alphabet Flashcards
a
Letter Name - ah
Letter Pronounced - ah
A de Alicante (City in Spain)
Close to “ah.” This sound does not exist exactly in English, but a close approximation can be found by saying “my” omitting the last “ee” sound.
b
Letter Name - beh
Letter Pronounced - beh
B de Bilbao (City in Spain)
After a pause or the letters l, m, or n, it sounds much like an English b. However, in all other cases, the lips do not even touch, producing a more whisper like sound almost close to the pronunciation of the letter v.
c
Letter Name - ceh
Letter Pronounced - k
C de Cádiz (City in Spain)
Sounds like k in most cases. Before e or i, it sounds like an s (or th (thick) in many parts of Spain).
ch
Letter Name - cheh
Letter Pronounced - ch
CH de Chocolate (Chocolate)
Sounds like the ch in “cheese” in English.
d
Letter Name - deh
Letter Pronounced - d
D de Dinamarca (Denmark)
After a pause or the letters l, m, or n, it sounds much like an English d except you should place your tongue to your upper teeth instead of the roof of your mouth. However, in all other cases, the tongue touches nothing, creating a whispery th sound like “the”.
e
Letter Name - eh
Letter Pronounced - eh
E de España (Spain)
Close to “eh.” This sound does not exist exactly in English, but sounds much like the a in mate.
f
Letter Name - effe
Letter Pronounced - f
F de Francia (France)
Sounds like the f in English.
g
Letter Name - ge
Letter Pronounced - g / h
G de Girona (City in Spain)
After a pause, or the letters l, m, or n, it sounds much like an English g. Before e or i, it sounds like a harsh h (much like the Spanish j).
h
Letter Name - hache
Letter Pronounced - silent
H de Huelva (City in Spain)
In general, this sound is silent. However, words with foreign spelling and no Spanish equivalent, the breathy aspiration is maintained: Hawái, Hollywood, etc. * Many newly introduced words are written in italics to highlight their foreign origin (hámster, hip-hop, etc.).
i
Letter Name - i
Letter Pronounced - ee
I de Italia (Italy)
Close to “ee”, but short. Before vowels a, e, and o, it forms a y sound.
j
Letter Name - jota
Letter Pronounced - h
J de Jaén (City in Spain)
Close to the English h sound, but it varies from country to country. In some places, the sound is very harsh in the back of the throat (like you are trying to spit something up). It never sounds like the English J.
k
Letter Name - kah
Letter Pronounced - k
K de Kilo (Kilo)
Uncommon in Spanish, but sounds much like the English k with less breath.
l
Letter Name - ele
Letter Pronounced - l
L de Lugo (City in Spain)
Close to the English l, but with the tongue raised closer to the roof of the mouth rather than dipped down
ll
Letter Name - elle
Letter Pronounced - y
LL de Llamar (Call)
While this is not considered a letter anymore by the RAE, it has a distinct y sound (like in use) in most countries. In other countries it can sound like the g in genre.
m
Letter Name - eme
Letter Pronounced - m
M de Madrid (City in Spain)
Just like the English m.
n
Letter Name - ene
Letter Pronounced - n
N de Navarra (Province in Spain)
Just like the English n.
ñ
Letter Name - eñe
Letter Pronounced - ni / ny
Ñ de Ñoño (Geek)
A completely separate letter from the n, it sounds much like the ni combination in onion or the ny combination in canyon.
o
Letter Name - oh
Letter Pronounced - oh
O de Oviedo (City in Spain)
Close to “oh” as in so, but shorter.
p
Letter Name - peh
Letter Pronounced - p
P de Portugal (Portugal)
Close to the English, but with less breath aspirated
q
Letter Name - koo
Letter Pronounced - koo
Q de Queso (Cheese)
Always followed by the letter u, it makes the same sound as the letter k
r
Letter Name - ere
Letter Pronounced - d
R de Roma (Rome) RR de Borracho (Drunk)
Similar to the d sound in caddy in most cases. When following a pause or the letters l, n, or s or in the combination rr, it has a trilled sound. * To trill the rr, try to say brr, but instead of using your lips, use your tongue. When you exhale, the tongue should be raised and widened so it touches the upper teeth.
s
Letter Name - ese
Letter Pronounced - s
S de Sevilla (City in Spain)
Just like the English s.
t
Letter Name - te
Letter Pronounced - t
T de Toledo (Spanish Municipality)
Softer than the English t, the tongue touches the teeth and there is no explosion of breath after moving the tongue away.
u
Letter Name - u
Letter Pronounced - oo
U de Único (Sole)
Close to the “oo” in food, but shorter.
v
Letter Name - uve
Letter Pronounced - beh
V de Valencia (City in Spain)
Much like the Spanish b where the lips do not touch and there is less aspiration.
w
Letter Name - uve doble
Letter Pronounced - w
W de Doble Uve (Name of letter)
Not native to Spanish, but with the same pronunciation as the English w.
x
Letter Name - equis
Letter Pronounced - j
X de equis (Name of letter)
Between vowels and at the end of a word, it sounds like the English ks. At the beginning of a word, it sounds like the letter s. * Not too long ago, the x sounded more like the letter j which can still be seen in words such as Mexico and Oaxaca.
y
Letter Name - y griega
Letter Pronounced - y / I
Y de Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia)
Most of the time, it sounds like the English y in yes. At the end of a word, it functions as a vowel and sounds like the letter i. * Many books in Spain will say the sound is different from the ll, but the difference is small and you will be understood pronouncing both as y
z
Letter Name - zeta
Letter Pronounced - th / s
Z de Zaragoza (City in Spain)
Mostly pronounced like the English s, but can sound like the th in thin in many parts of Spain.
