Pronouncing the Spanish alphabet
Pronouncing the Spanish alphabet is much easier than you might imagine. Most of the letters in Spanish ‘say’ more or less what they do in English. The main difference is, once you know the ‘rules’, you will be able to read or spell any word correctly.
Did you know that kids in Spanish schools don’t have ‘spelling tests’, like they do in the UK? This is because the spelling is straightforward & logical -none of this “rough, trough, Slough – or there, their, they’re”! Obviously there will be regional variations in pronunciation – this is a sort of ‘generic’ guide. Also remember that when reading a word in spanish, every letter is pronounced, except with gue/gui & qu – and of course the silent ‘h’.
VOWELS-VOCALES (A E I O U)
| name-nombre | sound-sonido | English example | Ejemplo español | |
| A | a | a | apple | agua |
| E | e | eh | egg | escribe |
| I | i | ee | igloo | kilo |
| O | o | o | orange | español |
| U | u | oo | you | uva |
N.B. The examples are just that – examples. They are not (except in a few cases) the same words translated!
CONSONANTS – CONSONANTES
| name-nombre | sound-sonido | English example | ejemplo español | |
| B | be | b | bed | bien |
| C | ce(seh) | c + a, o, u = k c + e, i = th | cat, cot, cut ceiling | casa, cine, cerrado |
| CH | che | tch | chocolate | chocolate |
| D | de | d | day | día |
| F | efe | f | find | fumar |
| G | ge(heh) | g + a, o, u = g gu + e, i = g g + e, i = x | gate, gone, gun genie | gato, pago, agua genio,giro |
| H | hache (atcheh) | – | – | hotel |
| J | jota (hota) | x | – | jefe, jirafa |
| K | ka | k | kilo | kilo |
| L | ele | l | lamp | lámpara |
| Ll | elle (elyeh) | lyer | – | llave, amarillo |
| M | eme | m | mix | mesa |
| N | ene | n | nothing | nada |
| N | eñe(enyeh) | nyer | – | niño, año |
| P | Pe | P | pear | pera |
| Q | cu(koo) | qu + e, i = k | – | queso, quiero |
| R | ere | r/rr | rose | rosa, arroz |
| S | ese | s | sun | sol |
| T | te | t | tomato | tomate |
| V | uve | bv | – | vino, vaca |
| W | uve doble | w | William | William |
| X | equis (ekees) | ks | exam | examen |
| Y | i griega | ee/y | yoghurt | (Ana) y (Juan) yogur |
| Z | zeta | z + a, o, u = th | – | zapato, azul |
Many thanks to Lynn for this information – Lynn lives in Spain and provides Spanish lessons, and online translations – you can contact her for her services via her website (which we designed for her) at Learn-Aprender
Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business – Spain Web Design by Gandy-Draper.
Born a “Norverner”, she then spent most of her life “Dann Saff” before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle’s loves are Alan, the internet, dogs, good food, and dry white wine – although not necessarily in that order.
