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Lesson 1 - Saludos (Greetings)
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This page: Learn how to pronounce words in Spanish.

 

Spanish Pronunciation

Learn how to pronounce Spanish words in this pronunciation guide. We'll go over all of the vowel sounds (a, e, i, o and u), the consonant sounds that are different from English (c, g, h, j, ñ, qu, r, v, and z) and the double consonant sounds (cc, ll and rr). You'll also learn how to know which syllable should be stressed when pronouncing a word.

Printable pdf guide of this page


Spanish Vowels

Pronunciation of A in Spanish

The letter A is pronounced "ah," like the sound of the A in the word "father" in English. Practice pronouncing these words with the letter A. Click on the words below to hear the pronunciation.

Pronunciation of E in Spanish

The letter E is pronounced "eh," like the sound of the E in the word "get" in English.

Pronunciation of I in Spanish

The letter I is pronounced "ee," like the vowel sound in the word "see" in English.

Pronunciation of O in Spanish

The letter O is pronounced "oh," like the sound of the O in the word "toe" in English.

Pronunciation of U in Spanish

The letter U is pronounced "oo," like the vowel sound in the word "moon" in English.


Spanish Consonants

Some consonants are pronounced the same or virtually the same in Spanish as in English. In this guide we will focus on sounds that are different in Spanish. These include c, g, h, j, ñ, qu, r, v, and z.

Pronunciation of C in Spanish

The letter C is pronounced like a K before letters A, O and U.

The letter C is pronounced like an S before letters E and I (or like a TH in Spain)

Pronunciation of G in Spanish

The letter G is pronounced with a hard G sound before letters A, O and U.

The letter G is pronounced like an H before letters E and I.

When the letter G is followed by a U and then an E or I ("gue" or "gui"), the GU combination is pronounced like a hard G. Basically the U is just forcing a hard G sound in a word that would otherwise have the H sound.

A "gue" or "gui" combination in which the letter U must be pronounced is indicated with two dots above the letter U (called a diaeresis).

Pronunciation of H in Spanish

The letter H is silent in Spanish.

Pronunciation of J in Spanish

The letter J is pronounced like an H.

Pronunciation of Ñ in Spanish

The Ñ is pronounced like a combination of N and Y like in the word "canyon" in English.

Pronunciation of QU in Spanish

The QU combination is pronounced like a K.

Pronunciation of R in Spanish

The R is rolled in Spanish. It often sounds like a simple flap of the tongue.

Pronunciation of V in Spanish

The letter V is pronounced like the letter B.

Pronunciation of Y in Spanish

The letter Y is pronounced like the letter Y in English in most cases. When Y is at the end of a word, however, it sounds like "ee."

Pronunciation of Z in Spanish

The letter Z is pronounced like the letter S (or like a TH in Spain).


Double Letters

There are a few double letter combinations that can be tricky in Spanish.

Pronunciation of CC in Spanish

The CC combination is pronounced like KS (or KTH in Spain).

Pronunciation of LL in Spanish

The LL combination is pronounced like a letter Y or a very soft J sound.

Pronunciation of RR in Spanish

The RR combination indicates a longer rolled R sound.

 

To summarize . . .

What are the basic pronunciation rules in Spanish?

  • A = ah
  • E = eh
  • I = ee
  • O = oh
  • U = oo
  • C = K before A, O or U
  • C = S before E or I (or TH in Spain)
  • G = hard G before A, O or U
  • G = H before E or I
  • GU = hard G before E or I
  • GÜ = hard G and then oo sound (like "goo")
  • H = silent
  • J = H
  • Ñ = ny (as in "canyon")
  • QU = K
  • R = rolled (or flap of the tongue)
  • V = B
  • Y = same as Y in English in most cases; When at the end of a word, it sounds like "ee."
  • Z = S
  • CC = KS (KTH in Spain)
  • LL = Y (or soft J sound)
  • RR = long rolled R

 


Stress and Accents

Words that end in vowel or N or S

The stress in words that end in a vowel or the consonants N or S naturally falls on the second to the last syllable. Click to hear the pronunciation of the following words. The stressed syllable is indicated in bold.

Words that end in a consonant other than N or S

The stress in words that end a consonant other than N or S naturally falls on the last syllable.

Words with accents

If a word doesn't follow the two pronunciation rules above, an accent above the vowel indicates the stress syllable.

Note: Some words have an accent to differentiate them from another word that is spelled the same. For example, question words have an accent to differentiate them from the relative pronoun (¿Quién? vs. quien). Some homonyms have accents to differentiate them from other words (el vs. él)

 


Practice

Section 1
Click on the syllable of the word that you think should be stressed based on the rules you learned for "Stress and Accents" above. Then click "Listen" to hear the pronunciation of the word. Listen for which syllable sounds stronger (stressed).

1.  casa     Click on the syllable that is stressed (one of the buttons below). Then you can click on "Listen" to hear the word.

     

    ► Listen

 

2.  hotel

     

    ► Listen

 

3.  ventana

     

    ► Listen

 

4.  hablar

     

    ► Listen

 

5.  túnel

     

    ► Listen

 

Section 2
Use the pronunciation rules that you learned on this page to pronounce the following words. After you try to pronounce it, click on "Listen" to hear the pronunciation.

 1.   cocer   (to cook)    ► Listen     

 2.   papel   (paper)    ► Listen     

 3.   olla   (cooking pot)    ► Listen     

 4.   jardín   (garden)    ► Listen     

 5.   hospital   (hospital)    ► Listen     

 6.   tijeras   (scissors)    ► Listen     

 7.   niña   (girl)    ► Listen     

 8.   teléfono   (telephone)    ► Listen     

 9.   volar   (fly)    ► Listen     

10.   zona   (zone)    ► Listen     

11.   quince   (fifteen)    ► Listen     

12.   goma   (rubber, pencil eraser)    ► Listen     

13.   gente   (people)    ► Listen     

14.   carro   (car)    ► Listen     

15.   acción   (action)    ► Listen     

 


More Practice

Print out the Pronunciation Guide pdf. Try pronouncing some words from the 1000 Most Common Words list.

 

Next
Greetings in Spanish

 

Lesson 1 - Saludos (Greetings)
Alphabet - Pronunciation - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz

 

 

 

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