The Spanish alphabet: pronunciation guide

Publicado el 1 de febrero de 2025 por Cecilia N.

The alphabet is one of the first things we learn when we start studying a new language. It forms the foundation upon which we build our linguistic knowledge. This is why knowing the letters and their sounds is the first step towards understanding the pronunciation, reading, and writing of any language.

In Spanish, it’s common to hear both alfabeto and abecedario to refer to the word “alphabet”. These words are used interchangeably, but their difference lies in their etymological origins. Abecedario comes from the Latin “abecedarius”, which is derived from the combination of the first letters of the Latin alphabet “a,” “be,” “ce,” “de”. On the other hand, the word alfabeto has its roots in Ancient Greek, specifically from the combination of the first two letters “alpha” (A), and “beta” (B).

The letters of the Spanish alphabet and their phonetics in English

The Spanish alphabet consists of 27 letters, of which 5 are vowels and 22 are consonants. It’s important to note that in Spanish, the letters are considered feminine. For example, we say la a, la b, la c, and so on.

Here’s a table with the letters of the alphabet. You will find four columns: the first column lists the alphabet letters, the second column contains the official name of each letter in Spanish, the third column shows the phonetic transcription of the letter names in English, and the fourth column presents the alternative names that some of the Spanish letters have.

The standardization of the alphabet was carried out by the Royal Spanish Academy, also known as RAE by its acronym in Spanish, which is a cultural institution whose main function is to regulate and standardize the Spanish language to facilitate communication and understanding in all Spanish-speaking countries.

On the phonetics and pronunciation of the letters C, H, Ñ, R, V, W, X, Y, Z

The pronunciation of certain letters can vary depending on the country, region, or position within a word. Additionally, Spanish features distinctive sounds that don’t exist in English.

C

In Spanish, the letter “c” can have two different pronunciations. In the Canary Islands and Latin America, it’s pronounced like the “s” in “sun”.

However, in central and northern Spain, it’s pronounced as /θ/, similar to the pronunciation of the “th” in “think”. For example, the word cena (dinner) is pronounced:

H

The letter “h” is a silent letter, which means it has no sound on its own and should never be pronounced in Spanish, except in some words of foreign origin. For example, hola (hi) is pronounced “oh-lah”, but the proper name “Henry” is pronounced “hen-rree”.

Ñ

The letter “ñ” is unique to the Spanish language and represents a special sound that doesn’t exist in English. It’s pronounced like the letter “n” followed by a “y”, as in “canyon”. Its pronunciation is also similar to the “gn” in “lasagna” or “cognac”. Some words with “ñ” are:

Initially, the “ñ” was represented as “nn”. However, to optimize space, the practice of writing a conventional “n” followed by a smaller one on top was adopted. This second “n” evolved into the distinctive tilde or virgulilla of the “ñ”.

R

There are two ways to pronounce this letter: /r/ “eh-reh” and /rr/ “eh-rreh”.

/r/ This phoneme, also called fonema vibrante simple, is similar to how Americans pronounce the “tt” in “butter”. Some word with this phoneme are:

/rr/ This phoneme, also called fonema vibrante múltiple or more commonly known among Spanish learners as “hard” or “rolled r”, is typical of the Spanish language. To achieve this sound, we must bring the tongue close to the palate and let air pass between them. Some words with this sound are:

V

In Spanish, there’s no difference in pronunciation between the letters “b” and “v”. Both consonants have a bilabial sound /b/, similar to the “b” in “bee”. This means that words like botar (to throw away)and votar (to vote) sound exactly the same: boh-tahr. Some words with “v” include:

W

Words with “w” are not common in Spanish. This letter mainly appears in words of foreign origin, and it can sound like:

/b/ in words like Wagner or Kowalski
/u/ in words like sándwich or taekwondo
/g/ in words like web or kiwi

X

This consonant can sound like:

/ks/ in words like exámen (ehk-sah-men) or taxi (tahk-see)
/s/ at the beginning of a word. For example, xilófono (see-loh-foh-noh) or xenofobia (seh-noh-foh-byah)

Y

This consonant can sound like:

/y/ at the beginning of a word or syllable. Its sound is similar to the “y” in “yes”. For example, yeso (yeh-soh)(plaster) or raya (rrah-yah) (line).

/ee/ at the end of a word. For example, Uruguay (oo-roo-gwahee) or curry (koo-rree). It also has this sound when it’s used as the conjunction “and”. For example, leche y pan (leh-cheh ee pahn) (milk and bread)

*The pronunciation of the letter “y” can also vary depending on the speaker’s origin. We’ll explore this in more detail in the section on digraphs.

