Spanish has 27 letters. Unlike English, each letter has exactly one sound that never changes. Once you learn the sounds, you can read any Spanish word correctly.
Spanish vowels are always short, clear, and pure. They never change their sound based on context — unlike English. Master these 5 sounds and you have the key to Spanish pronunciation.
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | /a/ | like "ah" — mouth wide open, relaxed | casa — house |
| E | /e/ | like "eh" — similar to "bed" but shorter | mesa — table |
| I | /i/ | like "ee" — same as "feet" but short | libro — book |
| O | /o/ | like "oh" — pure, not a diphthong like English | hola — hello |
| U | /u/ | like "oo" — same as "moon" but short | luna — moon |
These are the letters that cause English speakers the most confusion — either they look familiar but sound different, or they don't exist in English at all.
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| H | always silent | The H is completely silent in Spanish — always | hola — hello — "ola" |
| J | /x/ | A guttural sound — like clearing your throat softly | joven — young |
| Ñ | /ɲ/ | Like "ny" in "canyon" | niño — boy |
| LL | /j/ or /ʎ/ | Like "y" in "yes" in most countries | llave — key |
| RR | /r̄/ | A strong rolled R — tongue vibrates against upper palate | perro — dog |
Put your knowledge to the test with these three interactive exercises. Complete each section before moving on!
Section 1 · Listen and Choose the Correct Answer
Click the speaker to hear a letter, then select which letter you heard.
Section 2 · Pronounce the Letter Correctly
For each card: first listen to the correct pronunciation, then practice saying it aloud at slow speed.
Section 3 · Spell the Word
Read the word shown, then click the microphone and spell it out loud letter by letter in Spanish (e.g. for HOLA say: "hache, o, ele, a").
Requires microphone permission. If speech recognition is not available, you can type the letters instead.
When a strong vowel (A, E, O) meets a weak vowel (I, U), or two weak vowels meet, they form a single syllable called a diphthong.
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ai / ay | /ai/ | like "eye" | hay — there is / there are |
| ei / ey | /ei/ | like "hey" | ley — law |
| oi / oy | /oi/ | like "boy" | hoy — today |
| au | /au/ | like "owl" start | auto — car |
| ia | /ia/ | I + A quickly | hacia — towards |
| ie | /je/ | like "yeah" | bien — well / good |
| ua | /wa/ | like "wa" | cuatro — four |
| ue | /we/ | like "weh" | bueno — good |
Spanish stress is very predictable. Learn these 3 rules and you can stress any Spanish word correctly:
- Rule 1 — Ends in N, S, or a vowel: stress the second-to-last syllable. CA-sa · CO-men · CA-sas
- Rule 2 — Ends in any other consonant: stress the last syllable. ha-BLAR · ciu-DAD
- Rule 3 — Written accent (tilde) always wins: ca-FÉ · MÚ-si-ca · ÁR-bol
The written accent mark in Spanish serves three distinct functions:
1. Mark irregular stress
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| música | /ˈmu.si.ka/ | music — 1st syllable despite ending in -a | |
| café | /ka.ˈfe/ | coffee — last syllable despite ending in vowel |
2. Distinguish word pairs (same spelling, different meaning)
el = the (article) | él = he (pronoun)
si = if | sí = yes
se = reflexive pronoun | sé = I know
3. Question words always carry a tilde
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué? | /ke/ | What? | ¿Qué hora es? — What time is it? |
| ¿Cómo? | /ˈko.mo/ | How? | ¿Cómo estás? — How are you? |
| ¿Dónde? | /ˈdon.de/ | Where? | ¿Dónde vives? — Where do you live? |
| ¿Cuándo? | /ˈkwan.do/ | When? | ¿Cuándo llegas? — When do you arrive? |
| ¿Por qué? | /por ke/ | Why? | ¿Por qué estudias español? — Why do you study Spanish? |
Spanish has two R sounds. Getting them right changes meaning entirely:
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| R (single) | tap — tongue briefly touches upper palate once | pero (but), caro (expensive), cara (face) | pero — but |
| RR (double) | trill — tongue vibrates rapidly against palate | perro (dog), carro (car), tierra (land) | perro — dog |
| R at start | trill — same as RR when R begins a word | rosa (rose), rico (rich), río (river) | rosa — rose |
This is the most famous regional pronunciation difference in Spanish:
C before E/I and all Z → /θ/ (like "th" in "think")
C before E/I and Z → /s/ (like "s" in "see")
Both J and G (before E or I) produce the same /x/ sound — a raspy sound from the back of your throat, like a gentle clearing of the throat:
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| J always = /x/ | guttural | jamón, joven, jugar, julio, juego | jamón — ham |
| G + E or I = /x/ | same as J! | gente, gitano, general, girar | gente — people |
| G + A, O, U = /g/ | like English G | gato, gusto, agosto, gol | gato — cat |
In most of the Spanish-speaking world today, LL and Y are pronounced the same due to yeísmo:
LL and Y → /ʃ/ or /ʒ/ (like "sh" or "s in measure")
LL and Y → /j/ (like "y" in "yes")
Practice words:
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | /jo/ | I (subject pronoun) | Yo soy estudiante. — I am a student. |
| llave | /ˈja.βe/ | key | La llave está aquí. — The key is here. |
| lluvia | /ˈju.βja/ | rain | La lluvia es fría. — The rain is cold. |
| mayo | /ˈma.jo/ | May (month) | Mayo es bonito. — May is beautiful. |
Spanish is a syllable-timed language — every syllable takes approximately the same amount of time. English is stress-timed — stressed syllables are longer and unstressed ones are squashed together. This is why Spanish sounds so different from English.
