7 Easy-to-Fix Pronunciation Mistakes Spanish Learners Make
Perhaps you’ve been studying Spanish for some time, and yet the moment you open your mouth to say something, it’s clear that you’re a native English speaker.
Don’t worry! This is due to some easy-to-fix pronunciation mistakes. Most people start studying a language by focusing on grammar and vocabulary, leaving pronunciation on the back burner.
And as long as you’re understandable, perfectly mimicking native speakers isn’t essential.
However, if you’re serious about your language goals—and you want to mix with the locals on your travels to Spanish-speaking countries—it’s key to work on your pronunciation.
Recognizing the mistakes that you’re prone to make is essential.
Keep reading to discover the seven common pronunciation errors you likely make and learn how to correct them. I’ll show you how to avoid funny and embarrassing mistakes in an easy-to-understand way, with minimal linguistic lingo.
Table of Contents:
- Letter R Pronunciation Mistakes
- Letter H Pronunciation Mistakes
- Letter P Pronunciation Mistakes
- Letter D Pronunciation Mistakes
- Letter G Pronunciation Mistakes
- Letter Y Pronunciation Mistakes
- LL Pronunciation Mistakes
- Practice Spanish Pronunciation in Real Conversation
1. Letter R Pronunciation Mistakes
Some people call the letter r the Mount Everest of Spanish pronunciation.
Just like climbing the highest mountain in the world, you can do it with sufficient preparation and assistance.
Why is the letter r a problem for English speakers? Because there are two ways of pronouncing it and none of them exist in English. Let me explain.
In English, when you pronounce words with r, the tip of your tongue doesn’t touch your gums or teeth. (Try saying “rose” and “sorry.”)
Because there is no phonetic stoppage, just a smooth transition of sounds, linguists call this r a “liquid r.”
In Spanish, the letter r is never liquid. It has two possible pronunciations:
- Single or soft r
- Trilled r
Single R
The single r in Spanish sounds like the /d/ or /dd/ or /tt/ sound in English.
Pro Tip:
1. Try saying “butter” in English.
2. Now, try saying the following words:
- caro – expensive
- pero – but
- toro – bull
Listen to the audio:
Trilled R
The trilled r occurs when two Rs meet in a Spanish word, like in perro (dog), or when r starts a word, such as rosa (rose).
Pro Tip:
1. Do some exercises first. Flutter your lips. Feel the vibration and notice the flow of air.
2. Close your eyes and move your tongue inside your mouth feeling your palate. It’s soft in the back and hard in front, behind your teeth. Can you feel the ridge behind your teeth? This is where you should place your tongue.
3. Try to imitate the machine gun firing /du-du-du-du-du/. Make sure the air flows out of your mouth passing through the tip of your tongue.
4. Practice rolling your r with Spanish words:
carro – car
perro – dog
burro – donkey
zorro – fox
Listen to the audio:
Practice with the following tongue twister:
Ruidosos truenos rodaban por una rocosa región, las rocas cayeron al río, el río se arremolinó.
Noisy thunder rolled across a rocky region, rocks fell into the river, the river swirled.
Now you know the difference between the pronunciation of pero and perro!
Listen to this kid’s song in Spanish for more practice:
RR – R Con R Guitarra, Canción Infantil – Mundo Canticuentos.
Hand-picked for you: How To Pronounce R and RR in Spanish
2. Letter H Pronunciation Mistakes
Do you say hola in Spanish like you say “hotel” in English?
This is one of the easiest Spanish pronunciation mistakes to fix.
In Spanish, you don’t pronounce the letter h. To pronounce hola (hello) or albahaca (basil) in Spanish, cross out the h and try saying /ola/ and /alba-aka/
There are few words in Spanish in which you pronounce the letter H, and they’re all borrowed from other languages. For example: hamster and hockey.
Practice:
- hacer – to do, to make
- hambre – hunger
- hormiga – ant
- Honduras
Listen to the audio:
Hand-picked for you: Spelling Words in Spanish with the Letter H
3. Letter P Pronunciation Mistakes
English speakers tend to exaggerate the letter p in Spanish. Why? Because in English the initial p is always aspirated.
For example, to say “Peter Piper,” you close the lips to prevent the air from leaving your mouth. Then you open your lips and the air flows out, producing the English “p.”
In Spanish, the letter p is never aspirated. You pronounce it as you do with the letter “p” at the end of English words: cap, sip, top.
Pro tip: Switch the Spanish p to a b and say the word to get closer to the native pronunciation. Instead of saying paloma (dove) try saying “baloma.”
Practice:
- pino – pine
- pozo – well
- pluma – feather
- pan – bread
Listen to the audio:
Tongue twister:
Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico, con un pico pica papas Pepe Pecas.
Pepe Pecas bites potatoes with a pick, with a pick Pepe Pecas bites potatoes.
