Spanish Pronunciation

Description: Learn Spanish pronunciation rules. How do you pronounce the vowels? What consonants have different sounds in Spanish?

Summary of pronunciation rules
A = ah E = eh I = ee O = oh U = oo C = K before A, O or U C = S before E or I (or TH in Spain) G = hard G before A, O or U G = H before E or I GU = hard G before E or I GÜ = hard G and then oo sound (like "goo") H = silent J = H Ñ = ny (as in "canyon") QU = K R = rolled (or flap of the tongue) V = B Y = same as Y in English in most cases; When at the end of a word, it sounds like "ee." Z = S CC = KS (KTH in Spain) LL = Y (or soft J sound) RR = long rolled R

Summary of pronunciation rules

A = ah
E = eh
I = ee
O = oh
U = oo
C = K before A, O or U
C = S before E or I (or TH in Spain)
G = hard G before A, O or U
G = H before E or I
GU = hard G before E or I
GÜ = hard G and then oo sound (like "goo")
H = silent
J = H
Ñ = ny (as in "canyon")
QU = K
R = rolled (or flap of the tongue)
V = B
Y = same as Y in English in most cases; When at the end of a word, it sounds like "ee."
Z = S
CC = KS (KTH in Spain)
LL = Y (or soft J sound)
RR = long rolled R

Practice

Use the pronunciation rules that you learned on in this lesson to pronounce the following words. After you try to pronounce it, click on "Listen" to hear the pronunciation.

1. cocer (to cook) ► Listen