The fastest way to learn the Spanish alphabet is to know what each letter actually sounds like and, more than anything, what each letter sounds like to an English speaker. For instance, the letter ‘i’ in Spanish sounds exactly like the letter ‘e’ in English, a simple fact that can help anyone remember how to say ‘i’ in Spanish. Using this comparative English/Spanish approach, we’ve had great success in our Fluenz language learning programs.
The ‘abecedario’ or Spanish alphabet includes the 26 letters of the English alphabet, plus the ‘ñ’, a letter that plays a key role in the pronunciation of many Spanish words.
Spanish alphabet
Most of the letters in Spanish have their own special names, and people use them all the time when spelling out words.
Below you’ll find the 27 letters of the ‘abecedario’ and their names, along with an example word for each letter and the pronunciation using English sounds.
| Letter | Spanish Name(s) | Pronunciation and example |
|---|---|---|
| a | a | Sound: ‘AH’ as in ‘MarthA’ ‘amarillo’ = yellow ah-mah-REE-joh *the syllables in caps are pronounced with emphasis. |
| b | be | Other names: be larga or be alta Sound: ‘B’ as in ‘Boyfriend’ ‘biblioteca’ = library bee-bleeoh-TEH-kah |
| c | ce | Sound: ‘K’ as in ‘Kilometer’ ‘cara’ = face KAH-rah Or ‘S’ as in ‘MoScow’ (before ‘e’ or ‘i’): ‘cine’ = movie theater ‘SEE-neh’ |
| d | de | Same as in English: ‘decidir’ = to decide deh-see-DEER |
| e | e | Sound: ‘EH’ as in ‘Elephant’ ‘enero’ = January eh-NEH-roh |
| f | efe | Sound: ‘F’ as in ‘Fall’ ‘falda’ = skirt FAHL-Dah |
| g | ge | Sound: ‘G’ as in ‘Gondola’ ‘gato’ = cat GAH-toh Or an ‘H’ as in ‘Hawk’, before ‘i’ and ‘e’ ‘Gigante’ = giant hee-GAHN-teh |
| h | hache | This is a silent letter! ‘hacer’ = to do / make ah-sEHr It is only pronunciated when placed after a ‘c’. It is the same sound in English: ‘charming’ ‘chícharo’ = pea CHEE-chah-roh |
| i | i or i latina | Sound: ‘EE’ as in ‘sEE’ ‘iniciar’ = to begin EE-NEE-SEE-Ar |
| j | jota | The most approximate sound in English is the ‘H’ in words such as ‘Holy’: ‘jugar’ = to play HOO-GAHr |
| k | ka | Sound: it is the same as the ‘K’ in ‘Kilometer’ ‘kilo’ = kilo KEE-loh |
| l | ele | Same as in English: ‘labio’ = lip Lah-BEEOH |
| m | eme | Same as in English: ‘mamá’ = mom mah-MAH |
| n | ene | Same as in English: ‘nada’ = nothing NAH-dah |
| ñ | eñe | Sound: very similar to the ‘gn’ in ‘lasaGNa’ or ‘ny’ in ‘KeNYa’ ‘mañana’ = tomorrow mah-GNAH-nah |
| o | o | Sound: ‘OH’ as in ‘Oregon’ ‘oso’ = bear OH-soh |
| p | pe | Same as in English: papá = dad pah-PAH |
| q | cu | Sound: same as the English sounds for ‘q’ and ‘k’ quiosco = kiosk keeohs-KOH |
| r | erre | Sound: a single ‘r’ is different from a double ‘r’. The first one sounds very similar to the ‘d’ in ‘Adam’ or the ‘t’ in ‘atom’ ‘María’ Mah-dEE-ah A double ‘r’ however is a vibrant sound, a rolling ‘r’, as when you are imitating a motorcycle: vrrroooom! There isn’t a similar sound in English and you have to train your muscles to get it right. ‘cerro’ = hill SEH-rroh |
| s | ese | Same as in English: ‘sal’ = salt SAHL |
| t | te | Sound: ‘T’ as in ‘Tea’ ‘motocicleta’ = motorcycle moh-toh-see-KLEH-tah |
| u | u | Sound: ‘oo’ as in ‘goose’ ‘uva’ = grape OO-bah |
| v | uve or ve corta or ve chica or ve baja | Most of Latin American countries do not differentiate ‘b’ from ‘v’ in terms of pronunciation. Both sound like the ‘b’ in ‘baseball’: ‘vivir’ = to live bee-BEER |
| w | uve doble or doble uve or doble ve or doble u | Same as in English: ‘wifi’ = Wi-Fi |
| x | equis | Same as in English, in words such as ‘exchange’ ‘oxígeno’ = oxygen oh-XEE-heh-noh |
| y | ye or i griega | Sound: ‘J’ as in ‘Junior’ ‘yo’ = I JO |
| z | zeta | Most of Latin American countries do not differentiate ‘z’ from ‘s’ in terms of pronunciation. Both sound like the ‘s’ in ‘muscle’: ‘zapato’ = shoe sah-PAH-toh |