4. Letter D Pronunciation Mistakes
English speakers often have problems pronouncing the Spanish letter d between two vowels.
When the d in Spanish appears in this position, like in the word hada (fairy), it’s pronounced [ð]—similar to how the voiced “th” sounds in English words “they” and “gather”—and not like the “d” in “drill.”
So, in the word donde (where), you should pronounce the d in two different ways. The first d is like the English “d,” and the second one is like the English “th.”
Practice:
- radio – radio
- sentado – sitting
- Navidad – Christmas
- Madrid
Listen to the audio:
Tongue twister:
Doroteo dora las adorables doraditas que Dora bailadora adora.
Doroteo gilds the lovely doraditas that dancing Dora adores.
5. Letter G Pronunciation Mistakes
The g in Spanish is not too complicated, but you can pronounce it in three ways. The main mistake English speakers make with this letter is pronouncing it in all cases like the English g in “game.”
Consider the following words:
- geografía (geography) /xeoɣɾaˈfia/
- gas (gas) /ˈɡas/
- agua (water) /ˈaɣwa/
Listen to the audio:
Notice that only in the word gas is the letter g pronounced like the English “g.” In the word geografía, the first g is pronounced like the English “h,” and the second g is pronounced like /ɣ/, as if you had some hair stuck to your palate and you were trying to remove it with your tongue. The same thing happens in the word agua.
So, at the beginning of a word spoken in isolation, pronounced after a pause, or after a nasal consonant, you’ll hear and pronounce a [g]. Like in the English word “great.”
You’ll pronounce it the same way if it appears in combination with a u, which is silent in this case. For example: guerra (war).
Between two vowels, it is always a [γ]. Remember, move your tongue away from the palate, as if you wanted to remove something from there. For example: lago (lake).
When the g is followed by an e or an i, it usually has the same sound as the letter “h” in English. For example: genio (genius).
Practice:
- gato – cat
- lago – lake
- grapa – staple
- Gerardo
Listen to the audio:
Tongue twisters:
Guillermo Gutiérrez, antiguo guerrero, entrega gallinas gordas y galanas. Son gangas, son galas que luego en el fuego gotearán su grasa graznando de gozo.
Guillermo Gutiérrez, an ancient warrior, delivers fat and gallant hens. They are bargains, they are roosters that later in the fire will drip their fat, squawking with joy.
Imaginando lo imaginable, Gema imaginaba una imagen de su imaginación.
Imagining the imaginable, Gema imagined a picture of her imagination.
See also: Pronunciation of vowels and letters C and G
6. Letter Y Pronunciation Mistakes
The y in Spanish doesn’t sound like the letter “y” in “yellow.”
If the Spanish y appears between two vowels like in the word ayer (yesterday), you should pronounce it more like the “j” in “jeans” without crushing your tongue against the palate.
If it appears at the end of the word after a vowel, it will form a diphthong or triphthong working as i vowel, like in rey (king).
Practice:
- yoyo – yo-yo
- vaya – go, subjunctive
- ayer – yesterday
- buey – ox
Listen to the audio:
Tongue twister:
De Troya a Camboya hay hoy embrollo de hoyos y arroyos.
From Troy to Cambodia today there is a tangle of pits and streams.
7. LL Pronunciation Mistakes
Do you pronounce Spanish tortilla rolling your “L”?
This is an error, as the letter pair ll is never pronounced like the letter l appearing individually.
In the past, it used to be a separate letter, but now it’s a letter combination. Pronounce it more like the sound “y” in “yes.”
Practice:
- lluvia – rain
- olla – pot
- calle – street
- silla – chair
Listen to the audio:
Tongue twister:
Lleva la llave, la llave lleva; lleva al llavero, lleno de llaves que llevan llanto al valle, al llano y a la llanura para el llanero que llora llamas por su llanera que llegó con lluvia y se fue con ella.
It carries the key, the key carries; it carries the key ring, full of keys that carry tears to the valley, to the plain and to the plains for the ranger who cries flames for his plain that came with rain and left with her.
Practice Spanish Pronunciation in Real Conversation
Now that you know what pronunciation mistakes to avoid, the only thing left is to practice.
Dedicate a part of your study time to pronunciation exercises. Practice with the audio included in this article and memorize the tongue twisters. You will not only impress your friends, but also take huge steps toward native-like pronunciation.
If you want to know more about Spanish pronunciation, check out World’s Most Complete Spanish Pronunciation Guide [with Example Audio] and An Expert Guide to Spanish Allophones and Phonemes.
If your reading comprehension skills in Spanish are on a higher level, learn more about Spanish pronunciation in Ortografía de la Lengua Española (spelling in the Spanish language) by the Royal Spanish Academy or in this guide by Spanish philologist Tomás Navarro Tomás.
Great pronunciation is crucial if you seek a bilingual job such as interpreter or bilingual teacher. These two are among the top five fastest-growing occupations according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with opportunities expected to increase.
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