Spanish Alphabet & Pronunciation Guide
El Alfabeto
A
B
C
ch
D
E
F
G
a
be
ce
che
de
e
efe
ge
H
I
J
K
L
ll
M
N
hache
i
jota
ka
ele
elle
eme
ene
ñ
O
P
Q
R
rr
S
T
eñe
o
pe
cu
ere
erre
ese
te
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
u
ve
doble ve
o
doble u
equis
i griega
zeta
* ch and ll were traditionally letters of the spanish alphabet in the past, but in 1994 the
language academies of the Spanish-speaking nations voted to stop recognizing them as
separate letters. However, they are important sounds that are commonly used in the
Spanish language and should be learned by all Spanish learners.
La Pronunciación
Las Vocales - Vowels





A = ah (father)
E = eh (day)
I = ee (feet)
O = oh (go)
U = oo (fool)
(a, e, i, o, u) (ah, eh, ee, oh, oo)
Los Consonantes - consonants
-Many sound similar to English (some are different)
1. La letra H (hache) – The H is always silent
2. La letra J (Jota) - J sounds like a hard English H
3. La letra ll (elle) - In most countries, the ll makes a “y” sound
4. La letra ñ (eñe) - Makes a “ny” sound (canyon)
5. La letra R (ere) & rr (erre) – Except at the beginning of a word or
after l or n, the letter r is like a soft d sound (similar to dd in the word
ladder). The letter rr is always rolled, and when a word starts with r it
is also rolled.
6. La Letra Z (Zeta) - In most countries, the “Z” sounds like the English
“S”. In Spain, the “Z” makes a “th” sound.
7. La letra C (ce) - Sounds like “s” if followed by e or I (th sound in
Spain). Sounds like “k” if followed by any other letter.
8. La letra G (ge) - Sounds like “h” if followed by e or i. Sounds like “g
in girl” if followed by any other letter.
9. La letra B (be) & V (ve) – both letters are pronounced the same, at
the beginning of a word they both sound like the “b” in boy, in all
other spots they have a softer “b” sound where the lips barely touch.
Stress & Accents
-These rules will help you know which syllable to stress, or emphasize,
when you see words written in Spanish.
1. When words end in a vowel, n, or s, place the stress on the nextto-last syllable.
centro
pasteles escriben
2. When words end in a consonant (except n or s), place the stress on
the last syllable.
profesor
nariz escribir
3. When a word has a written accent, place the stress on the accented
syllable. One reason for written accents is to indicate exceptions to the
first two rules.
número lápiz
teléfono