Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation Guide: Consonants
As you go through these you will notice that there are a few consonants that do not change in pronunciation in Spanish. They are skipped for this guide for that reason.
"b" AND "v"
The Spanish "b" and "v" are pronounced identically. Sometimes they have a HARD sound, as in the Spanish word "viejo", and sometimes they have a SOFT sound, as in the Spanish word "haber". The "b" and "v" are always pronounced with both lips touching and not with the top teeth touching the bottom lip like the English "v". Compare the hard and soft "b" and "v".
The Hard "b" AND "v" Sample Words
| 1. ambos - both 2. invitar - to invite 3. investigar - to investigate 4. invitación - invitation 5. ambiente - atmosphere 6. símbolo - symbol |
7. ver - to see 8. vacío - empty; void 9. venir - to come 10. vender - to sell 11. viajar - to travel 12. barco - boat |
The Soft "b" AND "v" Sample Words
| 1. pavo - turkey 2. polvo - dust 3. mover - to move 4. joven - young; youth 5. jabón - soap |
6. urbano - urban 7. fabuloso - fabulous 8. cubierto - covered 9. lubricar - to lubricate 10. subir - to go up |
11. privado - private 12. árbol - tree 13. cubrir - to cover 14. cobrar - to charge 15. obediente - obedient |
"c" AND "q"
Unlike English, the "c" in Spanish is pronounced without a puff of air. Compare the "c" in the following English and Spanish words.
Sample Words
| (ca, co, cu) 1. comprar - to buy 2. comer - to eat 3. cama - bed 4. común - common 5. conocer - to be acquainted with 6. cuarenta - forty 7. caballo - horse |
(ci) 12. circo - circus 13. cine - cinema; theatre 14. cisne - swan 15. cierto - certain 16. cívico - civic |
| (ce) 8. celoso - jealous 9. certeza - certainty 10. centro - city center 11. cerdo - pig |
(que, qui) 17. ¿Qué? - What? 18. ¿Quién? - Who? 19. queso - cheese 20. tranquilo - calm |
"d"
In Spanish, the "d" can be pronounced HARD, as in the Spanish word "andando", or SOFT, as in the Spanish word "nada". The hard Spanish "d" is pronounced in a similar manner to the English "d" except that the tongue makes contact with the teeth instead of the roof of the mouth.
The Hard "d" Sample Words
| "nd" 1. andar - to walk 2. indio - Indian 3. indicar - to indicate 4. un día - one day 5. mandar - to send 6. independiente - independent 7. indecente - indecent |
"ld" 8. Aldo - Aldo 9. caldo - broth 10. sueldo - wage 11. el dulce - the candy 12. el dolor - the pain 13. el dólar - the dollar 14. el dinero - the money |
The soft "d" is pronounced like the "th" in the English word "these".
Soft "d" Sample Words
| 1. nadar - to swim 2. pedir - to ask for 3. poder - to be able to 4. nido - nest 5. contenido - content 6. ruido - noise |
7. red - net 8. medio - half 9. cuidado - care; caution 10. universidad - university 11. ciudad - city 12. ídolo - idol |
"g"
Generally the Spanish "g" is pronounced like the English "g"; however, if the "g" follows a vowel, it is pronounced a little bit softer. For example, listen to the word "agua".
Sample Words
| (ga, go, gu) 1. aguja - needle 2. ganar - to win 3. gato - cat 4. agua - water 5. pago - payment 6. pongo - I put; I place 7. hago - I make 8. lograr - to achieve |
(ge, gi) 9. general - general 10. generación - generation 11. urgente - urgent 12. recoger - to pick up 13. girar - to spin 14. gemelos - twins 15. angel - angel 16. gigante - giant |
(gue, gui) 21. águila - eagle 22. Guillermo - William 23. guerra - war 24. guía - guide |
| (gua, guo) 17. ambiguo - ambiguous 18. antiguo - ancient 19. agua - water 20. Guatemala - Guatemala |
(güe, güi) 25. desagüe - drain 26. pingüino - penguin 27. lingüista - linguist 28. güero - blond |
"h"
The Spanish consonant "h" is always silent.
Sample Words
| 1. haber - to have 2. hacer - to do or make 3. hablar - to speak or talk 4. hijo - son 5. harina - flour 6. hielo - ice |
7. hay - there is; there are 8. habitación - habitation; room 9. helado - ice cream 10. herencia - inheritance 11. herramienta - tool 12. héroe - hero |
13. rehabilitar - rehabilitate 14. hombre - man 15. hambre - hunger 16. ahogar - to drown 17. ahora - now 18. ahorrar - to save |
"j"
The Spanish consonant "j" is produced with the back of the tongue, just below the roof of the mouth, with air pushing between the tongue and the roof of the mouth creating some friction. This sound is often confused with the English "h".
Sample Words
| 1. jamón - ham 2. mujer - woman 3. jardín - garden 4. viejo - old 5. juntos - together |
6. Alejandro - "Alex" 7. ajedrez - chess 8. jota - "j" 9. jefe - boss 10. jarro - pitcher; ontainer |
11. juez - judge 12. jugo - juice 13. jugar - to play 14. juego - game 15. japonés - Japanese |
"ll"
The "ll" is a letter in the Spanish alphabet that does not exist in English. In South America, especially in Argentina and Uruguay, the "ll" generally is pronounced like the English "j" except a little softer. However, in Mexico the "ll" is sometimes pronounced like the English "y" and sometimes like the English "j". [This is where having our course materials or a few natives available would help.]