English (stress-timed):
"I WANT to EAT" — stressed syllables take more time
Spanish (syllable-timed):
"quie-ro co-mer" — all four syllables take equal time
In natural Spanish speech, words flow together without pauses. The last sound of a word links to the first sound of the next word:
Spanish intonation is more predictable than English. Here are the main patterns:
Statements → pitch falls at the end
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me llamo Carlos. | My name is Carlos. (falls) | Me llamo Carlos. — pitch falls at end | |
| Soy de Colombia. | I am from Colombia. (falls) | Soy de Colombia. — falls |
Yes/No Questions → pitch rises at the end
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Hablas español? | Do you speak Spanish? (rises) | ¿Hablas español? — rises at end | |
| ¿Eres estudiante? | Are you a student? (rises) | ¿Eres estudiante? — rises |
WH-Questions → peak on question word, then falls
| Spanish | IPA / Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | What is your name? (peak then falls) | ¿Cómo te llamas? — peaks on Cómo |
Listen to and repeat these sentences. Notice how all Module 1 rules apply simultaneously:
H silent · LL=/j/ · natural linking throughout
Tilde on Cómo and estás · rising question intonation · linked
Ñ=/ɲ/ · J=/x/ guttural · tilde on jardín marking stress
Diphthong in veinte · Ñ in años · syllable-timed rhythm
Diphthong in ciudad · linking throughout · even rhythm
Tilde on qué (question word) · linking "por-qué-es-tu-dias"
Use these English-word memory tricks to remember how each Spanish letter sounds. Click any letter to hear it!
Must-Know Rules:
- V and B sound the same in Spanish
- Y sounds like "i" when alone or at the end of a word (e.g., hoy, muy)
- G sounds like J in syllables ge, gi
- You can say doble L or elle for the letter LL
- H is always silent in Spanish
Spanish letters fall into groups based on how they sound. Listen to each group, then practice saying them aloud:
Group 1: B C CH D G E P T V W Y
These letters have an "ee" vowel sound in their name
Group 2: F S L M N Ñ R
These letters have an "eh" vowel sound in their name
Group 3: A K O U Q
These have their own unique vowel sounds
Group 4: The Tricky Ones — H J X Z
These sound very different from English!
Practice spelling these names and cities aloud in Spanish. Click the speaker to hear the word, then try to spell it letter by letter. Click "Show Spelling" to check!
Practice these vowel and diphthong combinations. Listen first, then repeat aloud:
Now try the tricky syllable combinations:
Click on any word to hear its pronunciation. Focus on the specific sound pattern in each group:
QUI / QUE
GI / GE
GA / GUE / GUI / GO / GU
JA / JE / JI / JO / JU
HA / HE / HI / HO / HU
These words end in -able — a common suffix in Spanish. Notice how the stress falls on the same syllable as the base word. Click to listen:
Listen to each word, then practice reading it aloud. Pay special attention to the tricky sounds (GU, QU, H, J, C):
Now put it all together! Listen to each sentence, then read it aloud fluently:
Reading Paragraph — QU Focus
Quique vive en Iquique y sale a la playa casi todos los días con su raqueta y su quita sol. Cuando a Quique le da hambre, saca el queque, las rosquitas y el queso del paquete que le dio su mamá.
The ultimate pronunciation challenge! Listen first at normal speed, then try to say each one. Start slow and build speed:
Cuando cuentes cuentos, cuenta cuantos cuentos cuentas; porque si no cuentas cuantos cuentos cuentas, nunca sabrás cuantos cuentos sabes contar.
Como quieres que te quiera si el que quiero que me quiera no me quiere como quiero que me quiera.
Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril, rápido ruedan los carros cargados de azúcar del ferrocarril.
Click the speaker icon to hear the word, then type what you hear in the box. Press Enter or click "Check" to verify: