El Alfabeto / El Abecedario The Alphabet

Before 1994 the Spanish alphabet had three extra letters (ch, ll, and rr). Older dictionaries have a section for each of these letters. New dictionaries include these combination letters in c-for ch, l- for ll, and r-for rr. The Spanish alphabet has the letter Ñ not found in the English alphabet.

Las vocales Because an English vowel has two sounds, dictionaries use diacritical marks to tell the reader how to pronounce a word. Two of these marks are the long vowel mark ( ) called a macron, and the breve ( ) a short vowel mark. The vowels in Spanish only have short sounds. a, e, i, o, u

Las Vocales (The Vowels) A (like a in father) E (like e in get) ama sapa peme nene pama lapa leme lele lama ala seme epe sama aca cleme ese cama apa deme ete papa ana reme ere capa ara meme ebe

I (like ee in see) O (as in toll) pimi iti lopo nopo limi lipi sopo oco simi sipi mopo coco timi liti nono toco rimi fiti topo mono nini kiti oto roco ipi bisi olo coto

U (as in oo in too) pupu rupu lupu tucu supu fumu tumu cucu nupu pumu utu uru ulu sumu

Diptongos (Diphthongs) Diptongos are vowel combinations IA IE IU diablo fiebre pierna ciudad piano fiel riesgo ciudadano viaje pie tiempo viuda pianista piedra tienda viudo limpiar ciencia cielo

UA UI (like we) UE cuate cuidado suelo cuarto cuidadoso suela cuatro ruido suegra cuándo ruina trueno cuál tuido muerto cuánto muestra cualidad mueca

EU EI reunión peine deuda peinado reuma reina feudo reino reumatismo

AI AU Maite jaula caigo Maura paisano autor pais auto paisaje autógrafo audiencia causa

Práctica de pronunciación miel cuaderno diablo suelo paisaje pierna autor ruido feudal reuma auto cuatro viuda muerto cuarto caigo deuda cuate reino peine paisano

Las Consonantes (The consonants) B (be) and V (u be or be chica) The letters B and V are pronounced the same. bata vela vientre bala vamos buitre bueno enviar bien bota abogado aviso vena bote velocidad banco viejo vino vegetal avión

C, K, and Q C (se) If C is followed by A, O, U, or L it is pronounced with a K sound (ca, co, cu, cl). cama culebra cosa coma clavo casa cola calvo campo culto clase cuna culpa cuerpo cana

K (ka) The letter K sounds just like the letter K in English. kilo kinder kilogramo kiwi kilómetro kiosko

Q (koo) The Spanish Q will always be used only in these two combinations, que (keh), and qui (kee). The letter u is never pronounced when used with q. quemo quieto químico quincena quiebra quemar qué quitar queso quizás quién quiero

C, S, and Z C (se) The Spanish C followed by either e or i is pronounced as a soft s sound. centavo celestial celda central ciencia central cielo cinta cincuenta cinco centro Cecilia

S (eh se) and Z (seta) The letters S and Z are pronounced just like the English S. siempre zorro sabor suave solo Sandra zacate zoológico zapato zapatero selva sólido silueta sombra zíper zancos

CH (che) The combination CH is pronounced like ch as in church. cheque chimuelo colchón cuchillo chapuzón ancho chorizo chancla pecho cheviche chuleta chicle chocolate chulo hecho

D (de) and F (e fe) The letters D and F sound just like the English letters. dedo domicilio felíz franco diente decir formula frio dolor deuda frente flor dormir diagnóstico famoso flauta Dora doctor feroz farol

G (he) and J (ho ta) The letter G when followed by e (ge), and i (gi), and the letter J share the same sound formed at the back of the throat—an overemphasized “hh”sound. gente jirafa gitana José genial Jorge gesto Jesus gentil Juan jícama Gerónimo gemelo Gilberto gelatina jalapeño

If the letter G is followed by an a (ga), o (go), or u (gu) it sounds like the g in gold. gordo gusano gato gasto Gloria rogar gota gusto If G is followed by UE (gue) and UI (gui) the u is not pronounced. guitarra guerra guisado guirnalda

However, if the letter u has to be pronounced in gue or gui, two dots on top of the u (ü) will indicate the change in pronunciation. These dots are called “diéresis” in Spanish. güero vergüenza güera pingüino

H (ha che) The Spanish H is always silent unless it is in combination with the letter c. hotel hace rehusar hospital hizo hábil hongo hábito huracán higo honor desahogo hago hablar habitual

L (ele) The letter L sounds exactly as the letter L in English. libro biblioteca loco lechuga Laura laguna lengua sal lista perla limpio emblema

Combination LL and Y (ee GRIE ga) (Greek I) The combination LL and the letter Y are pronounced the same. A similar pronunciation can be found on the letter g of the word gin. However, depending on the country, the pronunciation may vary. llama lluvia yo yerno yerba yoyo llave quesadilla

If the letter Y is found at the end of the word it is pronounced like the Spanish vowel I (ee). hoy hay muy rey ley The letter Y by itself means “and”, and it is pronounced ee.

M (eme) and N (ene) M and N have the same sounds as their respective English counterparts. mucho mariposa nada no mango misa nunca nueve Manuel mascar navaja punto mover mirar nariz noche mesa muela noviembre

Ñ (enye) The closest sound of the letter ñ is found in the syllable ni in the word “onion”. piñata año reñir niño puño acompañar niña niñez pestaña muñeca compañero puñal

P (pe) and T (te) The pronunciation of P and T are the same as in English. platicar puerta techo tamal papel pueblo traje tacos pensar pan traer tortillas practicar palo tocar té

R (ere or erre) This letter must be trilled. When you see a double r (rr) or an r at the beginning of a word the trill is strong. perro cerro raíz sierra roca jarro reto terreno If found in the middle of a word, the pronunciation is softer. Portugal membrana puerta brazo

W (doble be or doble u) This letter is not native to Spanish but exists to spell a limited number of foreign terms. It is pronounced the same as in English. William Washington Winston kiwi Wendy

X (ekees) The pronunciation of the letter X is mainly an “ks” sound. examen exacto exhibir excelente excusa excitante extranjero Ixtapa However, in some words it is pronounced as a g or a soft s. Mexico Texas Xochimilco xilófono