The Spanish Alphabet

Name: pronounced as a shortened ah as the "A" in father or the "O" in mop.

Sound: It is always pronounced the same as its name above!

Examples: Paco, padre, nada, Panamá

Name: pronounced as a softened beh as the "BA" in baby.

Sound: At the beginning of a word or after the letters "L" and "N" it sounds like the English "B" in baseball. All other times has a softer sound than the English "B". This is produced by using only your lower lip.

Examples: boca, bonita, barco, bolso

Name: pronounced as a shortened seh as the "SA" in sane or safe.

Sound: The "C" can have both a hard sound ( like the English "K" ) and soft sound (like the English "S" ) when used in words.

Examples: cero, cinco, casa, carro

Name: pronounced as a shortened deh as the "DA" in day.

Sound: Place your tongue slightly on the back of your upper teeth. When a word ends in "D" it is only slightly sounded, giving a slight "TH" sound as in the English word the.

Examples: domingo, de, dinero, diablo

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh as the "A" in day with just a bit of the "E" sound in bet.

Sound: Turn your lips up slightly at the corners of your mouth.

Examples: elefante, enero, ese, español

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh feh as in the "A" in day + the "FA" in favorite.

Sound: It sounds like the English "F" when used in a word.

Examples: fecha, fin, frío, febrero

Name: pronounced as a shortened hay as in "hey".

Sound: The "g" can have both a hard sound ( like the English "G" in gun ) and soft sound ( like the English "H" in happy ) when used in words.

Examples: gato, grande, gente, gemelo

Name: the name of "H" is aah cheh , as in the "O" in mop + the "CHA" in change.

Sound: Remember, the letter "H" is the silent letter! It is never pronounced in a word except when used in combination with "C" as in "CH" the old Spanish letter. Then it sounds like the "CH" in the English word change.

Examples: hola, hoy, hermano, hombre, chico, chicano

Name: pronounced as a shortened ee as the "EE" in feet or the "ea" in seat.

Sound: It is always pronounced the same as its name above!

Examples: inglés, iglesia, Inca, isla

Name: pronounced as a shortened hoh tah as the "HO" in hotel + the "TO" in top.

Sound: It is pronounced like the English letter "H" with a slight whisper of air coming from the back of your throat.

Examples: José, junio, jugo, joven

Name: pronounced as a shortened kah as the "CO" in cod or copper.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "K". There are very few Spanish words using this letter and they are all borrowed from other languages.

Examples: kilómetro

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh leh as the "A" in table + the "LA" in label.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "L" with the corners of your mouth turned slightly up.

Examples: leche, lago, la, Latino

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh meh as the "A" in table + the "MA" in maybe.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "M" with the corners of your mouth turned slightly up.

Examples: madre, mano, México, moto

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh neh as the "A" in table + the "NA" in nail.

Sound: It sounds like the English "N" with your tongue slightly on the back of your upper teeth.

Examples: nada, no, nunca, Navidad

Name: pronounced as a shortened ehn yay as the "A" in table + the "NY" sound in canyon + the "A" in may.

Sound: It sounds like the "NIO" in onion or the "NY" sound in canyon.

Examples: niño, piña, otoño, castaño

Name: pronounced as a shortened oh as the "O" in hotel or the "OA" in coat.

Sound: It is always pronounced the same as its name above!

Examples: octubre, ojo, oficina, oveja

Name: pronounced as a shortened peh as the "PA" in pay or pave.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "P" with the corners of your mouth turned slightly up.

Examples: Paco, padre, poco, Panamá

Name: pronounced as a shortened cooh as the "COO" in cool.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "K" when used in a word.

Examples: que, queso, quince, quetzal

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh reh as the "A" in table + the "RA" in rain with a slight "D" sound beginning the "RA" portion.

Sound: It sounds like a combination of the English "R" and "D" when used in the middle of a word, somewhat like the "TT" in butter. When it begins or ends a word it has a trill as you lightly roll your tongue.

Examples: octubre, primo, rico, comer

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh seh as the "A" in table + the "SA" in sane.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "S" with the corners of your mouth turned up slightly.

Examples: siesta, sol, sopa, santo

Name: pronounced as a shortened teh as the "TA" in table.

Sound: It sounds like the English "T" with your tongue slightly on the back of your upper teeth and the corners of your mouth turned slightly up.

Examples: taco, todo, toro, tomate

Name: pronounced as a shortened ooh as the "U" in rude or the "OO" in food.

Sound: It is always pronounced the same as its name above!

Examples: uvas, uno, usted, unidos

Name: pronounced as a softened beh as the "BA" in baby.

Sound: At the beginning of a word it sounds like the English "B" as in baby. In the middle of a word it sounds like the English letter "V" except you do not blow air across your lip.

Examples: vaca, vaso, ventana, vista, lava

Name: pronounced as a shortened do ble veh as the "DO" in dome + "BLAY" + "VA" as in the English word vase.

Sound: It sounds like the English letter "W" when used in a word. The letter "W" is used only in words of foreign origin.

Examples: Washington

Name: pronounced as a shortened eh kees as the "a" in table + keys.

Sound: It sounds like you are hissing the letter "S" when used before a consonant. Between vowels it sounds like a hissed "GS".

Examples: extraña, explorar, éxito, examen, exacto

Name: pronounced as ee gree a gah as the "EE" in feet + "GREE" in Greek + the "A" in table + the "GA" in garden. (i griega) It means the "Greek I".

Sound: By itself It is pronounced like a long English "E" or the Spanish letter "I". When used in a word it is pronounced like the "Y" in you. Many Spanish speakers often add a slight "J" sound.

Examples: y, yo, mayo, ya

Name: pronounced as a shortened say tah as the "SA" in sane + the "TU" in tumble.

Sound: It is pronounced like the English letter "S".

Examples: zapato, raza, zona, zorro

Although this is no longer a Spanish letter, its sound still exists. It sounds like the "CH" in the English word change.

Examples: chico, chicano, chile, chocolate

Although this is no longer a Spanish letter, its sound still exists. It is pronounced like the English letter "Y". Many Spanish speakers add a very slight "J" sound to it.

Examples: llamada, ¿Cómo se llama?, calle, silla

Although this is no longer a Spanish letter, its sound still exists. When it exists in the middle of a word it is pronounced like the Spanish "R" with a trill, produced by slightly rolling your tongue.
This sound is also produced when a Spanish word begins with "R" or ends with "R".