Hola! I’m here to tell you about the Spanish alfabet and how each letter sounds, as well as some examples. Remember to practice your pronunciation everyday
The Spanish alfabet consists of 27 letters: 5 vowels (vocales) and 22 consonants (consonantes) though some are not commonly used, and there’s some extra from combinations, which are not technically part of the alphabet.
A a(a) it sounds like in “apple”. E.g. araña (spider)
B b(be) join your lips and pronounce it like in “barricade”. E.g. boca (mouth)
C c(ce) It has two sounds: with “a”, “o” and “u” it’s pronounced like in “cart” or “coconut”. E.g. carro (car). With “e” and “i”it sounds like in “certain” or “cinema”. E.g. cisne (swan). In Spain, “ce” and “ci” are pronounced like “ze” and “zi”
Ch ch*(che) pronounced like in “chariot” or “chocolate” E.g. China (China)
D d(de) like a normal d in words like “democracy” E.g. dado (dice)
E e(e) it has a stronger sound like in “best” e.g. elefante (elephant)
F f(efe) said like in “fire” e.g. fase (phase)
G g(ge) this one is trickier. With “a”, “o” and “u” it sound like in “gate” e.g. gato (cat). With “e” and “i” it sound like an English “h” (help) e.g. general (general), girasol (sunflower). When written like “gue" or “gui” it gets a sound like with a, o and u, e.g. guerrero (warrior). Lastly, when written “güe” and “güi” you pronounce it like “gu” followed by the letter, e.g. pingüino (penguin)
H h(hache) it’s never pronounced, unless combined with “c” or “s”, e.g. hielo (ice), zanahoria (carrot)
I i(i) don’t say it like the personal pronoun “I” but rather like in “intelligent”, e.g. isla (island)
J j(jota) it has a sound like an English “h” in words like “hate” and “hover”, e.g. joven (young)
K k(ka) it’s not frequently used. Said like a normal “k” in “karma”, e.g. kilo (kilo)
L l(ele) sounds like a typical “l” in “listen”, e.g. lámpara (lamp)
Ll ll*(doble ele) This one is really tricky. It sounds just like the “j” in “Joy” or “jealous”. In old Spanish it had a different sound but now it is pronounced differently. (Like the Italian “gli”)
M m(eme) said like in “mom”, e.g. madera (wood)
N n(ene) typical sound like in “none”, e.g. naranja (orange)
Ñ ñ(eñe) the mark of Spanish. It sounds like “nya”, e.g. piña (pineapple), cariño (love)
O o(o) strongly pronounced like in “open” or “comet”, e.g. oso (bear)
P p(pe) a little bit more strong as in English, like in “pale”, e.g. pulgar (thumb)
Q q(cu) only in forms like “que” and “qui” the “u” is never pronounced and it sound like a “k” in “ketchup”, e.g. queso (cheese)
R r(erre) has a strong sound when a word begins with it (like a double r), e.g. radio (radio). Or a weak sound when in the middle of a word, like an “r” in English, e.g. partido (match)
Rr rr*(doble erre) It will never appear first in a word. Always has a strong sound. Try pronouncing it with your tongue rather than your throat. E.g. terremoto (earthquake). Tip: put a pencil between your lips and try saying it, this is what kids do when learning to roll their r’s
S s(ese) like a normal “s” in “savage”, e.g. serpiente (snake)
Sh sh*(she) Usually used for foreign words. Pronounced like in “shake”, e.g. sushi (sushi)
T t(te) it has a stronger sound like in the word “torment”, e.g. tinta (ink)
U u(u) sounds stronger than in English, like a doble o (“oo”), e.g. uva (grape)
V v(uve) sounds like a “b” but it is pronounced with the teeth rather than the lips. E.g. vanidad (vain)
W w(doble v/doble u) like its English equivalent in “word”. Usually for foreign words. E.g. wey (dude, this is a Mexican word)
X x(equis) It has many sounds: like an “s”, e.g. xilófono (xylophon); like “ks”, e.g. extraño (strange); “sh”, e.g. Xelajú (a city in Guatemala); like a “j” (jota), e.g. México (can also be written Méjico)
Y y(ye/ i griega) has two sounds: like a “j” in “jaguar”, e.g. yema (yolk); or like a “i”, e.g. buey (ox)
Z z(zeta) this one sounds like a long s (ss). To say it, put your tongue between your teeth (like you’re gonna bite it) and let air out, it should sound like a snake. E.g. zapato (shoe), zorro (fox)
That’s all the alphabet and how each letter sounds. There’s no exceptions, each letter will sound the same in any word.
* these letters are not part of the alphabet
