A Complete Spanish Pronunciation Guide for Beginners

Welcome to our comprehensive Spanish pronunciation guide! 

The great news for beginners is that Spanish pronunciation is phonetic. In other words, once you know each letter sound, you can tell how to pronounce every word in the Spanish dictionary just by looking at it.

Our ultimate Spanish pronunciation guide for beginners equips you to practice pronouncing the vowels and consonants of the Spanish alphabet—and eventually sound like a native speaker! 

Are you ready to get up close and personal with the sounds associated with the Spanish alphabet in their phonetic form? 

¡Empecemos!

The Alphabet vs Letter Sounds 

Let’s begin with an overview of the 27 letters in the Spanish alphabet. The letter name is how you pronounce the letter when saying the alphabet or spelling out a word. The letter sound, in contrast, is how you pronounce the letter within the context of a word. 

The Spanish Alphabet – El abedecario español

The English and Spanish alphabets both come from Latin script. The only difference between the two is that Spanish has an extra letter: ñ. The similar letter names and sounds of many (though not all) of the letters are helpful for English-speakers who are learning Spanish.

Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Vowel Sounds

Did you know that English vowels have 19 different sounds? Unlike in English, in which each vowel can be spoken in multiple ways, Spanish vowels are always pronounced the same. 

In Spanish, although just five vowel sounds exist, they make up over 80% of the sound you will produce! Essentially, this means that Spanish has just one sound per vowel (5 total). 

This is good news for learners!

Other distinctive features of pronouncing Spanish vowel sounds are that:

• The tongue positions are more extreme compared to English
• Vowel sounds are crisper and shorter in length.

Now, let’s look at how to pronounce each vowel in detail! 

A

To pronounce A in Spanish, imagine you’re at the doctor’s office for a checkup, and she asks you to open wide. You say “ahhh.” This is the sound of the Spanish A. It’s similar to the “a” sound in the English word “spa.

Practice with these words:

• Araña (spider)
• Agua (water)
• Nada (nothing)
• Mala (bad)

E

To pronounce E in Spanish, pretend like you’re saying “hey!” to a friend, but without the “h” sound at the beginning. It’s similar to the “e” sound in the English word “set.”

Practice with these words:

• Elefante (elephant)
• Eso (that)
• Bebé (baby)
• Enero (January)

I

To make the I sound in Spanish, visualize a little kid going down a slide saying “wheee,” but without the “w” sound at the beginning. It’s similar to the “i” sound made by the double “e” in the English word “me.”

Practice with these words:

• Isla (island)
• Iglesia (church) 
• Hijo (son)
• Prisa (rush)

O

To pronounce O in Spanish, listen to any soccer game in Spanish. When a team scores, the commentator bellows, “¡Goooool!” Isolate the vowel and you have the Spanish O. It’s similar to the “o” sound in the word “go.”

Practice with these words:

• Oso (bear)
• Ocho (eight)
• Algo (some)
• Yo (I)

U

Lastly, for the U sound in Spanish, consider the quintessential “tattletale” in elementary school: “Oooo, I’m going to tell on you!” It’s similar to the “u” sound made by the double “o” in the word “boot.”

Practice with these words:

• Uva (grape)
• Única (unique)
• Sus (yours)
• Luna (moon)

Vowel Pairs

Multiple vowel sounds pronounced within the same syllable are called diphthongs. Diptongos in Spanish are easy to pronounce. 

For example, the ai combination sounds something like the English word, “eye.” Practice it by saying aire (air).

When followed by A, E, or U the Spanish I sounds like English “y” in “yellow”: 

• Hierba (“hyer-bah”)
• Bien (“byen”)
• Siete (“see-yet-eh”)
• Gracias (“gra-sy-us”)

When followed by an A, E, I or O, the U, the vowel pair blends together to make a W sound. For example: 

• Fui (“fwi”) 
• Bueno (“bwe-noh”)
• Cuaderno (“kwad-air-noh”)
• Cuerpo (“kwer-poh”)
• Cuota (“kwoh-tah”)

While most vowel sound pairings are diphthongs in Spanish, at other times they’re pronounced individually. Vowels that are pronounced separately have an accent mark. For example:

• Tía (“tee-ah”) 
• Mío (“mee-oh”) 
• Río (“ree-oh”)

As a general rule of thumb, remember to keep your Spanish vowel pairs short and crisp.

Spanish Pronunciation Guide: How to Avoid Common Vowel Mistakes

If you’re seeking precision in your Spanish pronunciation, be sure to avoid the following mistakes.

1. Closing Vowels

The A, O, and E sounds are more open in Spanish than in English. Your tongue is lower and further back in the mouth. Because of this, English speakers tend to close these vowels. Instead, exaggerate the physical openness of your mouth for these vowels. 

2. No Vowel Reduction

Remember, vowel reduction does not occur in Spanish. All Spanish vowels are pronounced the same, whether stressed or unstressed. In all cases, and A is an A no matter which part of the word it occupies. Remember that and you will have a much easier time with your Spanish pronunciation. 

3. Avoid Gliding Vowels

In English, we add an additional vowel at the end of words as we close our mouths. For example, gliding the O into a U as in “hello” (he-lo-u). This does not happen in Spanish. Instead, the vowel sounds are short and sweet. The Spanish U is not pronounced like the “u” in “fuse” or “united.”

Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Consonant Sounds

Spanish and English consonants generally have the same pronunciation—with a handful of exceptions. The following sections detail these differences.

B and V 

V is one of the most confusing letters in the Spanish alphabet, even for native speakers. While we are accustomed to a clear distinction between the B and V in English, these letters are pronounced the same in Spanish! 

