Spanish Alphabet & Spanish Pronunciation

Spanish Alphabet & Spanish Pronunciation

Pronunciación (Pronunciation)

Basic Spanish pronunciation rules

Sonidos Vocales en Español (Spanish Vowel Sounds)

Los sonidos de las vocales en Español son cortos (Spanish vowel sounds are short).

The Spanish "a" is pronounced like the "u" in "cut".
The Spanish "e" is pronounced like the "e" in "elephant".
The Spanish "i" is pronounced like the "ee" in "bee".
The Spanish "o" is pronounced like the "o" in "roll".
The Spanish "u" is pronounced like the "o" in "do".

Sonidos Consonantes en Español (Spanish Consonant Sounds )

The Spanish "c" has two sounds: hard and soft:

RULE -->The hard "c" is pronounced like the "c" in "candy" and It is pronounced before "a", "o" and "u".

• 
  
  cantar - to sing
• 
  
  corona - crown
• 
  
  casa- house

RULE --> The soft "c" is pronounced like the "c" in "city" and It is pronounced before "e" and "i".

• 
  
  cinturon - belt
• 
  
  cerdo - pig
• 
  
  cinco - five

The Spanish "g" has two sounds: hard and soft.

RULE -->The hard "g" is pronounced like the "g" in "goat" and It is pronounced before "a", "o" and "u".

• gato - cat
• guerra - war
• guitara - guitar

RULE --> The soft "g" is pronounced like the "h" in "house" and It is pronounced before "e" and "i".

• gira - tour
• gemelos - twins
• gigante - giant

The Spanish "j" is pronounced like the "h" in "habit".

• jarro - pitcher
• joven - young
• jugo - juice

The Spanish "ñ" is pronounced like "ny" in "canyon".

• niña - girl
• mañana - tomorrow
• niño - boy

The Spanish "rr" is a vibrating or trilling sound.
SEE--> We also pronounce this "rr" when words start with "r" as is rata (rat) or rápido (fast)

• perro - dog
• zorro - fox

The Spanish "v" is pronounced like the "b" in "bed".

• velo - veil
• vieja - old

The Spanish "d"  is pronounced like the "d" in "dog".

• diario - diary
• mundo - world
• falda - skirt
• lado - side
• pasado - past
• nada - nothing

The Spanish "h" is completely silent.

• hijo - child
• hormiga - ant
• hola- hello

The Spanish "ll" is pronounced like the "y" in "yarn".

• llaves - keys
• llorar - to cry
• llamada - call

RULE --> The rolling "r" is pronounced like the "r" in car

• tornillo - screw
• pero- but
• cero- zero
• caro- expensive

The Spanish "t" is pronounced like the "t" in "stop".
RULE --> The Spanish "t" is softer than the English "t".

• cartera - purse
• tambor - drum
• te - tea

The Spanish "z" is pronounced like the "s" in "sofa".

• zanahoria - carrots
• manzana - apple
• manzanilla - chamomile

Practice these words every day to better your Spanish pronunciation:

cerveza - beer
gordo - fat
genial - great
aburrido - bored
cordon - cord

almohada - pillow
manteca - butter
jefe - boss
verano - summer
dañino - harmful
rata- rat

El Alfabeto Español (The Spanish Alphabet )
Unlike English, Spanish letters can be written out. Here is the Spanish alphabet (30 letters) along with their written form:

A - "a"
B - "be"
C - "ce"
CH - "che"
D - "de"
E - "e"
F - "efe"
G - "ge"
H - "hache"
I - "i"

J - "jota"
K - "ca"
L - "ele"
LL - "elle"
M - "eme"
N - "ene"
Ñ - "eñe"
O - "o"
P - "pe"
Q - "cu"

R - "ere"
RR - "erre"
S - "ese"
T - "te"
U - "u"
V - "ve"
W - "doble ve"
X - "equis"
Y - "i griega"
Z - "zeta"

Acentos en Español (Spanish Accents )When there is an acute accent over a vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú), it means to place emphasis on that syllable. As a result, the syllable with the accented vowel is more pronounced. Placing accents or ommiting accents can change the meanings of words.

soló - only
solo - alone

el está - he is
esta cosa - this thing

caminó - walked
camino - path

habló - He spoke
hablo - I speak

papá - father
papa - potato

compró - He bought
compro - I buy

(http://www.spanishsofa.com/spanish-lessons)

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