Language Bites, Volume I: Spanish ✔

Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciations

Spanish has one of the easiest alphabets to learn and pronounce. The spelling is very simple to master and understand. Remember that spelling advice that never helped in English? "Sound it out?" Well, that advice works great with Spanish. Let's learn the alphabet, my friends. Pronunciations of the letter names are used with Spanish phonics.

Aa

Name of letter: Ah 

Pronunciation: a as in father

Bb

Name of letter: Beh

Pronunciation: Just like the English b

Cc

Name of letter: seh

Pronunciation: this letter sounds like c as in cat, but before i or e it sounds like c as in receive.

Ch ch

Name of letter: Che

Pronunciation: ch as in cheese

Dd

Name of letter: deh

Pronunciation: Like the English d, except you press your tongue against the backs of your front teeth instead of the roof of your mouth.

Ee

Name of Letter: eh

Pronunciation: like the e in net

Ff

Name of letter: efe

Pronunciation: like the English f.

Gg

Name of letter: geh

Pronunciation: In most cases, like g as in go, but before i or e, a harsh English j. If you can't pronounce it, you can get by with pronouncing it g as in gentle.

Hh

Name of letter: hache (pronounced "ah-chay")

Pronunciation: This letter is silent in every case except for foreign words and names. 

Ii

Name of letter: ee

Pronunciation: Like the i in pronunciation.

Jj

Name of letter: jota (pronounced "hoe-tuh")

Pronunciation: Like the English h.

Kk

Name of letter: ca (pronounced "ka")

Pronunciation: This is not a common Spanish letter, but it sounds like the English K.

Ll

Name of letter: ele

Pronunciation: Like the English L.

Ll ll

Name of letter: elle 

Pronunciation: Like the Ll in tortilla

Mm

Name of letter: eme

Pronunciation: Like the English m.

Nn

Name of letter: ene

Pronunciation: Like the English n, except you push your tongue against your two front teeth instead of the roof of your mouth.

Ññ

Name of letter: eñe

Pronunciation: Like the ny in canyon or the ñ in piñata.

Oo

Name of letter: o

Pronunciation: Sounds like o as in go, but shorter.

Pp

Name of letter: peh

Pronunciation: like the English p.

Qq

Name of letter: cu

Pronunciation: Always followed by u and sounds like the English k.

Rr

Name of letter: ere

Pronunciation: Like a slightly rolled English r.

Rr rr

Name of letter: erre

Pronunciation: Like a heavily rolled English r. If you can't pronounce it, you're not alone, and you'll still be understood.

Ss

Name of letter: ese

Pronunciation: Like the English s.

Tt

Name of letter: teh

Pronunciation: Like the English t, except you press your tongue to the backs of your teeth except the roof of your mouth.

Uu

Name of letter: oo

Pronunciation: Like the u in sue.

Vv

Name of letter: veh

Pronunciation: Like the v in violet.

Ww

Name of letter: doble ve (doe-bley-veh)

Pronunciation: like the English W.

Xx

Name of letter: equis (eh-keys)

Pronunciation: like the English x, although some people from Spain pronounce it as a raspy English h.

Yy

Name of letter: ee-griega (ee-gree-ay-guh)

Pronunciation: Alone, this letter will sound like "ee" and mean "and", but in other cases, it sounds like the English y.

Zz

Name of letter: zeta (say-tuh)

Pronunciation: In Spain, it is pronounced "th" as in thin, but in Latin America it sounds like the English s.