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Lección 1

Lesson 1. Spanish Alphabet. Pronunciation

Spanish Alphabet

Spanish alphabet consists of 27 letters. *

The names of the letters and their sound correspondences:

Letter Name Sound
A, a a [a]
В, b be [b]
[β]
C, c ce [k]
[θ]
D, d de [d]
E, e e [e]
F, f efe [f]
G, g ge [g]
[h]
H, h hache -
I, i i [i]
[j]
J, j jota [h]
K, k ka [k]
L, l ele [l]
M, m eme [m]
N, n ene [n]
Ñ, ñ eñe [ɲ]
O, o o [o]
P, p pe [p]
Q, q cu [k]
R, r erre [r]
S, s ese [s]
T, t te [t]
U, u u [u]
V, v uve [b]
[β]
W, w uve doble [w]
X, x equis [ks]
[s]
Y, y ye (i griega) [i]
[j]
Z, z zeta, zeda [θ]

Out of the alphabet:

Letters Name Sound
Ch, ch che [ʧ]
ll elle [ʝ]
Rr, rr erre doble [rr]

* You may find alphabet variants of 26 to 30 letters, but they just repeat the alphabet letters while ñ doesn’t repeat anything.

The pronunciation of some words in this self-study course is given in a simplified transcription in square brackets [...].

Pronunciation Rules

Vowels (Vocales)

There are five vowels in Spanish: a, е, i, о, u which are pronounced distinctly. In Spanish, unlike English, there is no reduction or unstressed vowels — all Spanish vowels are pronounced equally, both in stressed and unstressed syllables.

Therefore, you need to learn to pronounce the vowels very clearly, especially the unstressed a, o, e.

a
similar to the sounds in both ‘father’ and ‘mother’ (bold letters).
o
like ‘o’ in ‘know’ but without ‘w’ sound.
e
like ‘e’ in ‘let’, ‘set’.
i
at the beginning
like in the word „if”, for example:
ira [ˈira] anger, rage
i
after vowels
pronounced like the end of the English diphtong ‘a’ [ei] or, in other words, the end of the first English letter (late /leit/):
ruido [ˈruido] noise
i
before vowels
pronounced as the fricative consonant [j] like in the word ‘onion’ ['ʌnjən], например:
tierra [ˈtjera] earth, land
u

as ‘oo’ in the word ‘book’. However, in letter combinations: que, qui; gue, gui — ‘u’ is not pronounced, but if the same combinations include diaeresis (colon) — ü, then u is pronounced, for example:

que is read as [ke] querer [keˈrer] to want
qui [ki] Quito [ˈkito] Quito (the capital of Ecuador)
gue [ge] guerra [ˈgerra] war
gui [gi] guitarra [giˈtarra] guitar
but
güe is read as [gwe] cigüeña [θiˈgweɲa] stork
güi [gwi] pingüino [piŋˈgwino] penguin
y

The Spanish letter ‘y’ is similar to the letter ‘i’ and pronounced as [i] between two consonants, mainly when it is a conjunction, and as the sound [j] when in conjunction with vowels, for example:

pan y carne

[pan i ˈkarne]

bread and meat

ya

[ja]

already

buey

[ˈbwej]

ox

blanco y negro

[ˈblaŋkoj ˈnegro]

white and black

In Spanish, vowels are considered either strong (a, e, o) or weak (i, u).

Diphthongs and triphthongs (diptongos у triptongos)

The combination of two vowel sounds (strong and weak, weak and strong or two weak sounds), and also the combination of three vowel sounds (weak, strong, weak), pronounced as one syllable with one stress, are called diphthongs and triphthongs.

In a diphthong with the vowel u, you need to pronounce every vowel, taking into account that in this letter combination the strong vowel is always under stress (poor vowel:) while the weak vowel u is pronounced briefly, for example: Europa [ewˈropa], auto [ˈawto], bueno [ˈbweno]. The letter combination is pronounced as one syllable: Eu-ropa, au-to, bue-no.

Thus:

combinations:
ai, ei, oi, ia, ie, io
are pronounced as:
[ai] [ei] [oi] [ja] [je] [jo]
For example:
 
dais
coméis
diablo
Diego
piojo
[dais]
[koˈmeis]
[ˈdjaβlo]
[ˈdjego]
[ˈpjoho]
you give
you eat
devil
Diego
louse
combinations:
iai, iei, ioi; uai, uei, uoi
are pronounced as:
[jaj] [jej] [joj] [wai] [wei] [woi]

For example:

