Reading Spanish is easy, and the rule for reading is simple: read exactly what is written, nothing more, nothing less. The standard pronunciation of the letters and letter-combinations allows us to learn the language without audio aids and without the need to hear the “correct Spanish pronunciation.”
Rules of Pronunciation
A. Full Articulation: In word enunciation it is essential to pronounce every letter, thus there are no silent letters.
B. Standard Sound: Every letter in Spanish has a unique and standard intonation, thereby allowing for one possibility for articulation of a string of letters.
Special letters
The Letter C:
1. Followed by ‘a’, ‘o’, ‘u’ the sound is ‘c’ like in ‘car.‘
Cuelgo (I hang), Cobrar (to charge), Casar (to marry)
2. Followed by ‘e’, ‘i’ the sound is ‘s.’
Cine (cinema), Cerrar (to close)
The Combination CH:
The Spanish ‘ch’ is pronounced like the ‘ch’ in the word ‘Chile’.
Chile, Cheque (check)
The Letter G:
1. Followed by ‘a’, ‘o’, ‘u’ the sound is ‘g’ like in ‘gate.‘
Ganso (goose), Gorra (cap), Gustar (to like)
2. Followed by ‘e’, ‘i’ the sound has no English equivalent.
General (general), Gitano (gypsy)
3. In the combinations ‘gui’, ‘gue’ the letter ‘u’ is silent.
Guerrero (warrior), Guitarra (guitar)
4. In the combinations ‘güi’, ‘güe’ the letter ‘u’ is NOT silent.
Vergüenza (shame), Pingüino (penguin)
The Letter H:
The letter ‘h’ is always silent.
Hola (hi), Hacer (to do)
The Combination LL:
The Spanish ‘ll’ sounds like ‘y’ in ‘yes.’
Caballo (horse), Llamar (to call)
The Letter Ñ:
The Spanish ‘ñ’ sounds like ‘ny.’
Mañana (morning or tomorrow) – Araña (spider)
The Letter Q:
The Spanish ‘q’ always appears in combination with the letter ‘u’ and is pronounced like ‘k’ in the word ‘kiss’. The ‘u’ is always silent. The Spanish ‘q’ is only used in the combinations ‘que’, ‘qui’.
Querer (to want), Quemar (to burn), Quizá (maybe)
The Letter R:
The Spanish ‘r’ has two separate sounds that are not similar to any English pronunciation.
1. Regular: It is pronounced like ‘r’ in the word ‘letter.’ 2. In the beginning of a word or in the combination ‘rr’: It is pronounced longer and stronger.
Pero (but) – Perro (dog) – Caro (expensive) – Carro (car)
The Letter Z:
The Spanish ‘Z’ always sounds like ‘s.’
Cazar (to hunt), Zapato (shoe), Luz (light)
Table of the Spanish ABC
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
A, a
A
Always like ‘a’ in ‘car.’
E.g.: carro, árbol, toma
B, b
B
Sounds like the English ‘b.’
E.g.: beber, barba, ambiente
C, c
C or S
Before A, O, U sounds like ‘c’ in ‘car’, before E, I sounds like ‘s.’
E.g.: cinco, comer, cerrar
CH, ch
CH
Sounds like the English ‘ch.’
E.g. Chile, choza
D, d
D
Sounds like the English ‘d.’
E.g.: dónde, comprender, aprender
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
E, e
E
Sounds like the English ‘e’ in
‘better.’
E.g.: encontrar, éxito, España
F, f
F
Sounds like the English ‘f.’
E.g.: fumar, efectivo
G, g
G
Before A, O, U sound like ‘g’ in ‘gate’,
before E, I there is NO English equivalent,
listen to the voice files for pronunciation.
E.g.: gana, gordo,
gustar, gente, gitano
H, h
Silent
Always silent.
E.g.: hacer, hola, hora
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
I, i
I
Sounds like the English ‘ee’ in ‘steer.’
E.g.: iglesia, lindo
J, j
J
There is NO English equivalent, listen to the voice files for pronunciation.
E.g.: jábon, juego
K, k
K
Only in words like kilómetro, kilógramo
L, l
L
Sounds like the English ‘l.’
E.g.: lindo, lugar, gasolina
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
LL, ll
Y
Sounds like the English ‘Y’ (In some countries sounds like the English ‘j’ or ‘sh’.)
E.g.: llamar, lleno, amarillo
M, m
M
Sounds like the English ‘m.’
E.g.: mal, mochila, goma
N, n
N
Sounds like the English ‘n’.
E.g.: naranja, nariz
Ñ, ñ
NY
Sounds like ‘ny.’
E.g.: mañana, montaña, España
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
O, o
O
Sounds like the
English ‘o’ in ‘offer.’
E.g.: ofrecer, oficina, uno
P, p
P
Sounds like the English ‘p.’
E.g.: aparcar, pagar, importante
Q, q
K
Sounds like the English ‘q.’
E.g.: queso, quizá, quién
R, r
R, RR
Has two ways of
pronunciation (Listen to the voice files for pronunciation):
1. Regular. E.g.: caro, pero,
2. When appears in the beginning of a sentence or in the combination ‘rr’.
E.g.: carro, perro
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
S, s
S
Sounds like the English ‘s.’
E.g.: saber, salida, casado
T, t
T
Sounds like the English ‘t’ in ‘tap.’
Note: there is no ‘th’ combination in Spanish.
E.g.: tener, techo, atacar
U, u
U
Sounds like the
English ‘oo’ in ‘food.’
E.g.: usar, cultura, incluir
V, v
V or B
Sounds like the English ‘v’ or ‘b’, varying geographically.
E.g.: verano, venir, voy
The Spanish ABC
Letter
Sound
Remarks/examples
W, w
W
Only in words from other languages.
X, x
KS or J
Sounds like the English ‘x’ in ‘taxi’. When appearing in names it is pronounced like the Spanish ‘j’.
the sound is ‘c’ like in ‘car.‘
