The Spanish alphabet
Aug 30, 2021
• 3 minutes
The Spanish alphabet consists of the Latin alphabet (which is the one English uses) plus the letter Ñ (eñe):
A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m N n Ñ ñ O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z
A: /a/
B: /b/
C: /k/, /θ/ or /s/
D: /d/
E: /e/
F: /f/
G: /g/ or /x/
H: Silent!
I: /i/
J: /x/
K: /k/
L: /l/
M: /m/
N: /n/
Ñ: /ɲ/
O: /o/
P: /p/
Q: /k/
S: /s/
T: /t/
U: /u/
V: /b/
W: /w/
X: /ks/ or /s/
Y: /ʝ/ or /i/
Z: /θ/ or /s/
A: a
B: be
C: ce
D: de
E: e
F: efe
G: ge
H: hache
I: i
J: jota
K: ka
L: ele
M: eme
N: ene
Ñ: eñe
O: o
P: pe
Q: cu
R: erre
S: ese
T: te
U: u
V: uve
W: uve doble, doble u
X: equis
Y: i griega, ye
Z: zeta
- The five written vowels (A, E, I, O, U) always correspond with the five phonetic vowels (/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/). In English there are 5 written vowels as well, but there are many more vowel sounds.
- Until the 1990s, the digraphs CH and LL were considered letters (che and elle). They were listed in the alphabet between C and D and between L and M respectively. In most Spanish-speaking territories CH sounds /tʃ/, similar to the English ch in church, and LL sounds /ʝ/, like Y (it used to have its own distinct sound, but it's almost gone). They are no longer considered letters of the alphabet, but many Spanish speakers still think of them as such.
- C behaves differently with A, O, U (where it sounds /k/, just like in English) and E, I. With E, I, it is pronounced /θ/ (like the th in thunder) in central and northern Spain and /s/ everywhere else. To get the /k/ sound with E and I, we have to use Q followed by U: que, qui. Q doesn't have any other use beside this one in Spanish.
- G also behaves differently with A, O, U (where it sounds /g/) and E, I. With E, I, it is in pronounced /x/, which is the famous Spanish guttural sound that doesn't really exist in English. In a lot of places, though, it is softer, and sounds /h/, like the English h in ham. To get the /g/ sound with E and I, we have to put a silent U right after the G: gue, gui.
- H is silent. We just ignore it. The only exception is the H in CH.
- J has the sound /x/ or /h/, depending on the region. It has that sound with all 5 vowels. This is sometimes tricky for English speakers, as the English J is completely different.
- K and W are only used for imported words (like kelvin or wifi).
- Ñ is not N! It has its own sound (/ɲ/).
- When R is at the beginning of a word, in the middle of a word after N, L or S, or in the middle of a word and doubled, it is pronounced /r/, which is the famous Spanish trilled R. In any other case, it has the softer sound /ɾ/.
- S is always pronounced /s/.
- In English, /p/, /t/ and /k/ are aspirated (i.e. followed by a short puff of air) when they occur right before a stressed vowel (for example, those phonemes in the words pot, top, cat are pronounced [ph], [th], [kh], respectively). This never happens in Spanish.
- U is always pronounced /u/, except in the four cases mentioned above (que, qui, gue, gui), in which it's acting as an auxiliary silent letter that accompanies Q or G. To spell words in which we need the U between G and E or between G and I to be pronounced, we have to use a diéresis: güe, güi.
- It might shock you seeing V with the /b/ phoneme. In Spanish, B and V sound the same. That's why sometimes you might hear Spanish speakers mispronounce the English V.
- When it's at the beginning of a word, X is pronounced like an S (/s/). Otherwise, it's pronounced /ks/.
- When it's not at the end of a word, Y generally sounds /ʝ/ (although in Argentina and Uruguay it sounds almost like the English sh). When it's at the end of a word, it sounds /i/.
- Z sounds /θ/ (again, like the th in thunder) in central and northern Spain and /s/ everywhere else. Note both sounds are voiceless (i.e. the vocal cords are not vibrating). The English /z/ sound, which is voiced, does not exist in Spanish. That's why sometimes Spanish speakers will mistakenly pronounce words like cozy or zebra as "cosy" or "sebra."