 

averiguáis

[aβeriˈgwais]

you find out

 

averigüéis

[aβeriˈgweis]

you to find out

 

limpiáis

[limpˈjais]

you clean

 

limpiéis

[limpˈjeis]

you to clean

The combination of two weak vowels, for example, iu, ui, are pronounced as [ju], [wi] so that the stress falls on the second vowel, for example:

 

viudo

[ˈbjudo]

widower

 

fuíste

[ˈfwiste]

you were

The combination of vowels which has the graphic stress over a weak vowel do not form diphthongs and triphthongs, for example:

 

día

[ˈdi-а]

day

 

sentíais

[senˈti-ajs]

you felt

 

baúl

[ba-ˈul]

trunk

Consonants (consonantes)

b

b = v

The letters b and v are read equally. Each of them has two sound correspondences:


  1. b and v are pronounced as the English [b] (as in „bob”, but less explosive), if they:
    • is used after pauses, such as at the beginning of a sentence or when a word is standing alone and begins with b or v, for example:

       

      boca

      [ˈboka]

      mouth

       

      bastante

      [basˈtante]

      enough

       

      vaca

      [ˈbaka]

      cow

       

      ventana

      [benˈtana]

      window

    • come after m and n, for example:

       

      cambiar

      [kamˈbjar]

      to change

       

      sombra

      [ˈsombra]

      shadow

       

      tranvía

      [tramˈbi-a]

      tram

       

      un vaso

      [umˈbaso]

      a glass

  2. In addition to the above-mentioned combinations, b und v appear in other phonetic combinations and mean another sound, which does not exist in English. In our transcription it will look like this: [β]. It’s a voiced bilabial fricative. It’s similar to the English v (but It’s not the English v!) but your lips should barely touch (or not even touch at all) right before moving on to the next sound of the word.

    When pronouncing this sound, the lips are a bit thown out equally, almost as in pronunciation of [b], as if we try to put out a candle. This way the air jet flows out and by creating friction the sound [β] is produced, the teeth are not participating here, for example:

     

    la vaca

    [laˈβaka]

    the cow

     

    abuela

    [aˈβwela]

    grandmother

     

    la boca

    [laˈβoka]

    the mouth

     

    ave

    [ˈaβe]

    bird

    Don’t forget that the English sound [v] doesn’t exist in standard Spanish.

    The difference between [β] and the Spanish [b]:

    • There should be a gap between your lips when you pronounce [β]; your lips are together when you pronounce [b].
    • The sound [b] ends as soon as you separate your lips; [β] ends as soon as you run out of air :)

c

c before e, i
z always

The consonant c before vowels е, i, and the consonant z are pronounced as the voiceless sound in English denoted by the letter combination th in the word truth. In transcription, it’s [θ].

In some provinces of Spain, for example, in Andalucía, and in most countries of Latin America, it is pronounced as [s].

Both pronunciations are correct.

c
in other
combinations

is pronounced as [k], for example:

 

cuadro

[ˈkwadro]

painting, square

 

color

[koˈlor]

colour

 

Cracovia

[kraˈkoβja]

Cracow (geogr.)

ch

ch

as in English (e.g. chips), is pronounced as [ʧ], for example:
muchacho [muˈʧaʧo] boy.

d

d
at the beginning
or after a pause
and after n, l

is pronounced similarly to the English [d] (but not exactly), for example:

 

donde

[ˈdonde]

where

 

sueldo

[ˈsweldo]

salary

d
in the middle
of the sentence

is pronounced as the English sound [ð] in the letter combination th (e.g. this), for example:

 

abogado

[aβoˈgaðo]

attorney

 

padre

[ˈpaðre]

father

d
at the end
of the word

Depending on the region, the letter d at the end of a word or sentence is pronounced differently (ð, θ, t, r) or even not pronounced at all. [ð] is considered as the correct one while silent d is common in colloquial speech.

 

virtud

[birˈtuð]

virtue

 

Madrid

[maˈðrið]

Madrid

f

f

as English [f].

 

falso

[ˈfalso]

false

 

fino

[ˈfino]

fine

g

g before e, i
j always

is pronounced as the Russian sound [х] or you can just pronounce it like a strong English h, as they do in the south of Spain or in Latin America. However, if you are going to pronounce it as [х], lift your tongue a little bit, just as if you were going to pronounce the letter k, for example:

 

gentil

[xenˈtil]

polite, sweet

 

gitano

[xiˈtano]

Gypsy

 

Juan

[ˈxwan]

Juan

 

ajo

[ˈaxo]

garlic

g before u
and before
a consonant

is pronounced as [g], for example:

 

gusano

[guˈsano]

worm

 

gusto

[ˈgusto]

taste

 

guerra

[ˈgera]

war

 

guitarra

[giˈtara]

guitar

 

cigüeña

[θiˈgweɲa]

stork

 

pingüino

[piŋˈgwino]

penguin

 

gracias

[ˈgraθjas]

thank you

h

h

is not pronounced, for example:

hijo [ˈiho] son

k

k

similar to [k] in English.

In Spanish, k is used for words of foreign origin.

 

kilo

[ˈkilo]

kilo

 

kéfir

[ˈkefir]

kefir

l

l

similar to [l] in English.

 

lápiz

[ˈlapiθ]

pencil

 

julio

[ˈxuljo]

July

ll

ll

similar to the English sound [j] in the word ‘onion’ ['ʌnjən]. It’s [ʝ] in our transcription, for example:

 

calle

[ˈkaʝe]

street

 

ellos

[ˈeʝos]

they

 

silla

[ˈsiʝa]

chair

[ʝ] is the most common pronunciation. There are also 3 other variants: similar to [ʤ], like in the English word ‘jet’ (also common); sounds in the English words: ship, million (rare).

m

m = [m]
at the beginning
or in the middle,
and before b

as English [m], for example:

 

mamá

[maˈma]

mum/mom

 

hombre

[ˈombre]

man

m
at the end
of a word

is like the English sound [ŋ] in the word ‘long’, for example:

 

álbum

[ˈalβuŋ]

album

 

harem

[aˈreŋ]

harem

harem:

n

n
at the beginning

as English [n], for example:

 

nido

[ˈniðo]

nest

 

niño

[ˈniɲo]

child

n
at the end
of a word
and before c [k]

is pronounced as the consonant m at the end of a word [ŋ], for example:

nunca [ˈnuŋka] never


n
before v

is pronounced as m [m], for example:

tranvía [tramˈbi-a] tram

ñ

ñ = [ɲ]

This sound doesn’t exist in English, but it’s not difficult to pronounce. It’s as if you add the letter ‘y’ after ‘n’. Try to say ‘n’ and then ‘yah’. You may hear it in the English word ‘canyon’. It’s [ɲ] in the transcription. For example, the Spanish word niño we read as: [ˈniɲo].

p

p

close to the English p [p]:

papá [paˈpa] dad

q

q

like English q and k [k]. u after q is not pronounced.

r, rr

r, rr

English [r] and Spanish [r] are not the same. Please keep that in mind all the time. There also could be two [rr] at the same time. Let’s listen to the examples:

 

pero

[ˈpeɾo]

but

 

perro

[ˈpero]

dog

It’s difficult to explain this sound. The easiest will be: try using Russian [r] here. No? Straaange... Ok, try focus on English d [d] first. Here is a piece of advice from a forum:

"You can try substituting the English letter ‘d’ for a single r. For example: Pero (Spanish) = Pedo (English). If you say it quickly it begins to take on the character of the Spanish r. I learned this from a friend from Colombia whose name was Miriam. She hated the swallowed ‘r’ that Americans make when they say her name, so she suggested that they call her Medium. Said quickly, that was much closer to the Spanish pronunciation of Miriam."

s

s
im most cases

almost like English s [s].

sino [ˈsino] but; except

s
before a voiced consonant

like soft English z [z]:

mismo [ˈmizmo] same

t

t

like t [t] in English, but not aspirated. This means that you don’t hear the puff of air, like in top and ten.

v

v

Compare: b = v (see ‘b’ above)

x

x
before a consonant

can be either [ks] or [s] (no rule here, sorry), for example:

 

exportar

[eksporˈtar]

to export

 

extraño

[esˈtraɲo]

strange

x
between vowels

usually it's pronounced as [ks], for example:

examen [ekˈsamen] exam

z

z

Compare: c before е, i (see ‘c’ above)

Stress

Spanish words that end with a vowel usually have the penultimate syllable stressed, for example: mesa [ˈmesa], ventana [benˈtana].

Words that end with a consonant, except for n, s, have the last syllable stressed, for example: hablar [aˈβlar], color [koˈlor].

In all other cases, there is the accent mark over a vowel, which shows that the vowel is stressed, for example:

 

papá

[paˈpa]

dad

 

lápiz

[ˈlapiθ]

pencil

 

salón

[saˈlon]

salon, parlor

Note:

The same goes for the plural form of nouns. For example: lápiz pencil and lápices pencils both have the accent mark because there are both pronounced not according to the general rule; while here: salón, salones only salón has the accent mark because it ends with n but has the last syllable stressed (salones has the penultimate syllable stressed because the word ends with s).

In order to differentiate some of the monosyllabic (one syllable) words, the accent mark is placed above them, for example:

 

me

 

mi

my

 

you

 

tu

your

 

mas

but

 

más

more

 

yes

 

si

if

 

él

he

 

el

article

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