Spanish Language and Culture 10-3Y

1.4 Sounds

Some letters in the Spanish alphabet sound different than the same letter in the English alphabet. There are also some sounds that we do not have in the English language.

Let's take a closer look at the sounds. Click on each of the tabs in the chart below.

Ch, ch

You can make this same sound in English by combining the letters c and h like in the words chocolate and chipmunk.

Listen to the letter sound.

Ch ch

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

chocolate

churro

Ll, ll and Yy

The letters Ll, ll and Yy sound like the letter J in the English words jam and jelly. (In some Spanish-speaking countries, they pronounce the Ll, ll like the English Y.)

Remember, the Y can be pronounced like the English Y also. However, the Y by itself in Spanish (means and) is pronounced like the letter E.

Listen to the letter sounds.

Ll, ll

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

lluvia

Yate

Ññ

We make the same sound as the Spanish Ññ when we say lasagna.

Listen to the letter sounds.

Ññ

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

España

piña

Rr

Some English speakers find the letter Rr very challenging to pronounce. In Spanish, Rr has two different sounds.

Single Rr in the middle of a word	Rr is at the beginning of a word
In English, there is a similar sound for the Spanish Rr in the middle of a word. These English sounds are dd and tt. ladder letter Now, try to say María and cara using the same sound. Can you hear the similarities? María cara	When the Rr is at the beginning of a word its sound is a little harder. However, the right pronunciation can make a big difference when you are speaking so it pays to practice this sound until you have it down pat! Listen to the words in Spanish. rectángulo rosa Spanish also has the double r or rr in the middle of a word, as in the word "carro" below. caro carro

Jj

The letter Jj in Spanish sounds like the letter H in English.

Listen to the letter sound.

Jj

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

jaula

jamón

Hh

The letter Hh is silent.

Listen to the letter sound.

Hh

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

hilo

hermano

Ww

The letter W is borrowed from the English alphabet. It is used only to pronounce foreign words.

Listen to the letter sound.

Ww

Now listen to the words in a sentence.

William vive en Washington.

Zz

In many Spanish-speaking countries, the Z is pronounced like an Ss.

Listen to the letter sound.

Zz

Now, listen to the words in Spanish.

zapato

zorro

However, in Spain, this letter is pronounced with your tongue under your front teeth. It makes a th sound like when you say thank you.

Listen to the words the way they are pronounced in Spain.

zapato

zorro

Note: The sound Sh is not part of the Spanish sound system, except when you want to tell someone to be quiet.

Click here to watch a video with more information about the Spanish alphabet.

The Spanish vowels are Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu and even though the letters' names are different in English and Spanish, you can find all these sounds in the English sound system.

Let's look at different examples. Listen and compare the sounds in English and Spanish.