Fillable Printable Spanish Alphabet
Fillable Printable Spanish Alphabet
Spanish Alphabet
Spanish Alphabet
Letter of the Alphabet “Name” of the Letter
Pronunciation Examples
A a casa, taza
B be bien, bebé
C ce casa, cine
CH che chico, leche
D de día, verdad
E e mesa, cine
F efe café, fruta
G ge jugo, general
H hache hola, hijo
I i cine, hijo
J jota hijo, jugo
K* ka kilo, kiosko
L ele hola, leche
LL elle calle, llama
M eme mesa, llama
N ene noche, nada
Ñ** eñe señor, niño
O o niño, hola
P pe papá, peso
Q cu queso, quién
R ere señor, fruta
RR erre perro, carro
S ese casa, señor
T te taza, fruta
U u jugo, mucho
V ve vaso, vive
W* doble ve whiski
X equis México, excelente
Y i griega ya, Yucatán
Z zeta taza, azúcar
* These letters appear only in words of foreign origin.
** The diacritical mark over this letter is called a “tilde.” It is not used with any other letters in Spanish.
Spanish Vowels
Pronunciation Practice
A casa taza bata
E bebe debe leche
I cine hijo misa
O codo moro lloro
U muro punto nube
Common Spanish Dipthongs
Some of the more common Spanish dipthongs are found in number words.
uno 1
dos 2
tres 3
cuatro 4
cinco 5
seis 6
siete 7
ocho 8
nueve 9
diez 10
Comments on Spanish Vowels and Comparisons to English Vowels
• The vowel system of American English is much more complicated that that of Spanish
• Spanish has 5 vowel phonemes and glides occur only in dipthongs, which are always represented in
writing (compare pena and peina)
• Spanish vowel sounds are always clear and full, while consonants may be obscured or suppressed
• Spanish vowels do not have “length”; that is, they are not short or long
Spanish Consonants
Pronunciation Practice
B less forceful than in English; often
identical in sound to V
bien bebé
C has 2 sounds: like English S before E
or I; like English K before A, O, U, or
consonant
casa cine
CH like CH in chair chico leche
D generally not as strong as English D;
often like TH, especially between
vowels and at end of word
día verdad
F same value as in English café fruta
G has 2 sounds: like English H before E
or I; like English hard G before A, O, U,
or consonant
jugo general
H always silent (note that CH is a
separate character)
hola hijo
J like an English H hijo jugo
L same value as in English hola leche
LL in most areas, pronounced as Y calle llama
M same value as in English mesa llama
N same value as in English noche nada
Ñ like NY in English señor niño
P similar to English, but not aspirated papá peso
Q always followed by U; like an English K queso quien
R pronounced with single flap except as
initial sound, when it is trilled
señor fruta
RR trilled R sound perro carro
S generally similar to English casa señor
T unlike English, T is an unaspirated
dental sound
taza fruta
V often identical in sound to B vaso vive
X varies, but often like KS in English excelente exacto
Y almost always like English Y ya Yucatán
Z like an English S taza azúcar
English and Spanish Phonemes Compared
Consonants
English Consonant
Phonemes
Examples
Spanish Consonant
Phonemes*
Examples
/b/ bat, book /b/ bueno, vino
/d/ did, dew /d/ día, cada
/f/ foot, fire /f/ fuerte, gafas
/g/ go, gull /g/ grande, tengo
/h/ he, hat /h/ gente, jardín, girar
/j/ jam, gym
/k/ kid, action, chemical,
antique
/k/ cola, poco, que
/l/ let /l/ lado, hablar
/m/ me /m/ mano, come
/n/ no /n/ no, hermano
/p/ pan /p/ peso, sopa
/r/ run /r/ pero, fruta
/s/ sat, rice /s/ cena, zapato, sol
/t/ ten /t/ tomar, dato
/v/ very
/w/ will /w/ hueso, huevos
/y/ yes /y/ llamar, yo, hielo
/z/ zoo, his
/ch/ church /ch/ or /ĉ/ chico, leche
/hw/ why /ny/ or /ñ/ niño, señor
/ng/ song /rr/ rico, perro
/sh/ she, machine
/th/ thin
/TH/ that
/zh/ measure
* These are the phonemes of General American Spanish, an homogenized form of Latin American
Spanish. It will be accurate for almost all Spanish-speakers in the Midwestern US.
English and Spanish Phonemes Compared
Vowels
English Vowel
Phonemes
Examples
Spanish Vowel
Phonemes
Examples
/ā/ age /a/ mal
/ē ease /e/ vez
/ī/ ice /i/ piso
/ō/ old /o/ oso
/ū/ use /u/ luz
/ă/ an /ai/ hay
/ĕ/ end /au/ causa
/ĭ/ in /ei/ seis
/ŏ/ odd /eu/ deuda
/ŭ/ up /ia/ criada
/ie/ tiene
/oi/ oil, boy /io/ odio
/ou/ out, owl /iu/ ciudad
/oi/ hoy
/ōō/ too, rule /ou/ lo humano
/ŏŏ/ good, pudding /ua/ cuarto
/ue/ bueno
/ä/ father, star /ui/ cuidad
/â/ dare, air /uo/ cuota
/û/ her, pearl
/ô/ auto, off, order
/ə/ about, occur, open
