Spanish alphabet
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Sign up for freeThe Spanish alphabet or abecedario is made up of 27 letters. It also includes an extra letter, the ñ, which is not part of the English alphabet.
The Spanish abecedario is divided into two main groups:
*Historically, Ch/Ll were considered distinct letters in Spanish. However, nowadays, they are not considered letters anymore according to the Real Académia Española.
The table here below displays the letters of the Spanish alphabet and it will give you some tips on how to pronounce them alone and in combination with others letters.
A, B, C, CH, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, LL, M, N, Ñ, O, P Q, R, RR, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Letter | Letter name | Pronunciation tips |
|---|---|---|
A/a | [a] | Animal (animal) |
B/b | [be] | The Spanish B is pretty similar to the English one but sometimes it might sound like a V, especially when it occurs between two vowels. Bonito (pretty) Abecedario (alphabet) |
C/c | [ce] | Casa (house / home) Before e and i, this letter is pretty similar to a simple S (put the tip of your tongue between your teeth and you will sound like a real Spanish): Cena (dinner) |
CH/ch | [che] | China (China) |
D/d | [de] | Diente (tooth) |
E/e | [e] | Elefante (elephant) |
F/f | [efe] | Falsificar (to counterfeit) |
G/g | [ge] | Gorra (cap) Before e and i, it is more similar to a harsh H in English. Gente (people) |
H/h | [ache] | This letter is generally silent: Hostal (guesthouse) In words adopted by other languages, this letter sounds like an aspirated H: Hawai (Hawaii) |
I/i | [i] | Iniciar (to begin) |
J/j | [jota] | The letter jota always sounds like a harsh H (like G before e and i). It never sounds like the English J of Juliette. Julio (July) |
K/k | [ca] | Kaki (khaki) |
L/l | [ele] | Lago (lake) |
LL/ll | [doble ele] | This letter sounds like Y in English yellow: Lluvia (rain) |
M/m | [eme] | Madre (mother) |
N/n | [ene] | Noviembre (November) |
Ñ/ñ | [eñe] | This letter sounds like NI in English onion: Dueño (owner) |
O/o | [o] | Coco (coconut) |
P/p | [pe] | Padre (father) |
Q/q | [cu] | The Spanish Q is always followed by the letter U: Quebrar (to break) |
R/r | [ere] | Cara (face) At the beginning of the word, the Spanish R is way stronger than when it stands alone: Rosa (rose / pink) |
RR/rr | [doble ere] | Doubling the R make it stronger, indeed: Perro (dog) |
S/s | [ese] | Saber (to know) |
T/t | [te] | Tomar (to take) |
U/u | [u] | This letter sounds like OO in English cool: Mucho (many) |
V/v | [uve] | This letter sounds like the Spanish B (they are often mistaken one for another): Vaso (glass) |
W/w | [uve doble] | Wifi (Wi-Fi) |
X/x | [equis] | This letter sounds like KS in English socks: Sexto (sixth) In place and person names, it is close to the Spanish jota though: México (Mexico) |
Y/y | [ i grieca] | Yogur (yogurt) |
Z/z | [zeta] | This letter is mostly pronounced like the English S: Zapato (shoe) |
| 1 Spanish accent marks | Get familiar with the Spanish accent marks and do not miss any useful rules! |