The Spanish Alphabet
Class notes on Pronunciation.
Note: ch, ll, and rr
Although the Real Academia
Española in Madrid, Spain, removed
the letters ch, ll, and rr as separate
entries from the Spanish alphabet in
1994, they have been included in the
class presentation for their unique
sound qualities when pronounced.
It should also be noted that in the
Americas many Hispanic countries
still recognize rr as a separate letter
of the alphabet.
Spanish Pronunciation
A
E
I
O
U
father
telephone
feet
ocean
mood
mamá, casa, baño
teléfono, entrada, perro
chica, película, libro
foto, coche, amigo
fruta, música, mujer
A, E, I, O, U el burro sabe más que tú.
SPANISH PRONOUNCIATION
c and g
• The letters c and g are pronounced differently ,
depending on the vowel that follows.
• A c followed by a, o, or u would be pronounce like
the k in “kite”. A c followed by an i of e is
pronounced like the s in “simple.”
• Similarly, a g followed by a,o,u would be pronounced
like the g in “goat.” A g followed by an i or e is
pronounced like h in “hill.”
c
ca
co
cu
ce
ci
[k]
[s]
g
ga
go
gu
ge
gi
[g]
[h]
Ll = [y] or [j]
amarillo
yellow jacket
“H”
The letter “h” in Spanish is silent.
La letra “h” en español es muda.
“h”
The letter “h” in Spanish is silent.
helado
The English [h] sound is heard in
the Spanish pronunciation of the
letter “j” and the letter “g”
(when “g” is followed by e or i).
jarra
gigante
Consonants: k and w
In Spanish, the letters "k" and "w" are found only
in foreign words.
• The "k" is pronounced like an English "k"
without the puff of air.
• The "w" is pronounced like the "b/v" when it
occurs between vowels.
“H”
[h] hat
[g] gate
[c] cat
[s] circle
[y]-yes/joy
ca
ya
ga
co
ye
ge
go
cu
gi
gu
ce
ci
“y”
que
yi
yo
yu
qui
“j”
ja
ka
sa
lla
je
ke
se
lle
ji
“k” ki
“s” si
jo
ko
so
llo
ju
ku
su
llu
“ll”
lli
Spanish Pronunciation
English example(s)
Ñ = [ny]
LL = [y] , [j]
J = [h]
H = [silent]
V = [b]
C = [k]
C = [s]
G = [g]
G= [h]
R =
Spanish example(s)
canyon
niño, pequeño
yellow jacket, tortilla, pollo
help
Jorge, José
hola, hermoso
baby
ventana, vivir,
cola
cama, cuna
celery
cepillo, cinco
gate
gato, gorra, guante,
hill
gigante, Jorge
like the English d; put tongue on palate just above front teeth
( [soft d] between 2 vowels or at end of a word)
RR =
when 2 r’s are together like in perro, the rr is trilled; words that start with R are trilled also
(to trill the rr, try to say brr, but instead of using your lips, use your tongue. When you
exhale, the tongue should be raised and widened so it touches the upper teeth)
Alphabet practice:
http://www.spanishspanish.com/alfabeto_ipower.html