Letters and the Alphabet

MP3s:

Spanish Alphabet List

Letter

Name is Spanish

English Pronunciation

A

A

ah

B

BE

B/V

C

CE

S, K

CHE

CHE

Ch

D

DE

D

E

E

Eh

F

EFE

F

G

GE

H, G

H

HACHE

(silent)

I

I

EE

J

JOTA

H

K

KA

K

L

ELE

L

LL

ELLE

Y

M

EME

M

N

ENE

N

Ñ

EÑE

NY

O

O

O

P

PE

P

Q

CU

K

R

ERE

R (short rolling r)

RR

ERRE

RR (longer rolling r)

S

ESE

S

T

TE

T

U

U

Ooh

V

VE

B/V

W

DOBLE U (DOBLE VE)

W

X

EQUIS

KS, H, CH

Y

I GRIEGA

EE, Y

Z

ZETA

S

 

 

Some notes on pronunciation

  • K and W occur only in words foreign origin.
  • H is always silent in Spanish.
  • The letters B and V are identical in sound.
  • When the letter Y comes at the end of a word, it sounds like the Spanish letter I, but between vowels it is identical to the English Y.
  • X can be pronunced like the English ks or like the English h (México). Also in some Indian words it can be pronounced like the English ch.

Vowels

Spanish Vowels do not have the glide that English vowels do. They are "short" and do not drop at the end. Say the word  "play" without saying "play-ee" and you'll get an idea of what the Spanish vowel i sounds like.