Chapter 2 of 16 · Explore the Spanish path
The script · Chapter 2 of 16
What each letter sounds like
Five vowels that keep one sound each, and fourteen letters that catch an English reader out. Learn those and the rest of the alphabet reads the way you already read it.
≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace
What’s in this chapter
- Spanish uses the alphabet you know and reads left to right.
- Five vowel letters, five vowel sounds, and they do not wander the way English vowels do.
- One vowel is one beat, and a final -e is said: noche
NOH-cheh “night” has two beats. - Fourteen letters and letter pairs surprise an English reader. They are the whole difficulty.
- h is silent, and b and v are one and the same sound.
Five vowel sounds to listen for
Vowels are the a, e, i, o and u sounds. Each Spanish vowel keeps one sound wherever it turns up. Read across each row and say the example aloud.
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | ah, as in father — not the a of cat | casa |
| e | eh, as in bed | verde |
| i | ee, as in machine | mi |
| o | oh, as in more | sol |
| u | oo, as in rule | luna |
Two vowels side by side share one beat, and two hooks cover almost all of it: an i in front of another vowel is a y, and a u in front of another vowel is a w — lluvia
Letters that catch an English reader out
These are the letters an English reader is likely to get wrong. Meet them once here, and the rest of the alphabet reads the way you already read it.
| Letter | Sound to try | Example |
|---|---|---|
| h | nothing at all — silent in every word; only inside ch does it help make a sound | hola |
| j | a rasped h, further back in the throat than English h | pájaro |
| g before e or i | the same rasped h as j; everywhere else, g as in go | gente |
| ñ | ny, like the middle of canyon | niño |
| ll | y, like the y of yes | lluvia |
| y | y as in yes; standing alone as a word, just ee | yo |
| r | one light tap of the tongue, like the tt in butter | pero |
| rr | a rolled r, held; an r that starts a word is rolled too | perro |
| z | s — never a buzz (much of Spain says th here; the letter lookup has the detail) | zorro |
| c before e or i | s; everywhere else, k | cinco |
| v | b — Spanish makes no difference between b and v | viento |
| ch | ch as in church, always | noche |
| qu | k, and the u is never said | bosque |
| gu | before e or i, hard g with the u not said; before a or o, the u is an ordinary w | agua |
Fourteen rows, and that is the list. Everything not on it — d, f, l, m, n, p, s, t — you can read as English and be understood. The letter cards with memory hooks live in the letter lookup; you do not need them to go on.
Catch the letter before it catches you
Say each one aloud from the table, then reveal.
- perro and pero
One r or two is a difference in meaning, not a nicety.
Show answer +Hide answer −
perroPEH-rroh “dog” with a rolled r, and pero PEH-roh “but” with one tap. - viento
v is b, and ie is a single beat.
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vientoBYEHN-toh “wind” - gente
In front of e, g borrows the sound of j.
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genteHEHN-teh “people”