Spanish Pronunciation Tutorial

Hola and welcome to your free step-by-step tutorial on how to pronounce Spanish words!

I suggest you start with the Spanish alphabet, and proceed through the lessons on Spanish vowels, Spanish consonants, and Spanish accents. Listen carefully to the native speaker on the audio and repeat the Spanish sound.

Let's get started...

How to Pronounce the Spanish Alphabet

The Spanish alphabet has changed in the last decade. In 1994, the Royal Spanish Academy removed two letters (ch and ll) from the alphabet, making it 28 letters instead of 30. Fortunately for English speakers, the official Spanish alphabet now only has two additional letters that do not appear in the English alphabet: ñ and rr. (Two of the letters in the Spanish alphabet, k and w, exist only to say words of foreign origin, like “kilómetro” and “wáter.”)

Click on the PLAY button below to listen to the alphabet. Because most Spanish speakers are still familiar with the old alphabet, which includes ch and ll, both those letters are included here in parentheses.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_01.wav.mp3

A ah

B beh

C seh

(CH) cheh

D deh

E eh

F eff-eh

G heh

H ah-cheh

I ee

J ho-tah

K kah

L el-leh

(LL) eh-yeh

M em-eh

N en-eh

Ñ en-yeh

O oh

P peh

Q coo

R er-eh

RR err-eh (roll those Rs!)

S es-eh

T teh

U oo

V veh

W doh-bleh-beh

X eh-kees

Y ee-gree-eh-gah

Z seh-tah

How to Pronounce Spanish Vowels

Vowels in Spanish are pronounced differently from their English equivalents. The vowels a, e, and o are pronounced quite softly, while i and u are pronounced with a strong tone. Listen to the vowel sounds below.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_03.wav.mp3

a e i o u
ah eh ee oh oo  

Here are some examples of Spanish vowels in action. Press the PLAY button. Listen to each word and repeat it in the space that follows.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_04.wav.mp3

a: la, pan, clase, cama, nada, encantada, naranja, manzana

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_05.wav.mp3

e: el, ese, mes, leche, café, edad, enemigo, teléfono, emergencia

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_06.wav.mp3

i: chica, bonita, señorita, día, aquí, allí, fin, salir, hijo

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_07.wav.mp3

o: yo, los, hola, color, doctor, gato, nombre, dos, son, llamo

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_08.wav.mp3

u: tú, uno, gusto, saludos, azúcar, ayuda, computadora

How to Pronounce Spanish Consonants

Consonants that pose problems for English speakers include b, v, ñ, rr,and ll.

The letters b and v

In English, the letters b and v are clearly differentiated. They’re not so clear in Spanish. Ask a native Spanish speaker to say the English word very and he may well end up saying berry.

The vibrating v sound doesn’t exist in Spanish. Instead, v is pronounced in a much softer way. Listen to the following words that start with v and repeat each of them in the space that follows.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_09.wav.mp3

voy, vamos, ver, viajar, vivir, vela, vaca, vacaciones

When the v sound comes in the middle of a word, it becomes less distinguishable from b. Try these words aloud.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_10.wav.mp3

avión, novia, cerveza, llave, invierno, octavo, prevenir  

Spanish speakers themselves often have a hard time distinguishing the two sounds and may write b as v and vice versa. One way they distinguish the two is to talk about b grande (big b) and v pequeño (little v).

The letter ñ 

The ñ sound is pronounced a little bit like an n with a hum. Think of it as an “ny” sound, like “canyon.” Practice with these words.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_11.wav.mp3

señor, señora, señorita, niño, niña, baño, mañana, ñaño
 

The letter rr  

The double-R sound can be incredibly difficult for English speakers. Yet it is a very important sound in the Spanish language, because some words can completely change their meaning depending on whether or not the r sound is trilled (caro—expensive versus carro—car, pero—but versus perro—dog).

To pronounce the double-R sound properly, you need to learn to trill your r’s. Try making a purring sound like a cat. Feel your tongue vibrate.
Practice rolling your r’s with the following words.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_12.wav.mp3

correr, barrer, cerrar, guitarra, aburrido, pelirrojo

Now, practice the difference between a rolled and unrolled r with the following words.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_13.wav.mp3

carro / caro perro / pero

The letter ll

The double-L sound in Spanish is pronounced in a variety of ways across the Spanish-speaking world. In many parts of South America, it is pronounced like a j. In much of Spain, it’s pronounced like a y. In still other regions, it is pronounced just like a regular l.

Practice a South American pronunciation of ll with the following words. 

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_14.wav.mp3

How to Pronounce Spanish Words with Accents

Understanding where to put the emphasis in a word can be as difficult as sounding out the word itself. Fortunately, Spanish makes it easy for you. When a word is stressed on an irregular syllable, an accent mark will appear above the stressed vowel.

Accent marks look like this:

á    é    í    ó    ú

Pay attention to accent marks! Two words might be spelled exactly the same, but the presence of an accent mark can completely change their meaning. For example, esta means “this” while está means “is.” Llamo means “I call” while llamó means “He, she, or you called.” Accent marks are also used to distinguish how a word is used: for example, dónde and donde both mean “where,” but the first is used to ask a question while the second is used in statements. So no matter what you do, don’t forget the accent!

Where Does the Stress Go?

Rule 1.

Most Spanish words that end in n, s, or a vowel are stressed on the penultimate (or next-to-the-last) syllable. Listen to the examples below, repeat each word in the gap that follows, and note where the stress falls. The stressed vowel sound is underlined to help you.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_15.wav.mp3

camisa, blusa, chaqueta, pantalones, hablo, como, llamo

Some words that end in n, s, or a vowel are stressed on the last syllable instead. These words must carry an accent mark to warn the speaker. Listen to these examples and repeat them aloud.

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_16.wav.mp3

televisión, conversación, pais, inglés, alemán, mamá, papa, comió, escribió

Rule 2.

Words that do NOT end in n, s, or a vowel are usually stressed on the last syllable. This includes most verbs in their infinitive forms. For example…

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_17.wav.mp3

comer, hablar, escribir, estar, seguridad, español, actor, doctor

When these words are not stressed on the last syllable, an accent mark is placed over the stressed vowel. For example…

Listen to Audio Track: pronunciation_18.wav.mp3

lápiz, árbol, fútbol, vóleibol

 

Well done!

This free audio lesson on how to pronounce Spanish words will get you started. Remember: the more you listen, the more you’ll be able to recognize words as they’re spoken.

And this is just the beginning! With these Spanish pronunciation lessons under your belt you are well on your way to speaking Spanish, but as you can imagine, there's a whole lot more to learn. Launch your language learning with my comprehensive learn Spanish course today!

Mauricio Evlampieff
Rocket Spanish

Rocket Languages





Also by Mauricio Evlampieff: Spanish Word Games