🎯 Goal: Recognize and pronounce the Spanish alphabet, including unique letters and combinations. Understand key pronunciation differences between Spanish and English. Practice pronouncing simple Spanish words to build confidence and develop phonetic awareness.
Learning the Spanish alphabet is the first step to mastering the language. Knowing how to pronounce each letter and common letter combinations helps you read, spell, and speak with confidence.
Unlike English, Spanish pronunciation is consistent – once you learn the rules, you can read almost any word correctly. Spanish has some unique sounds, like the letter ñ and the rolled rr, and differs from English in how certain letters, like b and v, are pronounced.
This lesson will guide you through the alphabet and key pronunciation rules to get you started on your Spanish journey.
📖 The Spanish Alphabet
The Spanish alphabet consists of 27 letters, including the unique ñ, and features special combinations like ch, ll, and rr that have distinct sounds. Below is a table with each letter, its pronunciation, an example word, and its transcription.
| Letter | Letter Name | Sound | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | [ˈa] | /a/ | avión | [aˈβjon] |
| B | [ˈbe] | /b/ | bebé | [beˈβe] |
| C | [ˈθe] (Spain) [ˈse] (LatAm) | /k/, /θ/ or /s/ | casa cielo | [ˈkasa] [ˈsjelo] |
| D | [ˈde] | /d/ | día | [ˈdia] |
| E | [ˈe] | /e/ | elefante | [eleˈfante] |
| F | [ˈefe] | /f/ | flor | [ˈflor] |
| G | [ˈxe] | /g/ /x/ | gato gente | [ˈgato] [ˈxente] |
| H | [ˈatʃe] | (silent) | hola | [ˈola] |
| I | [ˈi] | /i/ | idea | [iˈðea] |
| J | [ˈxota] | /x/ | jugo | [ˈxuɣo] |
| K | [ˈka] | /k/ | kilo | [ˈkilo] |
| L | [ˈele] | /l/ | luna | [ˈluna] |
| M | [ˈeme] | /m/ | mesa | [ˈmesa] |
| N | [ˈene] | /n/ | noche | [ˈnotʃe] |
| Ñ | [ˈeɲe] | /ɲ/ | niño | [ˈniɲo] |
| O | [ˈo] | /o/ | ojo | [ˈoxo] |
| P | [ˈpe] | /p/ | papá | [paˈpa] |
| Q | [ˈku] | /k/ | queso | [ˈkeso] |
| R | [ˈere] | /ɾ/ | rosa | [ˈrosa] |
| S | [ˈese] | /s/ | sol | [ˈsol] |
| T | [ˈte] | /t/ | tren | [tɾen] |
| U | [ˈu] | /u/ | uva | [ˈuβa] |
| V | [ˈuˈβe] | /b/ | vaca | [ˈbaka] |
| W | [ˈuˈβe ˈdoβle] | /w/ or /β/ | wifi | [ˈwifi] |
| X | [ˈekis] | /ks/ or /x/ | taxi | [ˈtaksi] |
| Y | [ˈi ɡɾieɡa] [ˈʝe] (modern) | /ʝ/, /i/ | yoga | [ˈjoɣa] |
| Z | [ˈθeta] (Spain) [ˈseta] (LatAm) | /θ/ or /s/ | zapato | [θaˈpato] [saˈpato] |
| Ch | [ˈtʃe] | /tʃ/ | chico | [ˈtʃi.ko] |
| Ll | [ˈʎe] or [ˈʝe] | /ʝ/ or /ʎ/ | llamar | [ˈʎama] |
| Rr | [ˈerre] | /r/ | perro | [ˈpero] |
🎧 Letters and Sounds
Spanish pronunciation differs from English in several key ways, particularly for certain letters and combinations. Understanding these sounds is essential for accurate reading and speaking. Below are the most important letters and sounds to master, with examples to illustrate their pronunciation.
🔸Ñ: Pronounced [ɲ], like the ny in “canyon”. Examples: niño[ˈniɲo], cariño[kaˈɾiɲo].
🔸H: Silent, not pronounced. Examples: hotel[oˈtel], hola[ˈola].
🔸B/V: Both pronounced the same, as a soft [β] or [b] depending on position. Examples: vaca[ˈbaka], bebé[beˈβe].
