word "glue". |
| v | "v" is pronounced in a hard or a soft way. At the beginning of a word and after the letters "m" or "n", the hard "v" is used, sounding like the "b" in the word "bat". In other cases, "v" is pronounced like an English "b" in which the lips barely touch. N.B. The Spanish "v" and "b" are pronounced in the same way. |
| w | "w" is pronounced like the "b/v" when it occurs between vowels. |
| x | "x" has three sounds in Spanish. It can be a "ks" sound as in the word "walks". It can also be pronounced like an English "h" in the case of some proper nouns and adjectives deriving from them. Finally it can sound like the Englich "ch", also in the case of some proper nouns and derived adjectives. These cases need to be learned by experience. |
| y | "y" is like the "y" in the English word "yellow". N.B. "y" also extends vowels to make some dipthong sounds: "ay" - like the "ye" in the English word "goodbye" "oy" - like the "oy" in the English word "toy". "ey" - like the "ay" in the English word "hay". "uy" - like the English word "we". |
| z | In Spain, "z" is pronounced like "th" in the English word "think". In Latin America, it sounds like the the English "s" in the word "sit". |