Sample Words
| 1. llamar - to call 2. Guillermo - William 3. billete - bill 4. maullar - to meow 5. ballena - whale |
6. huella - footprint 7. ellas - they/them (f) 8. orilla - shore 9. toalla - towel 10. allí - there |
11. llegar - to arrive 12. llave - key 13. llorar - to cry 14. lluvia - rain 15. llama - llama |
"ñ"
The "ñ" is a letter in the Spanish alphabet that does not exist in English. The Spanish "ñ" sounds like the "ny" in the English word "barnyard".
Sample Words
| 1. el niño - the child 2. piña - pineapple 3. tamaño - size 4. pañal - diaper |
5. compañía - company 6. mañana - morning; tomorrow 7. compañero - partner; colleague 8. riñón - kidney |
9. piñata - piñata 10. baño - bathroom 11. señora - a lady; Mrs. 12. pañuelo - handkerchief |
The Trilled "rr" / "r"
The Spanish consonant "rr" is always trilled (multiple vibrations of the tongue against the roof of the mouth). If an "r" or an "rr" should be trilled and they are not, the word can take on a completely different meaning; for example, the word "perro" means "dog," but the word "pero," with a single trill, means "but".
"rr" Sample Words
| 1. párrafo - paragraph 2. perro - dog 3. carro - car 4. correr - to run |
5. jarro - pitcher; container 6. barro - mud 7. ferrocarril - railway; train 8. tierra - earth |
9. terreno - land 10. terror - terror 11. horrible - horrible 12. cigarro - cigar |
| Beginning of a word: 1. rojo - red 2. rico - rich 3. rana - frog 4. río - river 5. romper - to break 6. reparar - to repair 7. restaurante - restaurant 8. rubio - blond 9. redondo - round |
After "n" or "l": 10. Enrique - Henry 11. sonreír - to smile 12. enroscar - to coil or wind 13. alrededor - around 14. Enredar - to tangle |
"rr" Substitute
For people who are physically unable to pronounce the Spanish "rr", there is an alternative.
| 1. corriendo - running 2. gorra - hat |
3. zorro - fox 4. burro - donkey |
5. guerra - war 6. Enrique - Henry |
The Tripped "r"
The tripped "r" is pronounced as a single trill (one flip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth).
Sound Differences
| "rr" parra perro carro Rosa |
"r" para pero caro Margarita |
The single "r" or tripped "r" is pronounced almost like the English "d" or "der".
Sample Words
| 1. para - for; in order to 2. pero - but 3. comer - to eat 4. gracias - thank you 5. carta - letter 6. cara - face |
7. cero - zero 8. truco - trick 9. mero - mere; pure 10. terco - stubborn 11. claridad - clarity 12. caridad - charity |
13. ¡Claro! - Of course! 14. oportunidad - opportunity 15. saber - to know (info) 16. tercero - third 17. Perú - Peru |
"z"
The Spanish "z" always has an "s" sound except in parts of Spain where it sounds like a "th".
Sample Words
| 1. taza - cup 2. zoológico - zoo 3. zapato - shoe 4. zanahoria - carrot 5. zumbar - to buzz |
6. mozo - waiter 7. pozo - well 8. zona - zone 9. zorro - fox 10. zonzo - fool |
11. azúcar - sugar 12. empezar - to begin 13. escasez - scarcity 14. plaza - plaza 15. manzana - apple |
The Remaining Spanish Sounds
This section covers the remaining Spanish sounds that are different from English pronunciation.
The "No Puff" Letters
Just like the Spanish "c", the Spanish "p" and "t" are pronounced without a puff of air.
"ch"
The "ch" is considered a letter in the Spanish alphabet; it does not exist as a single letter in the English alphabet. The Spanish "ch" is pronounced the same as the English "ch".
Sample Words
| 1. chocolate - chocolate 2. chico - boy 3. mucho - much; a lot |
"p"
The Spanish "p" is pronounced without a puff of air.
Sample Words
| 1. pedir - to ask for 2. preparar - to prepare 3. parece - it appears; seems |
4. pagar - to pay 5. pensar - to think 6. poner - to put or place |
7. practicar - to practice 8. preguntar - to ask 9. preferir - to prefer |
"t"
The Spanish "t" is pronounced without a puff of air; it is produced with the tongue on the teeth and not on the roof of the mouth.
Sample Words
| 1. todo - all 2. taco - taco 3. tener - to have |
4. teléfono - telephone 5. alto - tall 6. terminar - to finish |
7. tomar - to take; to drink 8. tirar - to throw 9. tocar - to touch or play |
"x"
Generally, the Spanish "x" is pronounced the same as the English "x".
Sample Words
| 1. explicar - to explain 2. experimentar - to experience |
3. exigir - to demand 4. experiencia - experience |
5. extra - extra 6. excelente - excellent |
The Spanish "x" in very few cases is pronounced like the Spanish "g" or the Spanish "j".
Sample Words
| 1. México 2. Oaxaca 3. Mexicano 4. Texas 5. Xavier |
"y"
Like the "ll" in some Hispanic countries, the Spanish "y" has a "j" sound.
Sample Words
| 1. apoyar - to support 2. ayer - yesterday |
3. yerno - son-in-law 4. payaso - clown |
5. construye - he builds 6. oye - she hears |