The Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation, Sound by Sound

An English speaker reads the word gente and says "GEN-tay" with a hard g, the way "get" starts. But in Spanish, g before e or i is a harsh sound from the back of the throat, so gente comes out closer to "HEN-teh." A few letters change sound depending on what follows them, and once you know which ones, Spanish spelling becomes almost perfectly predictable.

The short version: Spanish has 27 letters — the English 26 plus ñ. The five vowels are pure and never blur into a schwa, which is the single biggest thing English speakers get wrong. A handful of consonants shift by context (c, g), one region splits c/z into a "th" sound while the rest say "s," and r versus rr is a tap versus a full trill. Master those and you can pronounce almost any word on sight.

The alphabet, letter by letter

Here is every letter with its Spanish name and a note on how it sounds.

The five pure vowels

This is the most important section. Each Spanish vowel has exactly one sound, and it keeps that sound in every position — stressed, unstressed, beginning, or end. English constantly reduces unstressed vowels to a lazy "uh" (the schwa in "banana"), and carrying that habit into Spanish is the number-one accent giveaway.

Say banana in Spanish and all three a's are the crisp "ah" — never the mush of the English version. Keep every vowel short, tense, and equal.

The two sounds of c and the c/z split

The letter c changes with the vowel that follows it. Before e or i it is soft; before a, o, u it is a hard "k."

Here is the honest regional truth: in most of Spain, c (before e/i) and z are pronounced like the "th" in "think" — this is called distinción. In Latin America and southern Spain, the same letters sound like "s" — this is seseo. Both are fully correct standard Spanish; pick the one that matches the accent you are learning. Cinco is "THIN-koh" in Madrid and "SIN-koh" in Mexico City, and everyone understands both.

The two sounds of g, plus gu and gü

Like c, the letter g depends on the following vowel, and Spanish uses a silent u to keep the hard sound before e and i.

Those two dots over the u (ü, called diéresis) are the signal that the u is not silent after all — you actually say the "w" in pingüino.

The consonants that trip English speakers

A few remaining letters behave in ways that surprise learners. Work through these and you will have covered nearly every pronunciation trap in the language.

• Silent h: the h is never pronounced. Hola is "OH-lah," hora is "OH-rah."
• j: a harsh sound from the back of the throat, like a strongly aspirated "h." Jamón, José.
• ll and yeísmo: most speakers pronounce ll like the English "y." Llave sounds like "YAH-veh," calle like "KAH-yeh." This merging of ll and y is called yeísmo and is now the majority pronunciation.
• ñ: a distinct letter, pronounced "ny." Niño ("NEE-nyoh"), año ("AH-nyoh"). Note that año ("year") and ano ("anus") are entirely different words, so the tilde matters.
• qu: always "k," with a silent u. Queso ("KEH-soh"), quinto.
• v = b: Spanish makes no difference between them; both are a soft bilabial sound. Vaca and baca sound identical.
• y: a "y" consonant in yo and ya, but pure "ee" when it stands alone as the word y ("and") or ends a word like hoy.

r versus rr: tap and trill

Spanish has two distinct r-sounds, and mixing them up can change a word's meaning. A single r between vowels is a quick tap — one flick of the tongue, close to the middle "d" sound in the American "ladder." A double rr, and any r at the start of a word, is a full rolled trill.

Digraphs, ñ, and stress

Spanish has three two-letter combinations that spell single sounds: ch (as in chico), ll, and rr. These are digraphs, not separate letters of the alphabet. The truly separate extra letter is ñ, which has its own place in the dictionary right after n.

Stress is also predictable. Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable (casa, hablan, lunes). Words ending in any other consonant are stressed on the last syllable (hotel, feliz, comer). A written accent marks any exception and always tells you exactly where the stress falls (café, rápido, canción).

Frequently asked questions

How many letters does the Spanish alphabet have?

The modern Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the same 26 as English plus ñ. The combinations ch, ll, and rr are digraphs rather than separate letters, a change the Real Academia confirmed in 2010.

Do I pronounce c and z like "th" or "s"?

Both are correct and depend on region. In most of Spain, c before e/i and the letter z sound like the "th" in "think" (distinción). In Latin America and southern Spain they sound like "s" (seseo). Choose whichever matches the accent you are studying.

What is the difference between r and rr in Spanish?

A single r between vowels is a light tap of the tongue, as in pero ("but"). A double rr, and any r at the start of a word, is a full rolled trill, as in perro ("dog"). The two sounds can distinguish words, so the difference matters.

Why do English speakers struggle most with Spanish vowels?

English reduces unstressed vowels to a vague "uh" sound, but Spanish never does. Each of the five Spanish vowels keeps one clean sound in every position, stressed or not. Pronouncing them short, tense, and equal is the fastest way to sound less foreign.

Is the letter h ever pronounced in Spanish?

No, the h is always silent on its own, so hola and hora begin with a plain vowel. The only time you hear an "h-like" sound is in the digraph ch or from the letters j and g before e/i, which are pronounced from the throat.