Z

Like the letter “c”, the pronunciation of the letter “z” varies according to the speaker’s country or region of origin: “s” in the Canary Islands and Latin America and “th” in central and norther Spain.

In Spanish, the phenomenon where there’s no distinction between “s” and “z”, and both letters are pronounced as “s”, is known as seseo. For example, casa (house) and caza (hunting) are pronounced the same: kah-sah.

Variation in the pronunciation of C, D, G, Q and R next to vowels and other consonants

The letters “c”, “d”, “g”, “q” and “r” can have either a soft or hard sound depending on the vowel or consonant that accompanies them, and they even vary according to the position of the syllable they are in.

Pronunciation of the letter C

When this consonant is followed by the vowels “a”, “o” and “u”, it has a hard “k” sound, like the “c” in “car”.

On the other hand, if “c” is followed by the vowels “e” or “i”, it makes a soft “s” sound like in the word “celery”. As we saw earlier, this consonant sounds like “s” or “th” depending on the origin of the speaker. 

Pronunciation of the letter D

When “d” is at the beginning of a word or after the consonants “l” or “n”, it makes a hard sound, like the “d” in “dog”.

If “d” is between vowels, before or after other consonants different from “l” or “n”, or at the end of a syllable, it’s pronounced as a light dental sound, similar to the “d” in “ladder” in American English.

Ga, ge, gi, go, gu, gue, gui, güe, güi

When “g” is followed by the vowels “a”, “o” and “u”, it makes a hard “g” sound as in go.

If “g” is next to the vowels “e” or “i”, it has a soft “h” sound like in “hello”.

The combinations “gue” and “gui” sound like “geh” and “gee”.

The combinations “güe” and “güi” sound “gweh” and “gwee”.

The two dots above the “u” are called a diéresis, and they are used to indicate that this vowel should be pronounced in a combination where it would normally be silent. Unlike other languages, in Spanish, the use of the diéresis is not very common, and it’s only found in the combinations “güe” and “güi”.

Que, qui

When “q” is followed by the diphthongs “ue” and “ui”, its pronunciation is similar to the “k” in “Kentucky”. In Spanish, the letter “q” is only present in the combinations “que” and “qui”.

Pronunciation of the letter R

As we saw earlier, the “r” can have two sounds, a soft “eh-reh”, and a hard “eh-rreh”.

/r/ This phoneme is pronounced softly at the end or in the middle of a word, or after “b”, “c”, “d”, “f”, “g”, “p” or “t”.

/rr/ But if the “r” is at the beginning of a word, after “l”, “n” or “s”, or after the prefix “sub”, it makes a hard or rolled “r” sound.

Lastly, if a word has two consecutive “r” letters (rr), it always makes a hard “r” sound.

The digraphs CH and LL

Digraphs are combinations of two letters that represent a single sound. Unlike English, which has approximately 125, Spanish only has 5: “ch”, “ll”, “rr”, “gu” and “qu”. We have previously seen “rr”, “gu” and “qu”. Now let’s take a look at “ch” and “ll”.

Until 2010, the digraphs “ch” and “ll” were considered part of the Spanish alphabet. In contrast, the “rr” has not traditionally been considered part of it.

CH

This digraph is known by the name of che (cheh), and it always makes a hard “ch” sound like in “cheese”.

LL

This combination is called elle (eh-yeh) or doble ele (doh-bleh-eh-leh). Depending on the origin of the speaker this digraph can be pronounced in 4 different ways:

/y/ This sound is similar to the “y” in “yes”. This pronunciation is common in Latin America and Spain.

/j/ This sound is similar to the “j” in “jam”. Its use is more frequent in some Latin American countries.

/sh/ This sound is similar to the “sh” in “shoe” and it’s characteristic of Argentina and Uruguay.

/ll/ This sound is similar to the “lli” in “million”. This phonetic characteristic is mainly found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Notice how the pronunciation of the word llave (key) can vary:

Many Spanish speakers don’t make a distinction between the pronunciation of “ll” and “y”, so many words sound the same regardless of spelling.

The linguistic phenomenon in which Spanish speakers don’t differentiate between the pronunciation of “ll” and “y” is called yeísmo.

Now that you know the letters of the alphabet and their pronunciation, as well as how they can change depending on their position in a word, their combinations with other letters, and regional variations, you’re ready to take the next step in your learning journey. Start by reading or listening to short texts, paying attention to the sounds of each letter and practicing their pronunciation. This practice will not only reinforce what you’ve learned but also help you build confidence and fluency when using new words in Spanish.

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