Neither the B nor the V are pronounced the same way as they are in English. Instead, they are softer in Spanish. Native speakers achieve this soft sound by touching their lips together for a moment and holding the sound for less time.

As a result, many native speakers will often replace V with B and vice versa. For instance, they may pronounce the word voy (I go) as “boy.” However, this difference is much slighter than it would be in English. If you want to perfect this, try gently biting your lower lip while practicing these words:

• Variedad – variety
• Vaca – cow
• Vida – life
• Viaje – trip

Read more: How to Master B/V Spelling and Pronunciation in Spanish

C

The letter C in Spanish has both a soft and a strong sound. It sounds like a hard K next to the vowels A, O, or U (as in banco and casa). In contrast, the C sounds like a soft S when next to the letter E or I (as in cepillo and cita).

A double consonant exists with the double C in Spanish. When pronouncing words with CC, the first C is pronounced hard like the English “k,” and the second C is soft like the English “s,” as in ficción (“fik-see-ohn”) and accidente (“ak-see-dehn-tay”).

Pro tip: In Castilian Spanish (the dialect in Spain), the soft C sounds like “th” in the English word “thick.” Thus, Spaniards pronounce gracias (thank you) as “gra-theas.”

Read more: Spelling Spanish Words with “C”

G 

The Spanish G also has a soft sound and strong sound. The soft G sounds like the English “h” in words where the G is followed by E or I (for example, gente and girasol). 

The hard G sound is identical to the English sound in words where the G is followed by A, O, or U (like gato, golpe, and laguna).

Read more: Spelling Words in Spanish: Lessons and List with the Letter G

H 

In the Spanish alphabet, one letter is usually silent. The exception is when a C is in front of the H; this gives a ch sound as in churro or Chihuahua. (Note that the other Hs in Chihuahua are silent.)

Nonetheless, the H plays an important role by separating letters in the middle of a word to clearly define the syllables. Use these words to practice the H:

• Hola (hello)
• Honda (wave)
• Hormiga (ant)
• Almohada (pillow)

Read more: Spelling Words in Spanish with the Letter H, Spelling Words in Spanish with CH

J 

Instead of the hard “je” sound found in English, the J is pronounced with a “h” sound. Many of the J words are English-Spanish cognates, such as

• Jaguar (“hag-war”) 
• Junio (“hoo-nee-oh”)
• Jalapeño (“ha-la-pay-nyo”)
• Justicia (“hoos-tee-cee-ah”)

Read more: Spelling Words in Spanish: Lessons and Lists with the Letter J

LL 

While a single L is pronounced like the English L, the LL is pronounced like a Y, SH, or J, depending both on its location in a word and the regional Spanish dialect. Keep in mind that the J sound is the most common pronunciation used, as in amarillo (“ah-mah-ree-jo”).

Ñ 

Ñ is the only unique letter in the two alphabets, and it’s pronounced like a combination of an N and a Y to make the sound “nyah,” as in piñata (“pee-nya-tah”) and mañana (“mah-nya-nah”).

Q 

As in English, the Spanish Q is typically followed by a U. In Spanish, QU is always followed by  E or I, and the U is silent. It is pronounced like the English “k,” as in

• Que (“keh”)
• Queso (“keh-soh”)
• Quien (“kyen”)

R 

As with several Spanish letters we’ve studied so far, two different ways exist to pronounce the R: a soft roll and a hard roll. The soft roll is used in the middle of a word with a single R. The hard roll on all other occasions.

The soft R sound actually exists in US English. You can find it in the word “water,” for instance. In Spanish, we encounter this sound in the middle of a word when there’s a single R between two vowels, between a vowel and a consonant, or at the end of a word. For example: 

• Araña (spider)
• Actriz (actress)
• Sombrero (hat)

On the other hand, an R is trilled when it’s at the beginning of a word, and whenever it appears as a double rr, as in

• Ratón (rat)
• Burro (donkey)
• Arreglar (to fix)
• Roto (broken) 

Read more: Roll With It: Spanish Spelling Words with RR and R

Z 

In general, the Spanish Z is pronounced as a TH in Spain and as an S in Latin America. For example: 

• Zapato (“sah-pah-toh”)
• Zorro (“soh-roh”)
• Pozo (“poh-soh”)
• Zona (“soh-nah”)

Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Count to 10

Now, we can put together everything we’ve learned so far in our Spanish pronunciation guide! Use the list below to practice saying some of the most common Spanish words—the numbers one through 10. You’ll notice that 5 of them contain vowel pairs in bold.

1. Uno (“ooh-noh”)

2. Dos (“dohs”)

3. Tres (“trays”)

4. Cuatro (“kwah-troh”)

5. Cinco (“seen-koh”)

6. Seis (“sayse”)

7. Siete (“see-eh-tay”)

8. Ocho (“oh-choh”)

9. Nueve (“noo-weh-vay”)

10. Diez (“dee-ess”)

Practice Your Spanish Pronunciation!

Of course, to truly refine your pronunciation, you’ll want to immerse yourself in the Spanish language as much as possible by watching Spanish videos and movies, listening to Spanish audiobooks, and talking with native Spanish speakers.  

If you would like to hear exactly how these letters are pronounced—and practice them with a live teacher—try a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy! Our native Spanish-speaking teachers will guide you to excellent Spanish pronunciation quickly and efficiently.

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Michelle Margaret Fajkus

Editor & Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advertising copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Spanish in middle and high school. She has become more fluent thanks to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family on beautiful Lake Atitlan.

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