Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation
Differences between English and
Spanish
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More letters in Spanish alphabet (30) (29)
Different pronunciations
Letter sounds don’t change!!
Vowels
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A=ah (father)
E=eh (day)
I=ee (feet)
O=oh (go)
U=oo (fool)
REPITE, POR FAVOR
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A,E,I,O,U
(Ah, eh, ee, oh, oo)
REMEMBER
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These sounds never change!!
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A: a
B: be
C: ce
CH: che
D: de
E: e
F: efe
G: ge
H: hache
I: i
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J: jota
K: ka
L: ele
LL: elle
M: eme
N: ene
Ñ: eñe
O: o
P: pe
Q: cu
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R: ere
RR: Doble ere
S: ese
T: te
U: u
V: ve
W: doble u / doble v
X: equis
Y: i griega
Z: zeta
Vowel Practice
Pronounce the following nonsense words,
remembering that vowel sounds don’t change!
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abatanama
nebebe
itipidi
otopo
umugumu
More vowel practice . . .
Pronounce the words, remembering the sounds
of the vowels!
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tulemendu
sanebini
adotute
ducatebilo
Consonants
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Most sound similar to English
Some are different . . .
La letra H (Hache)
H is always silent !
Pronounce:
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Hamaca (hammock)
Helado (ice cream)
Hilo (thread)
Hormiga (ant)
Humanidad (humanity)
La Letra J (Jota)
J sounds like a hard English H.
Pronounce:
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Jalea (jelly)
Jefe (chief, leader)
Jirafa (giraffe)
Joven (young person)
Jugo (juice)
La letra LL (elle)
In most countries, the ll makes a “y” sound.
Pronounce:
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calle (street)
bella (beautiful)
silla (chair)
olla (pan)
La letra ñ (eñe)
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Makes a “ny” sound
Pronounce:
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pestañas (eyelashes)
montaña (mountain)
baño (bathroom)
años (years)
La letra R (ere)
Makes a soft “d” sound
(If the letter “r” starts a word, roll it!)
Pronounce:
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sendero (path)
jarabe (syrup)
barato (cheap)
La Letra RR (erre)
Always roll the “rr”
Pronounce:
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carro (car)
perro (dog)
ferrocarril (railroad)
La Letra Z (Zeta)
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In most countries, the “Z” sounds like the English “S”
In Spain, the “Z” makes a “th” sound
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Pronounce:
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Zapato (shoe)
Bostezo (yawn)
Pizarra (chalkboard)
Zanahoria (carrot)
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Special Letter: C (ce)
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Sounds like “s” if followed by e or I
(th sound in Spain)
Sounds like “k” if followed by any other letter
Casa (house)
Caracol (seashell)
Celoso (jealous)
Ciencias (science)
Cicatriz (scar)
Special Letter: G (ge)
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Sounds like “h” if followed by e or i
Sounds like “g in girl” if followed by any other letter
Gaviota (seagull)
Gallo (rooster)
General (general)
Gimnasio (gymnasium)
Gigante (giant)
Tough Word #1
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Bacatepocupipo
Tough Word #2
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enchadubanono
Tough Word #3
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Nillopoturola
Last Tough Word
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Zadepacucecalliñocherra
La Tarea
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Find a written Spanish sentence and be
ready to read it to the class tomorrow with
perfect pronunciation.
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You can now pronounce any Spanish word!