How Spanish sounds
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 you know plus ñ. The pairs ch, ll and rr are written with two letters but stand for one sound.
The good news: Spanish is read almost exactly as it is written. Once you know the sounds, you can read any word aloud.
There are only five vowels, a, e, i, o, u, and they always sound the same: short and clear, never reduced to “uh” and never glided like the “o” in English “go”.
Five vowels and the letter names
Each vowel has one short, clear sound:
- a like “a” in “father”: casa
- e like “e” in “bet”: mesa
- i like “ee” in “see”, but short: sí, piso
- o like the “o” in “go”, but without the glide to “oo”: todo
- u like “oo” in “food”: uno
When two vowels meet, you hear both of them: bueno, seis, Europa.
To spell a word aloud (your name, an email address), say the letter names: a, be, ce, de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta. In Latin America v is often called ve (or ve corta) and w doble ve or doble u.
*c*, *qu*, *k* and *z*
| Sound | Before a, o, u | Before e, i |
|---|---|---|
| “k”; in qu the u is silent | casa, cosa, Cuba | queso, quiero |
| “k” in a few borrowed words | koala | kilo |
| “th” as in “think”Spain | zapato, zona, azul | cena, cinco |
| “s”Latin America | zapato, zona, azul | cena, cinco |
*g*, *gu*, *gü*, *j* and the silent *h*
| Spelling | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ga, go, gu | “g” as in “go” | gato, gordo, gusto |
| gue, gui | also “g” as in “go”; the u is silent | guerra, guitarra, Miguel |
| güe, güi | “gw”: the two dots make the u heard | pingüino, vergüenza |
| ge, gi; j | a strong “h” from the throat, like “ch” in Scottish “loch” | gente, gimnasio, jefe, joven |
| h | silent — never pronounced, but always written | hola, hotel, ahora |
| ch | “ch” as in “church”: only an h on its own is silent | chico, mucho, noche |
*r* and *rr*, *ll* and *y*, *ñ*, *b* and *v*
| Spelling | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| r | one quick tap of the tongue, like “tt” in American “butter” | pero, cara, hablar |
| rr | a rolled (trilled) “r”: several quick taps | perro, carro, guitarra |
| r- | at the start of a word: rolled, like rr | rosa, rojo, Roma |
| ll, y | the same sound for most speakers, like “y” in “yes” | llamo, calle, yo, mayo |
| y | alone (“and”) or at the end of a word: the vowel i | y, hoy, muy |
| ñ | like “ny” in “canyon” | año, niño, España |
| b, v | the same sound, a “b”: you cannot hear which letter is written | bien, vino, beso, vaso |
Letters that sound different
| Letter | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ñ | like “ny” in “canyon” | año, España |
| h | silent — never pronounced | hola, ahora |
| ch | like “ch” in “church” | chico, mucho |
| j; g + e, i | a strong “h” from the throat, like “ch” in Scottish “loch” | joven, gente |
| g + a, o, u | like “g” in “go” | gato, gusto |
| gu + e, i | also “g” as in “go”; the u is silent | guerra, guitarra |
| gü + e, i | “gw”: the two dots make the u heard | pingüino, vergüenza |
| c + a, o, u; qu + e, i | “k”; in qu the u is silent | casa, queso, quiero |
| c + e, i; zSpain | like “th” in “think” | cena, zapato |
| c + e, i; zLatin America | like “s” | cena, zapato |
| ll, y | like “y” in “yes” — both letters sound the same | llamar, yo |
| r | one quick tap of the tongue, like “tt” in American “butter” | pero, cara |
| rr; r- | a rolled (trilled) “r”; an r at the start of a word sounds the same | perro, rosa |
| b, v | the same sound, a “b”; between vowels it is softer and the lips barely touch | bien, vino, vaso |
| x | usually “ks”; in a few Mexican names (México, Oaxaca) it sounds like j | examen, México |
Examples
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?Hi! How are you?h is silent; qu sounds like “k”.
- Mi perro se llama Rayo.My dog's name is Rayo.rr and the r at the start of Rayo are trilled; ll sounds like “y”.
- La gente joven baila mucho.Young people dance a lot.g before e and the letter j have the same sound.
- Gracias por la cena.Thank you for dinner.The c in gracias and cena is “th” in most of Spain and “s” in Latin America.
- El niño come queso.The boy is eating cheese.
- Vivo en México.I live in Mexico.The x in México sounds like j.
- Mi amigo Guillermo toca la guitarra.My friend Guillermo plays the guitar.In gui the u is silent.
Common mistakes
- Wrong:
Me gusta la cana.Right: ✓ Me gusta la caña.ñ is a letter of its own, not a decorated n: caña is a cane (or a small beer in Spain), cana is a gray hair. - Wrong:
Tengo un pero.Right: ✓ Tengo un perro.pero (one tap) means “but”; perro (trilled) means “dog”. - Wrong:
Ablo español.Right: ✓ Hablo español.h is never pronounced, but it is still written. - Wrong:
La jente es simpática.Right: ✓ La gente es simpática.Before e and i, g and j sound the same, so learn the spelling with the word.