Theory
Spanish is one of the most phonetically consistent languages in the world: with very few exceptions, every letter is always pronounced the same way. Once you know the rules in this lesson, you can read any Spanish word aloud — even words you have never seen before. Invest time here and everything that follows becomes easier.
The Alphabet — 27 Letters
The Spanish alphabet (el alfabeto) has 27 letters: the 26 of the English alphabet plus Ñ. The letters K and W exist but appear almost exclusively in loanwords. Each letter has a fixed name used when spelling words aloud.
- A (a), B (be), C (ce), D (de), E (e), F (efe), G (ge), H (hache), I (i), J (jota), K (ka), L (ele), M (eme), N (ene), Ñ (eñe), O (o), P (pe), Q (cu), R (erre), S (ese), T (te), U (u), V (uve), W (doble uve), X (equis), Y (ye), Z (zeta) — Full alphabet with letter names
The 5 Vowels — Pure and Consistent
Spanish has exactly 5 vowel sounds, one per vowel letter. Unlike English, each Spanish vowel has only ONE pronunciation — it never changes depending on position or neighbouring letters. This is the single most important fact in Spanish phonetics.
A — like the 'a' in 'father'
E — like the 'e' in 'bed' (never diphthonged like English 'may')
I — like the 'ee' in 'see'
O — like the 'o' in 'core' (never diphthonged like English 'go')
U — like the 'oo' in 'food' (silent after Q and in -gue-/-gui-)
- casa — house — both A sounds are identical: [KA-sa]
- mesa — table — E is always [e], never [eɪ]: [ME-sa]
- libro — book — I is crisp [ee]: [LEE-bro]
- loco — crazy — O is pure [o]: [LO-ko]
- luna — moon — U is [oo]: [LOO-na]
- que / guitarra — U is silent after Q and in -gui-
Consonants with Special Rules
Most consonants are close to English. The following require specific attention:
C — before E/I: like S (Latin America) or TH in think (Spain). Before A/O/U: like K.
G — before E/I: guttural, like ch in Scottish loch. Before A/O/U: like English G in go.
H — always completely silent.
J — always guttural, like a strong breathy H.
LL — sounds like English Y in yes.
N with tilde (Ñ) — NY sound, like ni in onion.
QU — always K; U is silent. Only before E and I.
R — single tap between vowels (like D in American butter). Trilled at word start or after N/L/S.
RR — always a strong trill, never a tap.
V — identical to B in modern Spanish.
Z — like S in Latin America; like TH in Spain.
- ciudad — [syoo-DAD] — C before I sounds like S
- gente — [HEN-te] — G before E is guttural
- hola — [O-la] — H is completely silent
- joven — [HO-ben] — J is always guttural
- calle — [KA-ye] — LL sounds like Y
- mañana — [ma-NYA-na] — Ñ sounds like NY
- pero vs. perro — [PE-ro] but / [PE-rro] dog — tap vs. trill
Stress Rules
Spanish stress follows three clear rules. You do not need to memorise stress word by word.
Rule 1 — Words ending in a vowel, N, or S: stress falls on the SECOND-TO-LAST syllable.
Rule 2 — Words ending in any other consonant: stress falls on the LAST syllable.
Rule 3 (overrides all) — If a word has a written accent mark (tilde), stress falls on THAT syllable, no exceptions.
The tilde also distinguishes words that are spelled the same but have different meanings: el (the) vs. él (he), tu (your) vs. tú (you), si (if) vs. sí (yes).
- ca-SA — house — ends in vowel → second-to-last
- ha-BLAN — they speak — ends in N → second-to-last
- ha-BLAR — to speak — ends in R → last syllable
- ca-FÉ — coffee — tilde forces stress on last syllable
- te-LÉ-fo-no — telephone — tilde on third-to-last
- él habla / el libro — he speaks / the book — tilde changes meaning
Diphthongs
Spanish has strong vowels (A, E, O) and weak vowels (I, U). When a strong and a weak vowel — or two weak vowels — appear together, they merge into one syllable (a diphthong). Two strong vowels always stay in separate syllables. A tilde on a weak vowel next to a strong one breaks the diphthong, forcing two syllables.
- bien — [bjen] — IE diphthong, one syllable
- bueno — [BWE-no] — UE diphthong, one syllable
- caer — [ka-ER] — AE = two strong vowels, two syllables
- país — [pa-IS] — tilde on I breaks diphthong, two syllables