Spanish Pronunciation Guide

This is an introductory guide to Spanish pronunciation to get you started saying things in Spanish. Listen to the audios and read the words to learn how to pronounce words in Spanish.

VOCALES / Vowels

A, a: Example - a casa - Like "Ah" when you realize something.

E, e: Example - elefante - Like "Eh" when you didn't hear what was said

I, i: Example - inicial - Like "ee" in English but shorter

O, o: Example - ocho - Like the "o" in "so" but short

U, u: Example - uno -Like the "oo" in "food"

CONSONANTES / Consonants

B, b (be) - ba be bi bo bu -barco, bebida, bolsa, bota

C, c (ce) - ca ce ci co cu -casa, celoso, cita, coco, cuna

Note: with "ce" and "ci" it is a soft c, more like an "s" in English.

CH, ch (che) - cha che chi cho chu - muchacha, cheque, Chile, chocolate, lechuga

D, d (de) - da de di do du - dama, dedo, disco, domingo, duda

F, f (efe) -fa fe fi fo fu -familia, Felipe, física foca fuente

G, g: (ge) -ga ge gi go gu + gue gui -gamma, gel, giro, golf, gusano, Miguel, guitarra

"g" can be either hard or soft - before "e" and "i": "giro" sounds like "hero" in English, "gel" like "hel".

H, h (ache) sin sonido - ha he hi ho hu - habitación, helado, hielo, Holanda, humo

J, j (jota) - ja je ji jo ju - jabón, ajedrez, jirafa, joven, jueves

K, k (ka) - ki - kilo (words with "k" are usually foreign words in Spanish

L, l (ele) - la le li lo lu - largo, lente, libro, lomo, lunes

LL, ll (doble ele) - lla lle lli llo llu - llave, belleza, gallina, caballo, lluvia

M, m (eme) - ma me mi mo mu - mañana, melón, mixto, moto, mujer

N,n (ene) - na ne ni no nu - ene, nadar, negro, nido, nube

Ñ, ñ (eñe) - ña ñe ñi ño ñu - eñe, mañana, muñeca, baño

P, p (pe) - pa pe pi po pu - pe, papa, pelota, pintura, polvo, puerta

Q, q (cu) - qua que qui - cu pasqua, que, quinta

R, r (ere) - ra re ri ro ru - ere, rana, reloj, risa, rosa, rueda

S, s (ese) - sa se si so su - ese, sapo, señor, silla, sopa, sube

T, t (te) - ta te ti to tu - te, tamale, teléfono, tijeras, tomate, rotulo

V, v (ve) - va ve vi vo vu - ve, vaca, venado, vida, volar, vuelo >

W, w (doble ve) - wa we wi - doble ve, sándwich, kiwi

"w" only exists in foreign words that have come into Spanish usage like "sandwích".

X, x (equis) - xa xe xi xo - equis, examen, boxeo, axila

Y, y (ye) - ya ye yo yu - ye, ya, ayer, yo, ayuda

Z, z (zeta) - za zo zu - zeta, zapato, zorro, zulema

Pronunciation - Stressed syllables in Spanish

In Spanish the stress on any word normally falls on the second-to-last syllable. For example "fabricada" where the stress is on the "ca"

If a vowel has an accent mark ("un tilde" in Spanish) then the emphasis in the word falls on that syllable. For example "alegría" where the emphasis is on the last syllable.

Listen to this sentence and see where the emphasis falls on each word either with or without the "tilde": Los profesores son fanáticos de la música antigua.

Vowel combinations in Spanish

ai - baile	ia - lluvia	io - radio	ae - aeropuerto	oa - canoa
au - jaula	ua - agua	iu - viuda	ao - cacao	oe - poema
ei - peine	ie - miel	oi - Zoila	ea - océano	ee - leer
eu - europa	ue - huevo	ui - ruinas	eo - fideo	oo - zoológico

Consonant combinations in Spanish

bro - libro	tro - trofeo	pru - prudencia	dro - Pedro
bre - libre	tre - tren	pro - profesor	dri - golondrina
bru - bruja	tra - trabajo	pra - prado	dra - dragón
bri - brisa	tri - tristeza	pre - premio	dre - madre
bra - brazo	tru - truco	pri - princesa

fri - frito	cro - crónica	gro - negro
fru - fruta	cre - crema	gri - grillo
fro - frotar	cru - cruz	gra - grama
fra - fractura	cri - cristal	gre - tigre
fre - fresa	cra - cráter	gru - grupo

pla - plato	blo - pueblo	clo - cloro	glo - globo	fla - flamenco	tle - atleta
plu - pluma	bla - blanco	cli - clima	gla - jungla	fle - flecha	tla atitlán
plo - plomo	blu - blusa	cla - clavo	glu - gluteo	flo - flor
pli - aplicar	ble - amable	cle - bicicleta	gle - iglesia	ple - simple

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