Spanish Sentence Fundamentals
Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Spanish Alphabet
Welcome to the foundation of Spanish: the alphabet, or el abecedario. The good news is that it's very similar to the English alphabet. Once you learn the sound for each letter, you can pronounce almost any word you see. Spanish is very consistent.
Spanish pronunciation is consistent: once you learn the sounds, you’ll understand and be understood more easily.
The official Spanish alphabet has 27 letters. Let's take a look.
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation of Name |
|---|---|---|
| A, a | a | ah |
| B, b | be | beh |
| C, c | ce | seh |
| D, d | de | deh |
| E, e | e | eh |
| F, f | efe | EH-feh |
| G, g | ge | heh |
| H, h | hache | AH-cheh |
| I, i | i | ee |
| J, j | jota | HOH-tah |
| K, k | ka | kah |
| L, l | ele | EH-leh |
| M, m | eme | EH-meh |
| N, n | ene | EH-neh |
| Ñ, ñ | eñe | EHN-yeh |
| O, o | o | oh |
| P, p | pe | peh |
| Q, q | cu | koo |
| R, r | ere | EH-reh |
| S, s | ese | EH-seh |
| T, t | te | teh |
| U, u | u | oo |
| V, v | uve | OO-beh |
| W, w | uve doble | oo-BEH DOH-bleh |
| X, x | equis | EH-kees |
| Y, y | i griega | ee GRYEH-gah |
| Z, z | zeta | SEH-tah |
The Five Simple Vowels
Unlike English, Spanish has only five vowel sounds, and they never change. This is a huge key to clear pronunciation. Master these, and you're halfway there.
| Vowel | Sound | Example Word |
|---|---|---|
| A | "ah" as in father | padre (father) |
| E | "eh" as in bed | mesa (table) |
| I | "ee" as in see* | libro (book) |
| O | "oh" as in go* | hola (hello) |
| U | "oo" as in boot | luna (moon) |
That's it. Every time you see an 'a', it sounds like "ah". Every 'e' sounds like "eh". This consistency is your best friend when learning Spanish.
Tricky Consonants and Special Letters
Most Spanish consonants sound like their English counterparts, but a few have special rules or don't exist in English at all. Let's break them down.
ñ
other
A distinct letter in the Spanish alphabet that makes a "ny" sound, like the middle of the word "canyon."
Here are the other letters and combinations to watch out for:
| Letter(s) | Sound | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| C | "k" sound | Before a, o, u (casa, color, cuna) |
| "s" sound | Before e, i (cero, cine) | |
| G | hard "g" | Before a, o, u (gato, goma, gusano) |
| soft "h" | Before e, i (gente, gigante) | |
| H | silent | Always. Never pronounce it. (hola, hacer) |
| J | soft "h" | Always, like the 'g' before e/i. (jardín, jefe) |
| LL | "y" sound | Makes the sound in "yes". (llave, lluvia) |
| RR | rolled 'r' | A strong, trilled sound. (perro, carro) |
| Z | "s" sound | The 'z' always sounds like an 's'. (zapato, azul) |
The rolled 'r' in rr can be the toughest sound for English speakers. Don't worry if you can't get it right away. It takes practice! The key is to relax your tongue and let the air vibrate the tip against the roof of your mouth. Try saying "butter" very fast; the motion is similar.
Ready to test your knowledge? Let's see what you've learned about the sounds of Spanish.
How many letters are in the official Spanish alphabet?
True or False: The sound of a Spanish vowel, like 'a' or 'e', can change depending on the word it's in.
Great job. Getting these fundamental sounds down is the most important first step to speaking Spanish clearly and confidently.