Step 1 of 4 · Learn Spanish from zero
The Spanish alphabet and pronunciation, letter by letter
Spanish is written the way it sounds. Learn the 27 letters and a handful of rules once, and you can pronounce any word you read — including ones you have never heard.
Recordings for this page are being added. Until then, each description tells you how the sound is made.
Updated 25 September 2026
The 27 letters
Tap a letter to hear its name and see how it sounds in a word. The name is what you say when you spell something out: «se escribe con be» — it is written with a b.
-
A a
A: a
Always «ah», as in father. Short and open — never «ay».
- casa — house
- agua — water
1 / 27 B -
B b
B: be
Sounds exactly like V. Firm at the start of a word; between vowels the lips barely touch.
- boca — mouth
- bebé — baby
-
C c
C: ce
K before a, o, u. Before e and i it is S in Latin America and the th of think in most of Spain.
- café — coffee
- cine — cinema
-
D d
D: de
Tongue against the back of the teeth. Between vowels it softens almost to the th of this.
- dedo — finger
- nada — nothing
-
E e
E: e
«Eh», as in bed. One pure sound, no glide into «ey».
- mesa — table
- leche — milk
-
F f
F: efe
As in English.
- fuego — fire
-
G g
G: ge
Hard, as in go, before a, o, u. Before e and i it becomes the throaty Spanish J. In gue and gui the u is silent.
- gato — cat
- gente — people
- guitarra — guitar
-
H h
H: hache
Always silent. Only CH makes a sound — the ch of church.
- hola — hello
- chico — boy
-
I i
I: i
«Ee», as in see — but short.
- sí — yes
- vino — wine
-
J j
J: jota
A breathy sound from the back of the throat, like a strong English h. Rougher in Spain, softer in the Caribbean.
- jamón — ham
- ojo — eye
-
K k
K: ka
Only in borrowed words. Sounds like English k.
- kilo — kilo
-
L l
L: ele
A clear, light L everywhere. The pair LL is a different sound — see the tricky sounds below.
- luna — moon
- calle — street
-
M m
M: eme
As in English.
- mano — hand
-
N n
N: ene
As in English.
- noche — night
-
Ñ ñ
Ñ: eñe
The ny of canyon. It is its own letter, not an N with decoration — it changes the word.
- niño — child
- mañana — tomorrow
-
O o
O: o
«Oh», short and round. Never the «ow» of English go.
- todo — everything
-
P p
P: pe
Like English p without the puff of air after it.
- papá — dad
-
Q q
Q: cu
Always written QU, always a K sound. The u is silent: que sounds like «keh».
- queso — cheese
-
R r
R: erre
Between vowels, one quick tap — the tt of American better. At the start of a word, and written RR, a rolled trill.
- pero — but
- rosa — rose
-
S s
S: ese
Always a hissing S, never the buzz of English z. In parts of Spain and the Caribbean it softens at the end of a syllable.
- sol — sun
- vaso — glass
-
T t
T: te
Tongue against the teeth, no puff of air.
- tomate — tomato
-
U u
U: u
«Oo», as in food. Silent after q, and after g before e and i.
- uno — one
-
V v
V: uve
The same sound as B. Spanish has no separate lip-and-teeth v.
- vivir — to live
-
W w
W: uve doble
Only in borrowed words, usually like English w.
- wifi — wi-fi
-
X x
X: equis
Usually ks. In México and a few old names it is the throaty J.
- taxi — taxi
- México — Mexico
-
Y y
Y: ye
The y of yes, like LL. Standing alone — y, «and» — it is the vowel «ee».
- yo — I
- playa — beach
-
Z z
Z: zeta
S in Latin America, the th of think in most of Spain. Never the buzz of English z.
- zapato — shoe
- luz — light
Y 27 / 27
CH and LL are no longer separate letters (since the Real Academia Española's 2010 spelling rules), but each is still one sound: chico, calle.
Five vowels, and they never change
English has around a dozen vowel sounds and spells them in dozens of ways. Spanish has five, and each letter always makes the same one — stressed or not, at the start of a word or the end.
a · e · i · o · u ah · eh · ee · oh · oo — short, and no glide at the end
The sounds English speakers get wrong
R and RR: the tap and the trill
One R between vowels is a single flick of the tongue — say «butter» fast in an American accent and you have it. RR, and any R at the start of a word or after n, l, s, is a trill. If you cannot roll it yet, a strong tap is understood everywhere; getting the pair wrong is what changes meaning.
- pero — but
- perro — dog
- rosa — rose
- Enrique — Henry
Five vowels, one sound each
English vowels slide (the o in go is really «oh-oo»). Spanish vowels do not move: a, e, i, o, u, each short and pure, stressed or not. Getting only this right makes you sound more natural than any other single change.
