Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read Spanish

A short, active path into reading Spanish: five vowels that never move, nine real words decoded before the alphabet, ser against estar, the verb ending that replaces the pronoun, and two short stories before your first book.

13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 50 min with everything

Every noun has a gender, and the words around it follow

≈ 3 min

What you'll learn

Every noun is masculine or feminine, and it has almost nothing to do with meaning.
Learn the little word stuck to the noun — la casa, el bosque — not the noun alone.
Four words for the (el la los las) and two for a (un una).
For more than one, add -s; after a consonant add -es.
A describing word usually sits after the noun and copies its ending.

the and a

	Masculine	Feminine
the, one thing	el bosqueehl BOHS-keh	la casalah KAH-sah
the, more than one	los bosqueslohs BOHS-kehs	las casaslahs KAH-sahs
a	un zorrooon SOH-rroh	una casaOO-nah KAH-sah

-o usually takes el and -a usually takes la; -e and consonants give no clue — la nochelah NOH-cheh“the night”, el ratónehl rrah-TOHN“the mouse” — so learn those with their little word.

For more than one, add -s; after a consonant, add -es: los ratoneslohs rrah-TOH-nehs — the accent disappears, as the stress section promised. Take three counting words now: un / unaOO-nah“one, a”, dosdohs“two”, trestrehs“three”. The word lookup counts to ten.

I see a small fox.

Veo un zorro pequeño.

BEH-oh oon SOH-rroh peh-KEH-nyoh

zorroSOH-rroh“fox” first, pequeñopeh-KEH-nyoh“small” second — a describing word usually follows its noun.

One describing word, four shapes

un zorro pequeñooon SOH-rroh peh-KEH-nyoh

una casa pequeñaOO-nah KAH-sah peh-KEH-nyah

feminine noun, so -a

un zorro pequeño

dos zorros pequeñosdohs SOH-rrohs peh-KEH-nyohs

plural noun, so -s on both words

el árbol grandeehl AHR-bohl GRAHN-deh — the big tree

la casa grandelah KAH-sah GRAHN-deh

-e means one form for both genders — but it still takes plural -s: grandesGRAHN-dehs

Pointing words

English	Spanish	Notes
this / that	esteEHS-teh / eseEH-seh	they copy the noun’s ending: esa noche
here / there	aquíah-KEE / allíah-YEE	one form each; the ll is a y

Make the phrase agree

el ratón → more than one
-es, and watch the accent.
Show answer +Hide answer −
los ratoneslohs rrah-TOH-nehs“the mice”
un zorro pequeño → said about una casa
Show answer +Hide answer −
una casa pequeñaOO-nah KAH-sah peh-KEH-nyah“a small house”
Ese pájaro está allí.
Where, not what.
Show answer +Hide answer −
Ese pájaro está allí.EH-seh PAH-hah-roh ehs-TAH ah-YEE“That bird is there”