A Spanish Alphabetic Code
sounds
/a/
/e/
between
/iandee/
/o/
/u/
as in ‘put’
short /oo/
/b/
/k/
/ks/
/ch/
same as
English
/ch/
/d/
/f/
/g/
graphemes, or spelling alternatives, which are code for the sounds
notes
letter h does
not represent a
sound on its
own in Spanish
a
ha
manzana
(apple)
e
hada
(fairy)
he
escoba
(broom)
i
helado
(ice cream)
y
insecto
(insect)
o
(and)
pulpo
(octopus)
u
hoja
(leaf)
hu
luna
(moon)
b
huevo
(egg)
v
barco
(boat)
c+a
vaca
(cow)
c+o
c+u
qu+e
qu+i
casa
(house)
x
chocolate
(chocolate)
cuchara
(spoon)
queso
(cheese)
mosquito
(mosquito)
y sounds
between /i-ee/
when used as
a link or at the
end of words
hi
hielo
(ice)
ho
taxi
(taxi)
ch
this sound is
represented by
two letters
chica
(girl)
d
dedo
(finger)
f
falda
(skirt)
g+a
g+o
g+u
gu+e
gu+i
g+üe
g+üi
gato
(cat)
goma
(rubber)
guante
(glove)
juguete
(toy)
guitarra
(guitar)
cigüena
(stork)
pingüino
(penguin)
Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite & Coral George 2012
gue and gui –
the u does not
sound
güe and güi
the u is code
for the long
/oo/ sound
sounds
/j/
pronounced
as Scottish
loch
/l/
/y/
*
/m/
/n/
/ñ/similar
to onion
/p/
/r/
/rr/
like a rolled
/r/
/s/
/t/
/th/
unvoiced
* /j/
as in jelly
graphemes, or spelling alternatives, which are code for the sounds
notes
j+a
j+e
j+i
j+o
j+u
g+e
g+i
jabon
(soap)
granjero
(farmer)
jirafa
(giraffe)
ojo
(eye)
juguete
(toy)
angel
colegio
(school)
je and ji
(like ‘soft g’ in
English) – you
have to learn
which words
are with je or
ge, also ji or
gi
l
lampara
(lamp)
ll
llave
(key)
m
you have to
learn which
words are
spelt with ll or
y
y
yo-yo
(yo-yo)
mano
(hand)
n
nariz
(nose)
ñ
España
(Spain)
p
pato
(duck)
r
r
pera
(pear)
rr
tronco
(trunk)
r
perro
(dog)
reloj
(watch)
s
x
sol
(sun)
t
extraterrestre
(alien)
soft sound
when it is
written
between
vowels or after
a consonant
strong sound
when the r is
at the
beginning or rr
is between
vowels
tomate
(tomato)
z+a
z+o
z+u
c+e
c+i
zapato
(shoe)
cazo
(pan)
zumo
(juice)
cebolla
(onion)
cinturón
(belt)
ze and zi are
not common
This is just one version of a Spanish Alphabetic Code Chart and it is not definitive.
Note from Grace Vilar: In Argentina and Uruguay, the pronunciation of ‘y’ in ‘yo-yo’ and ‘ll’ in ‘llave’ is the same as /j/ in ‘jelly’; there is no
/th/ as in zapato, cebolla, cinturon in Latin America, the first sounds are pronounced as /s/; the ‘x’ in extraterrestre is pronounced as /ks/ not /s/.
Copyright Debbie Hepplewhite & Coral George 2012