Spanish: Alphabet and Pronunciation

What is el abecedario (also called el alfabeto)?

The Spanish alphabet.

How many letters are in the modern Spanish alphabet?

27 (the 26 English letters plus Ñ).

Which letter is in the Spanish alphabet but not the English one?

Ñ (eñe).

True or false: CH and LL are still counted as separate letters of the Spanish alphabet.

False. They were removed in 2010 but are still used as letter pairs in words.

What are las vocales?

The vowels: a, e, i, o, u.

What are las consonantes?

The consonants, every letter that is not a vowel.

In English one vowel can make many sounds. How many sounds does each Spanish vowel make?

Only one, always the same.

What is a sílaba?

A syllable, one beat of sound in a word.

Which Spanish vowels are the strong vowels?

A, E, O.

Which Spanish vowels are the weak vowels?

I and U.

What is a diptongo (diphthong)?

Two vowels blended into one syllable: a weak vowel next to a strong one, or two weak vowels. Example: bai-le, diez.

What is it called when two vowels next to each other are split into separate syllables, like fe-o or dí-a?

A hiatus (hiato).

What is a tilde?

The written accent mark (á, é, í, ó, ú) that shows which syllable is stressed.

How is the vowel A pronounced?

"ah" as in father.

How is the vowel E pronounced?

"eh" as in bet.

How is the vowel I pronounced?

"ee" as in see.

How is the vowel O pronounced?

"oh," short and clean, no glide.

How is the vowel U pronounced?

"oo" as in food.

Which word from class contains all five vowels?

Murciélago (bat).

What is the Spanish name for the letter B, and what sound does it make?

Be (be grande). Like English b, soft between vowels.

What is the Spanish name for the letter C, and what sound does it make?

Ce. K sound before a, o, u. S sound before e, i.

What is the Spanish name for the letter D, and what sound does it make?

De. Like English d, softer (almost "th" in "this") between vowels.

What is the Spanish name for the letter F, and what sound does it make?

Efe. Same as English f.

What is the Spanish name for the letter G, and what sound does it make?

Ge. Hard g (go) before a, o, u. Raspy h before e, i.

What is the Spanish name for the letter H, and what sound does it make?

Hache. Always silent (hola = OH-lah).

What is the Spanish name for the letter J, and what sound does it make?

Jota. A raspy h, like a strong "h" in "hot."

What is the Spanish name for the letter K, and what sound does it make?

Ka. Same as English k, only used in borrowed words (kilo, karate).

What is the Spanish name for the letter L, and what sound does it make?

Ele. Same as English l.

What is the Spanish name for the letter M, and what sound does it make?

Eme. Same as English m.

What is the Spanish name for the letter N, and what sound does it make?

Ene. Same as English n.

What is the Spanish name for the letter Ñ, and what sound does it make?

Eñe. "ny" as in canyon (año = AH-nyoh).

What is the Spanish name for the letter P, and what sound does it make?

Pe. Like English p but without the puff of air.

What is the Spanish name for the letter Q, and what sound does it make?

Cu. K sound, always followed by a silent u (que, qui).

What is the Spanish name for the letter R, and what sound does it make?

Erre (or ere). A quick single tap like the tt in "butter," trilled at the start of words.

What is the Spanish name for the letter S, and what sound does it make?

Ese. Same as English s.

What is the Spanish name for the letter T, and what sound does it make?

Te. Tongue touches the back of the teeth, no puff of air.

What is the Spanish name for the letter V, and what sound does it make?

Uve (in Latin America often ve or ve chica). Sounds exactly like B.

What is the Spanish name for the letter W, and what sound does it make?

Uve doble (also doble ve or doble u). Like English w, only in borrowed words (wifi).

What is the Spanish name for the letter X, and what sound does it make?

Equis. Usually "ks" (examen), "s" at the start of a word, and "h" in some names (México, Texas).

What is the Spanish name for the letter Y, and what sound does it make?

Ye (older name: i griega). Like English y in "yes." Alone, y means "and" and sounds like "ee."

What is the Spanish name for the letter Z, and what sound does it make?

Zeta. S in Latin America, th in most of Spain.

How is CH pronounced?

Like "ch" in church (chico).

How is LL pronounced?

Like "y" in yes (pollo = POH-yoh).

How is RR pronounced?

A strongly rolled (trilled) r (perro).

Besides RR, when is a single R also trilled?

At the start of a word (rojo) and after L, N, or S (alrededor).

Which three letter pairs are never split between syllables?

CH, LL, and RR (co-che, ca-lle, pe-rro).

True or false: B and V make different sounds in Spanish.

False. They sound the same.

Fill in the blank: Ca, Co, Cu sound like ___.

Ka, Ko, Ku.