🔸Z: Pronounced [θ] in Castilian Spanish (like th in “think”) or [s] in LatAm Spanish. Examples: zapato[θaˈpato] or [saˈpato], zorro[ˈθoro]/[ˈsoro].
🔸C (before e/i): Pronounced [θ] in Castilian Spanish or [s] in LatAm Spanish. Examples: cena[ˈθena] or [ˈsena], cine[ˈθine] or [ˈsine].
🔸C (before a/o/u): Pronounced [k]. Examples: casa[ˈkasa], cubo[ˈkuβo].
🔸G (before e/i): Pronounced [x]. Examples: gente[ˈxente], girar[xiˈɾar].
🔸G (before a/o/u): Pronounced [g], a hard sound. Examples: gato[ˈgato], goma[ˈgoma].
🔸J: Pronounced [x], a guttural sound like the ch in Scottish “loch”. Examples: jugo[ˈxuɣo], jardín[xarˈðin].
🔸R: Single r is a tapped [ɾ]. Examples: pero[ˈpeɾo], cara[ˈkaɾa].
🔸Rr: Double rr is a rolled [r]. Examples: perro[ˈpero], carro[ˈkaro].
🔸LL: Traditionally pronounced [ʎ] like the lli in “million”, but in most modern Spanish dialects (including nearly all of Latin America and much of Spain) it is pronounced like the letter Y: [ʝ] or [j], as in “yes”. Examples: llamar[ˈʝamar] or [ˈʝamar], calle[ˈkaʝe] or [ˈkaʝe].
🔸Y: Pronounced [ʝ] or [j], like the y in “yes”. Examples: yoga[ˈjoɣa], yo[ˈjo].
🔸CH: Pronounced [tʃ], like the ch in “church”. Examples: chico[ˈtʃiko], leche[ˈletʃe].
🔸W: Pronounced [w], like in English we (used in loanwords). Examples: kiwi[ˈkiwi], wifi[ˈwifi].
🔸X: Pronounced [ks] or [s] in some cases, like the x in “taxi”. Examples: taxi[ˈtaksi], éxito[ˈeksito].
📝 Examples:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| niño | boy/child | gato | cat |
| cariño | darling/sweetheart | goma | eraser/rubber |
| hotel | hotel | pero | but |
| hola | hello | perro | dog |
| vaca | cow | cara | face |
| bebé | baby | carro | car |
| zapato | shoe | llamar | call |
| zorro | fox | calle | street |
| cena | dinner | yoga | yoga |
| cine | cinema/movies | yo | I/me |
| casa | house/home | chico | boy/guy |
| cubo | bucket | leche | milk |
| jugo | juice | kiwi | kiwi |
| jardín | garden | wifi | Wi-Fi |
| gente | people | taxi | taxi |
| girar | to turn | éxito | success |
↩️ Flashcards
Listen to the audio and repeat the letters and words aloud to practice pronunciation. Practice letters and combinations (ch, ll, rr) with their example words.
⚠️ Note: This is just your first Spanish lesson – don’t worry if you don’t know the meaning of every word yet! At this stage, we’re focusing only on pronunciation and getting used to the sounds of Spanish.
🗣️ Shadowing Practice
Listen to the following words and repeat them aloud, mimicking the speaker’s pronunciation:
⬇️ Click to show transcript & translation
avión – airplane, bebé – baby, casa – house/home, cara – face, carro – car, cariño – darling/sweetheart, cena – dinner, cine – cinema/movies, calle – street, cubo – bucket, chico – boy/guy, cielo – sky, día – day, elefante – elephant, éxito – success, flor – flower, gato – cat, gente – people, girar – to turn, goma – eraser/rubber, hola – hello, hotel – hotel, idea – idea, jardín – garden, jugo – juice, kilo – kilo, kiwi – kiwi, leche – milk, llamar – call, luna – moon, mesa – table, niño – child, noche – night, ojo – eye, papá – dad, pero – but, perro – dog, queso – cheese, rosa – rose/pink, sol – sun, taxi – taxi, tren – train, uva – grape, vaca – cow, yo – I/me, yoga – yoga, zapato – shoe, zorro – fox
🧩 Quiz #1: Listen and Choose Answer
Listen to the pronounced word and choose the correct spelling from three options.
🧩 Quiz #2: Listen and Choose Answer
Listen to the pronounced word and choose the correct spelling from three options.