The Spanish Alphabet

“El alfabeto”

Some notes on the Spanish alphabet…

• In English, sometimes vowels take on different pronunciations

• Pronounce the following words:– through, threw – water, later– roaring, pouring

• In Spanish, 99.99999999% of the time, vowels keep the same pronunciation, making it very easy to pronounce the word if you know how each letter is pronounced

Los Vocales- Vowels

a- e- i- o- u¡El burro sabe más que tú!

Aa[ah]

Árbol

Bb[be]

Bebé

Cc[se]

Sounds like English “S” when before “e” or “i”

-cepillo, precio, cenar

-camiseta, carro

Ch[che]

Chimichanga

Dd[de]

Dos

Ee[eh]

Elefante

Ff[efe]

Flor

Gg[he] Gato

Sounds like English “H” before “e” or “i”

- angel, gigante, gemelos

Hh[ache]

ALWAYS silent

Helado

Ii[ea]

isla

Jj[hota]

Sounds just like English “h”

Jalapeño

Kk[kah]

Very rarely used

kilómetro

Ll[ele]

Limón

ll[eye]

Sounds like English “y”

Llave

Mm[eme]

Mango

Nn[ene]

Niña

ñ[enye]

Piñata

Oo[oh]

Ojos

Pp[pe]

Perro

Qq[coo]

Always followed by a “ue” or “ui”

Sounds like “k” or “c”

Queso

Rr[ere]

Rana

rr[erre] (roll tongue)

Correr

Ss[ese]

Silla

Tt[teh]

Taco

Uu[oo]

Ustedes

Vv[ve]

Sounds like “B”

Viajar

Ww[doble oo]

Found only in foreign words

George W. Bush

Xx[eh-kees]

Most of the time sounds like English “X”

Sometimes sounds like English “H”

Explicar---- Xavier

Yy[i-gri-e-ga]

Payaso

Zz[seta]

Sounds like English “S”

Zapatos

¡Que Bueno!You are now a master of the alfabeto…