The Spanish Alphabet

There are 29 letters in the Spanish alphabet with 5 vowels and 24 consonants.

Consonant + Vowel

Let’s start with the most basic consonant-vowel combinations and hear how each is pronounced in an example.

The Five Vowels: a e i o u

Letters “a/e/o” are called the strong vowels, and “i/u” are the weak vowels.

Diphthongs

A diphthong = a strong vowel + a weak vowel OR a weak vowel + a weak vowel

The diphthongs “ai/ei/oi” generally become “ay/ey/oy” at the end of words EXCEPT at the end of conjugated verbs.

Triphthongs

Consonant Blends

When “l/r” are placed after “p/b/c/g/t/d/f”, their sounds tend to blend together.

Word Stress

1. ’ is the one and only written accent mark in Spanish. It appears only above the five vowels: á, é, í, ó, ú.

The accent mark indicates which part of the word is stressed.

2. The stress of vowel-ending words falls on the second last syllable.

3. Except words ending with “n” or “s”, the stress of consonant-ending words falls on the last syllable.

4. When a diphthong is the stressed syllable, the stress falls on the strong vowel.

Special Pronunciations

1. b/v

1) As the initial or a word or after the letters “m/n”, both are pronounced:

2) In other cases, both are pronounced:

2. c/q

1) “c + a/o/u”

2) “q + u + e/i”

3) “c + c/n/t/d”

3. ch

4. g

1) “g + a/o/u

2) “g + u + e/i”

3) “g + e/i”

4) In “gue/gui”, if the “u” has two dots on top, the “u” must be pronounced:

5. h

The letter “h” is always muted. But it can never be omitted in writing or spelling.

6. ñ

7. r

1) The Spanish “r” is a rhotic one.

When “r” is in the middle or at the end of a word, it’s short, soft and less explosive.

2) When “r” is the initial letter or after “n/l/s” or doubled as “rr”, it’s trilled strongly.

8. ll

The consonant “ll” is pronounced differently in Spain and Latin America. Tap the words below to hear the difference. (“ES” = Spain; “MX” = Mexico)

9. j

10. x

1) When “x” is the initial letter of a word:

2) When “x” is between two vowels:

3) When “x” is before a consonant:

In some countries, it’s pronounced as “s”, but in some other regions, it’s “ks”:

4) Except in these two words, they are pronounced like “j”:

11. Z

1) “z + a/o/u”

In the following cases, “z” and “c” are pronounced like the English “th” in Spain, whereas in Latin America, they are pronounced like “s” .

2) “c + e/i”