Fill in the blank: Ce, Ci sound like ___ in Latin America.

Se, Si (Spain uses a th sound).

Fill in the blank: Ge, Gi sound like ___.

He, Hi (a raspy h, same as the Spanish J).

Fill in the blank: Ga, Go, Gu sound like ___.

A hard g, as in "go."

Which two spellings make the same raspy h sound?

J with any vowel, and G before e or i (jirafa, gigante).

How are QUE and QUI pronounced?

Keh and kee. The u is silent.

How are GUE and GUI pronounced?

Hard g with a silent u (guitarra = gee-TAH-rrah).

How do you make the u pronounced in gue or gui?

Add two dots over it (ü), as in pingüino and bilingüe.

True or false: X always sounds like S in Spanish.

False. That's only at the start of words. Usually it's "ks" (examen), and like h in México.

Multiple choice: How is Z pronounced in Latin America? A) th B) s C) ts D) z

B) s.

Scenario: You see the word cena for the first time. How does it start?

With an S sound (SEH-nah), because C before E sounds like S.

Scenario: You see the word hueso. How does it start?

The H is silent, so it starts with the vowel sound (WEH-soh).

Which letter in Spanish is always silent?

H (except in the pair CH).

How do you count the syllables in a Spanish word?

One syllable per single vowel or diphthong. The silent u in que, qui, gue, gui doesn't count.

Syllable rule 1: Where does the syllable break between two strong vowels in a row?

Between them: fe-o.

Syllable rule 2: How do you split two vowels when one is an accented weak vowel?

Between them: dí-a.

Syllable rule 3: Where does one consonant between two vowels go?

With the next vowel: bai-le, ca-sa.

Syllable rule 4: Where do you split two consonants between vowels?

Between them: es-tar.

Syllable rule 4 exception: When do two consonants stay together?

When the second one is L or R (bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, tr): a-trás.

Syllable rule 5: Where do you usually split three consonants in a row?

Between the first and second: in-glés. If the last two aren't an L or R pair, split after the second: ins-ti-tu-to.

How many syllables are in él?

1.

How many syllables are in diez, and why?

1, because ie is a diphthong.

How many syllables are in frío, and why?

2 (frí-o), because the accent on the i breaks the diphthong.

Divide baile into syllables.

bai-le (2).

Divide fuerte into syllables.

fuer-te (2).

Divide derecha into syllables.

de-re-cha (3).

Divide febrero into syllables.

fe-bre-ro (3). BR stays together.

Divide cuidado into syllables.

cui-da-do (3).

Divide auxiliar into syllables.

au-xi-liar (3).

Divide dieciséis into syllables.

die-ci-séis (3).

Divide estéreo into syllables.

es-té-re-o (4).

Divide empleado into syllables.

em-ple-a-do (4).

Divide europeo into syllables.

eu-ro-pe-o (4).

Divide televisión into syllables.

te-le-vi-sión (4).

Divide australiano into syllables.

aus-tra-lia-no (4).

If a word ends in a vowel, N, or S and has no accent mark, which syllable is stressed?

The second-to-last (za-PA-to, e-XA-men).

If a word ends in any consonant besides N or S and has no accent mark, which syllable is stressed?

The last one (ju-GAR, ca-li-DAD).

What does a written accent mark do to stress?

It overrides the normal rules and marks exactly which syllable is stressed.

What is the difference between público and publicó?

PÚ-bli-co means public. Pu-bli-CÓ means he or she published. The accent changes the meaning.

How do you pronounce pero, and what does it mean?

PEH-roh, with a single tap r. It means "but."

How do you pronounce perro, and what does it mean?

PEH-rroh, with a trilled rr. It means "dog."

Multiple choice: Which word needs a trilled r? A) pero B) perro C) cara

B) perro.

How do you pronounce jugar, and what does it mean?

hoo-GAR. To play.

How do you pronounce gigante, and what does it mean?

hee-GAHN-teh. Giant.

How do you pronounce año, and what does it mean?

AH-nyoh. Year.

How do you pronounce pollo, and what does it mean?

POH-yoh. Chicken.

How do you pronounce zapato (Latin American style), and what does it mean?

sah-PAH-toh. Shoe.

How do you pronounce todo, and what does it mean?

TOH-doh (soft d). All or everything.

How do you pronounce cada, and what does it mean?

KAH-dah. Each.

How do you pronounce Europa, and what does it mean?

eh-oo-ROH-pah (eu blended). Europe.

How do you pronounce examen, and what does it mean?

ek-SAH-men (x = ks). Exam.

What does ferrocarril mean, and how is it divided into syllables?

Railroad or train. fe-rro-ca-rril (both rr are trilled).

What does murciélago mean, and how is it divided into syllables?

Bat (the animal). mur-cié-la-go.