Spanish alphabet · pronunciationThe "No Sabo" Cure

Spanish sounds the way it's written

English spelling is a mess: though, through and tough all end in "-ough" and none of them rhyme. Spanish is the opposite. Each letter almost always makes the same sound, so once you know the sounds, you can read any word you see, even one you've never heard.

That's what this first class is about: sounds. Tap 🔊 on anything in this lesson to hear it.

The 5 vowels: half of your accent

If you only practice one thing today, make it this. Spanish has five vowels and they never change their sound. English has around fifteen vowel sounds, and that's where most of a gringo accent comes from. Get these five right and you've won half the battle.

The 5 vowels

• Aa"ah", as in fathercasa
• Ee"eh", as in betmesa
• Ii"ee", as in seesí
• Oo"oh", short, as in oh!ojo
• Uu"oo", as in fooduno

The alphabet

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 you know plus ñ. Here's each one with its Spanish name, the sound it makes and a word to hear it in. Names are the ones we use in Mexico.

A to Z, Mexican Spanish

• Aa"ah"agua
• Bbe (be grande)"b", same as vbueno
• Cce"k" before a, o, u; "s" before e, icasa
• Ddesoft "d", tongue on your teethdedo
• Ee"eh"mesa
• Fefe"f"foto
• Gge"g" before a, o, u; a raspy "h" before e, igato
• Hhachesilent, alwayshola
• Ii"ee"sí
• Jjotaa raspy "h", from the throatjugo
• Kka"k" (only in borrowed words)kilo
• Lele"l"luna
• Meme"m"mamá
• Nene"n"no
• Ñeñe"ny", as in canyonniño
• Oo"oh"ojo
• Ppe"p", without a puff of airpapá
• Qcu"k", always written qu, the u is silentqueso
• Rerrea quick tap, like the tt in butterpero
• Sese"s"sol
• Tte"t", without a puff of airtaco
• Uu"oo"uno
• Vve (ve chica)"b", same as bvaca
• Wdoble u"w" (borrowed words)wifi
• Xequis"ks"; in México, an "h"taxi
• Yye (i griega)"y", as in yesyo
• Zzeta"s" in Mexico (no "th")zapato

The sounds that trip up English speakers

Most letters sound close enough to English. These are the ones worth practicing out loud:

Practice these

• Hsilent: hola is "oh-lah"hola
• Jraspy "h", like clearing your throat softlyjugo
• Gbefore e and i, same as jgente
• LL"y" in Mexicollamo
• Ñ"ny"año
• Rone quick tap of the tonguepero
• RRrolled: several taps (also any r at the start of a word)perro
• B / Vthe same soundvaca
• Z"s" in Mexicozapato

✍️ Quick check

0/3

1. 1.How does hola start?

   With an English "h" soundWith the "o" sound

2. 2.Which word has the "ny" sound?

   ninoniñonina

3. 3.Jugo (juice) starts with a sound like…

   the "j" in *juice*a raspy "h"a "y"

Where the stress goes

Every Spanish word has one strong syllable, and two rules tell you which one. You don't have to guess.

1. Words ending in a vowel, n or s: stress the second-to-last syllable. CA-sa, HA-blan, a-MI-gos.
2. Words ending in any other consonant: stress the last syllable. ha-BLAR, pa-PEL, ciu-DAD.
3. If a word breaks those rules, it carries a written accent (´) on the strong syllable: ca-FÉ, in-GLÉS, MÉ-xi-co.

Hear the difference

• papastress on PA: potatopapa
• papástress on PÁ: dadpapá

Spell your name

Now put the letters to work. This is the first thing you'll do in a real conversation, and it uses yo (I) and tú (you):

Phrases you'll use today

• ¿Cómo te llamas?What's your name? (asking tú)
• Me llamo Ana.My name is Ana.
• ¿Cómo se escribe?How do you spell it?
• Se escribe A-N-A.It's spelled A-N-A.
• ¿Con be grande o con ve chica?With a b or a v?
• Mucho gusto.Nice to meet you.

Say hi

Greetings

• ¡Hola!Hi! (any time)
• Buenos días.Good morning (until noon)
• Buenas tardes.Good afternoon (until it gets dark)
• Buenas noches.Good evening, good night
• ¿Cómo estás?How are you? (to tú)
• Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?Good, thanks. And you?
• ¿Qué onda?What's up? (very Mexican, very casual)
• Hasta luego.See you later

Notice ¿Cómo estás? uses estar, because it asks how you feel right now. That's exactly the next class: ser vs estar.

Put it together

Here's the sentence from class:

¡Hola! Me llamo Ana: A-N-A.

And here's how it sounds in a real first conversation:

1. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas?

   Hi! What's your name?

2. Me llamo Víctor. ¿Y tú?

   My name is Víctor. And you?

3. Me llamo Ana: A-N-A. ¿Cómo se escribe Víctor?

   My name is Ana: A-N-A. How do you spell Víctor?

4. Ve chica, i, ce, te, o, erre.

   V, i, c, t, o, r.

5. ¿Con ve chica? ¡Mucho gusto, Víctor!

   With a v? Nice to meet you, Víctor!

6. ¡Mucho gusto, Ana!

   Nice to meet you, Ana!

Now make it yours: say your name, then spell it letter by letter in Spanish.

Test yourself

✍️ Six quick questions

0/6

1. 1.Gente (people) sounds like…

   "HEN-teh""GEN-teh""GHEN-teh"

2. 2.Which two letters sound exactly the same?

   b and vb and pv and f

3. 3.Pero or perro: which one means "dog"?

   peroperro

4. 4.How do you spell Hugo out loud?

   hache, u, ge, ojota, u, ge, ou, ge, o

5. 5.In Mexico, zapato (shoe) starts with…

   an "s" sounda "th" sounda buzzing "z"

6. 6.Where's the stress in hablar (to speak)?

   HA-blarha-BLAR