Spanish Alphabet & Punctuation

Spanish Alphabet

a -- ah

b -- b

c -- /s/  /k/

   c →e, i : /s/

   c →a, o, u : /k/

d -- d (touch tongue to back of teeth while saying)

e -- eh

f -- f (only little bit of lip in mouth)

g -- changes depending on vowel.

• With a is /g/ sound

• With e is /h/ sound

• With i is /h/ sound

• With o is /g/ sound

• With u is /guh/ sound (more guttural)

• With ue is /g/ sound

• With ui is /g/ sound

h -- (no sound)

ch -- ch

i -- ee

j -- h

• ja/jo are more breathy

• ju is a /h/ sound like English

k -- k

l -- l

ll -- y

m -- m

n -- n

ñ -- neeu

o -- oh

p -- p

q -- k

• que →softer k sound (keh)

• qui →sounds like English k sound (kee)

r -- r/d (combo between soft d sound and r)

rr -- r (but roll your r)

s -- s

t -- t

u -- oo 

• Silent next to letters q and g

• When next to q and g as ü (has dieresis) it has a sound

v -- b (soft b soft)

w -- w

x -- /s/ /x/

• x is first letter → /s/ sound

• x isn’t first letter → /x/ sound

• Mexican pronunciation is /h/ sound constantly

y -- y

z -- s

Rules

• Vowels always sounds the same

• You roll your r’s when…

  • A word starts with a r

  • rr is between two vowels

  • R is after a consonant in a new syllable

Punctuation

1. El punto

• period/full stop/sentence ended

• After a ‘el punto’ the letter should be capitalized

2. La coma

• Comma

• Same usage as English

3. El punto y coma

• English semicolon 

• Used to divide related sections in a single sentence

4. signos de interrogación 

• Used like an English question mark

5. Exclamation

• Used like an English exclamation point

6. Dos puntos

• Colon

7. Puntos suspensivos

• Ellipses

8. Paréntesis 

   • Parenthesis

9. Comillas

   • Quotation marks