Spanish 1 Podcast 3
Pronunciation in Spanish – the Consonants
Most Spanish consonants are pronounced similarly or identically to English. This podcast will
concentrate on any consonants that are different from English.
C – Like English, the letter c has two sounds, depending on which letter follows it. The “hard c”, or “k”
sound, occurs when the c is followed by most consonants and the vowels a, o, and u. The “soft c”, or “s”
sound, occurs when the c is followed by the vowels e and i. In some dialects, including the “Spain
Spanish” spoken in Madrid, the “soft c” is more of a “th” sound.
Repeat:
como
culebra
ciencias
centro
G – Again, like English, the letter g has two sounds depending on the next letter. The “hard g” sound, like
in “green”, occurs when the g is followed by most consonants and the vowels a, o, and u. The “soft g”
happens when the g is followed by an e or i and is pronounced “j” in English, for example “gentle”. In
Spanish, this “soft g” is pronounced as an English “h”. In some Spanish dialects, the “h” can be very
harsh and breathy, like a vampire hissing.
Repeat:
gato
gusto
geometria
gigante
H – The Spanish h is completely silent unless part of the sound ch.
Repeat:
hola
hora
hombre
hielo
J – The Spanish j is identical to the “soft g” mentioned above.
Repeat:
Méjico
Tejas
jarro
Javier
LL – A single l is the same in English and Spanish, but a double ll has a different sound. Depending on
the part of the Spanish-speaking world, this sound is either like an English y, an English j, or more rarely
an English sh. It does not matter greatly which one you use as long as you are consistent.
Repeat:
llano
llamar
callar
pollo
Ñ – When the letter “n” has a line over it (usually a squiggly one), it is the signal to change the
pronunciation from an ordinary n to one with a “ye” sound following it, like the first n in “onion” or
“canyon”.
Repeat:
tamaño
ñandú
jalapeño
año
Q – In Spanish, the letter q is always followed by a u, but the u is silent. The result is a “k” sound. If you
ever hear a word that sounds like it has an English q, it is actually spelled with a c.
Repeat:
Quito
quieto
tranquilo
quince
R/RR – The single letter r should never sound like an English r, but more like a soft d. Your tongue will
touch the back of your teeth in what is called a flap. When the r begins the word or is spelled with a
double rr, you should produce a trill, or a rapid series of flaps. Not everyone can produce this sound right
away, and it’s all right – it will come with practice. (Try saying the word “butter” to yourself, getting
faster and faster. This will put your tongue in the right place for producing a trill.) If you can’t trill your
rr yet, at least remember to pronounce it like a Spanish r instead of an English one.
Repeat:
caro/carro
pero/perro
coro
prensa
rojo
V – The Spanish v should be identical to the letter b.
Repeat:
Venezuela
valiente
voleibol
vivir
X – The x in Spanish will vary somewhat. If it is followed by a consonant, it usually sounds like an s. If it
is in between two vowels, it usually sounds like an English x (“ks”), but if the word is originally from
Aztec or another indigenous language, it might be spelled with and sound like a Spanish j.
Repeat:
extra
examen
México
Texas
Y – When by itself for the word “and”, the y is pronounced “ee”. Otherwise it should be treated as a
consonant and is identical to the double ll.
Repeat:
yo
construyo
yegua
ya
Z – The Spanish z is pronounced the same as the “soft c”, either like an English s or th. It should never
ever have a buzzing sound to it like the English z.
Repeat:
zorro
pizarra
cazar
azul
Finally, the letters k and w should be noted. They are pronounced the same as English, but will only
appear in words that were borrowed from other languages, such as wagón, koala, and wisky.
If the consonant was not mentioned, it should be pronounced the same as English.