Spanish Alphabet: The Best Guide for Pronunciation

Correct pronunciation is an essential step towards learning a language. We know that learning correct Spanish pronunciation is very difficult. To help, we have created a guide on how to pronounce each letter in the Spanish alphabet. Try imitating the sounds made with each group of letters. With enough practice, you will be speaking like a native in no time.

Vowels

• A: The letter A is always pronounced “ah” as in “Ah, finished at last.”. Example: arbol (tree).
• E: The letter E is always pronounced “e” as in get, set, pet. Example: perro (dog).
• I: The letter I is always pronounced “ee” as in meet, feet, beet. Example: libro (book).
• O: The letter O is always pronounced “o” as in “obituary”, but without the <u> sound. Example: ojo (eye).
• U: The letter U is always pronounced “oo” as in “school and “tool”. Example: uva (grape).

Consonants

• B: The letter B can be pronounced “b” as in “beam”. Example: barco (boat).
  It can also be pronounced very softly when it appears between vowels. Example: “abecedario” (alphabet).
• C: The letter C before A, O, U, is pronounced as the “c” in cat. Example: carro (car).
  On the other hand, the C before E or I is pronounced in Latin America as the “c” in celery. Example: celebridad (celebrity).
  In Spain, the C before E or I is pronounced /th/. Example: centavo (cent).
• CC: The letters CC are pronounced “cc” as in “access”. Example: acceso (access).
• CH: The letters CH are pronounced “ch” as in “chat”. Example: chocolate (chocolate).
• D: The letter D is pronounced “d” as in “dragon”. Example: dar (to give).
  It can also be pronounced very softly when it appears between vowels. Example: miedo (fear).
• F: The letter F is pronounced “f” as in “fax”. Example: frío (cold).
• G: The letter G before A, O, U is pronounced as the “g” in “get”. Example: gato (cat).
  On the other hand, the G before E or I is pronounced “h” as in “her”. Example: gerente (manager).
• GUE: The letters GUE are pronounced “gue” as in “guest”. Example: guerra (war).
  On the other hand, the letters GÜE are pronounced as in the word “vergüenza” (embarassment).
• GUI: The letters GUI are pronounced “gee” as in “geese”. Example: guinda (cherry).
  On the other hand, the letters GÜI are pronounced as in the word “pingüino” (penguin).
• H: The letter H is always silent in Spanish. Example: hoyo (hole).
• J: The letter J is always pronounced “h” as in “her”. Example: jaguar (jaguar).
• K: The letter K is always pronounced “k” as in “kid”. Example: kilometro (kilometre).
• L: The letter L is always pronounced “l” as in “laugh”. Example: largo (long).
• LL: Depending on the accent, in some parts of Latin America, the letters LL are pronounced “y” as in “yarn”. Example: caballo (horse).
  In countries like Argentina, the letters LL are pronounced “sh” as in “sharp”. Example: camello (camel).
• M: The letter M is always pronounced “m” as in “marker”. Example: mano (hand).
• N: The letter N is always pronounced “n” as in “nest”. Example: nube (cloud).
• Ñ: The letter Ñ is pronounced <ny>. Example: año (year).
• P: The letter P is always pronounced “p” as in “public”. Example: población (population).
• QUE: The letters QUE are always pronounced “ke” as in “kept”. Example: queso (cheese).
• QUI: The letters QUI are always pronounced “kee” as in “keep”. Example: quinto (fifth).
• R: The pronunciation of the letter R varies with its position. If it appears in the beginning, it strongly trilled. Example: ropa (clothes).
  If it appears in the middle of the word, it is slightly trilled. Example: pera (pear).
• RR: The letters RR are always strongly trilled. Example: perro (dog).
• S: The letter S is always pronounced “s” as in “sail”. Example: sal (salt).
• T: The letter T is always pronounced “tt” as in “attentive”. Example: atención (attention).
• V: The letter V is always pronounced “v” as in “victory”. Example: verde (green).
• W: The letter W is always pronounced “w” as in “waffle”. Example: kiwi (kiwi).
• X: The letter X is pronounced “x” as in “tax“. Example: taxi (taxi).
  On the other hand, if the X is at the beginning of the word, it is pronounced “x” as in “xylophone”. Example: xilófono (xylophone).
• Y: The letter Y is pronounced “y” as in “yes” in most of Latin America. Example: yate (yacht).
  In countries like Argentina, the letter Y is pronounced “sh” as in “sharp”. Example: yo (I).
  On the other hand, when the letter Y stands alone it is pronounced /ee/ as in “feet”. Example: y (and).
• Z: The letter Z is pronounced “s” as in “celery” in Latin America. Example: zapato (shoe).
  In Spain, the letter Z is pronounced /th/. Example zapato (shoe).

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