| Letter | As Spoken in Spanish | Pronunciation Rules (with examples) | Transcription |
|---|
| a | a | As in lawn. | ah |
| b | be (be de bote, be de Barcelona, be grande, be de burro) | Pronounced like the English B, except when it comes between vowels (or vowel sounds); in which case you must allow air to escape between your lips while saying it. It is exactly like the English V except instead of putting your upper teeth next to your lower lip, you put your upper lip next to your lower lip, while letting air escape. | bay |
| c | ce | As in car except when it comes before the vowels I or E it is pronounced like C as in "incite". In Iberian Spanish (in Spain) when the C comes before I or E it is pronounced like the TH in Thought. | say |
| ch | che | As in child. | chay |
| d | de | Pronounced like the D in dugout except your tounge needs to go between or right behind your teeth instead of above your upper teeth as in English. When the D comes between two vowel sounds, it is asperated, meaning instead of your tounge actually touching your teeth, it just comes close, giving a softer sound. | day |
| e | e | Like the A in aim. | eh |
| f | efe | As in forest | eh-fay |
| g | ge | When the G comes before an I or an E it is pronounced like the English H as in hay. Otherwise it is a strong G pronounced as in Gun. NOTE: Gu followed by a vowel is also a hard G sound. Examples: Guillermo, Guevara. | hay |
| h | hache | The H is never pronounced in Spanish. | ah-chay |
| i | i latina | Like the EE in leek. | e latina |
| j | jota | Like the English H as in home. It is sometimes slightly more gutteral. | hoe-tah |
| k | ka | As in Kilometer. K is only found in a few foreign words. | kah |
| l | ele | As in lower. | eh-lay |
| ll | elle | Like the Y in yell. It can also be sonorant as the J in rejuvinate. | eh-jay |
| m | eme | As in might. | eh-may |
| n | ene | As in never. | eh-nay |
| ñ | eñe | Like the NY in Kenya. | eh-nyay |
| o | o | As in oh or go. | oh |
| p | pe | As in pay. | pay |
| q | cu | Q is always followed by a U and pronounced like the K in kay. For example the word "Que" is pronounced "Kay" not "Kway" | coo |
| r | ere | Like the TT in letter (in American English). It is tapped on the roof of your mouth like an English D. When an R comes at the beginning of a word, it is "rolled" or "trilled" (Make the sound of a car pulling away using a D sound). | eh-day |
| rr | erre | Trilled or rolled. (See R above). | eh-drray |
| s | ese | As in sign. Never like the Z in buzz. (Touch your throat, it should not vibrate). | eh-say |
| t | te | As in tea. | teh |
| u | u | As in boat. | oooh |
| v | ve (uve, ve de vaca, ve de Valencia, ve chica) | See the description for the letter B, it is exactly the same. | bay |
| w | doble ve (doble u) | This letter is found only in foreign words and is usually pronounced like the GUA in Guam. | dough-blay-bay |
| x | equis | Like the KS in tricks. In some words (such as México) it is pronounced like an H. | eh-kees |
| y | i griega (ye) | Pronounced like the LL (See above). Also pronounced like the EE in keen, especially at the end of words. | ee-gdee-ay-gah |
| z | zeta | Pronounced exactly like an S (See above) and never like the Z in buzz. In Iberian Spanish (Spain) it is pronounced like the TH in through. | say-tah |