- mesa — table
- todo — everything
- uno — one
B and V sound the same
Native speakers ask «¿con be o con uve?» when spelling, because they cannot hear the difference either. At the start of a phrase and after m or n it is a firm b; between vowels the lips almost meet but do not close.
- vaso — glass
- boca — mouth
- bebé — baby
J, and G before E or I
The same throaty sound: breathe out hard from the back of your mouth. Gente and jefe start with it; gato and guitarra do not.
- jamón — ham
- gente — people
- gato — cat
LL and Y
In most of the Spanish-speaking world LL and Y are the same sound, the y of yes, a little stronger. In Argentina and Uruguay both become sh or the s of measure — you will hear it in every Argentine song.
- calle — street
- yo — I
- playa — beach
C, Z and the Spain question
In Latin America ce, ci and z are all S. In most of Spain they are the th of think — cerveza is «thervetha». Both are correct. Pick the one your favourite music or teacher uses and be consistent.
- cerveza — beer
- cerveza — beer, as said in most of Spain
- zapato — shoe
H is silent, always
Hola is «ola», hacer is «acer», ahora is «a-ora». The only exception is the pair CH, which sounds like church.
- hola — hello
- ahora — now
The soft D
Between vowels and at the end of a word, D is so soft it nearly disappears — nada sounds close to «natha», and in casual speech cansado becomes «cansao».
- nada — nothing
- ciudad — city
Hear the difference
One sound — or one stress — apart, and a different word. These are the pairs worth saying aloud until they feel different in your mouth.
- R or RR pero — but perro — dog
- R or RR caro — expensive carro — car
- N or Ñ pena — sorrow peña — group of friends
- Where the stress falls papa — potato papá — dad
- Where the stress falls esta — this está — he, she is
- Where the stress falls hablo — I speak habló — he, she spoke
Where the stress falls
Every Spanish word has one stressed syllable, and three rules tell you which one. You never have to guess: if a word breaks the rules, it carries a written accent to say so.
-
1.Ends in a vowel, n or s → stress the second-to-last syllable.
- casa CA-sa
- hablan HA-blan
- amigos a-MI-gos
-
2.Ends in any other consonant → stress the last syllable.
- hablar ha-BLAR
- ciudad ciu-DAD
- español es-pa-ÑOL
-
3.A written accent (´) breaks both rules — stress goes where the accent is.
- café ca-FÉ
- canción can-CIÓN
- música MÚ-si-ca
The accent also tells apart words that are otherwise spelled the same: tú (you) and tu (your), sí (yes) and si (if). Question words always carry one: ¿qué?, ¿dónde?, ¿cómo?
Your first sentences to say out loud
Put the sounds together. Listen, repeat, and repeat again — out loud, not in your head.
- Hola, ¿qué tal? — Hi, how's it going?
- Me llamo Ana. ¿Y tú? — My name is Ana. And you?
- Estoy aprendiendo español. — I'm learning Spanish.
- No entiendo. — I don't understand.
- ¿Puedes hablar más despacio, por favor? — Can you speak more slowly, please?
- ¿Puedes repetir? — Can you say that again?
More of these, and what to do with them, in how to start speaking.
How to practise pronunciation
- Shadow. Play a short recording, then say it at the same time as the speaker, matching the rhythm. Songs work well for this — the melody holds the rhythm for you.
- Record yourself. Your phone's voice recorder and one sentence a day. You will hear things you cannot hear while speaking.
- Look words up by ear. Forvo has native speakers saying single words; YouGlish finds a word inside real YouTube videos.
- Slow down before you speed up. Clear and slow beats fast and blurred, every time.
Questions about Spanish pronunciation
- How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?
- Twenty-seven: the 26 letters of English plus ñ. Since 2010 the Real Academia Española no longer counts ch and ll as separate letters, although they are still pronounced as single sounds.
- Is Spanish pronunciation hard for English speakers?
- It is one of the easier parts of Spanish. Words are pronounced the way they are written, and there are only five vowel sounds. The usual trouble spots are the vowels (English speakers make them glide), the single and double r, the j sound, and remembering that h is silent.
- Do I need to roll my Rs?
- Eventually, for words written with rr or starting with r. Until you can, a strong single tap is understood everywhere. What matters more is not mixing the two: pero means but, perro means dog.
- Should I learn the accent from Spain or Latin America?
- Either is correct. The biggest difference is ce, ci and z: an s sound in Latin America, the th of think in most of Spain. Choose the accent you hear most and stay consistent.