Spanish Spelling Tips

Letters B and V

  • Have the same sound

  • Patterns (not hard and fast rules) 

    • Before L and R use B ex. Blanco (white) y brazo (arm) 

    • After M use B: cambio (change) 

    • After N use V: enviar  (to send) 

    • After the prefixes ad- or sub-, use v: adversario (adversary) y subvalorar (undervalue) 

  • a few words are english homophones ex: tubo (tube) y tuvo (he/she had)  o botar (to bounce) y votar (to vote)

Letters s, c, and z

  • S is always pronounced like the s in set: casa (house) 

  • Sometimes c and z make the same as in 

    • C - before E or I: cielo (sky) 

    • Z - before a, o, or u

  • Making words plural: if they end in Z it becomes a C

Letters c, q, and k

  • C, QU, and K are pronounced like the C in cat

  • C before A, O, U, or a consonant: caro (expensive), clavo (nail), cruz (cross)

  • QU is used before E or I: quiero (i want) y queso (cheese) 

  • K used in words that originate from other languages (uncommon) 

Letter J

  • Does not make the English J sound, it is the strong H

  • Always before a vowel

  • Typically found before A, O, U (not always) 

  • G makes the same sound as J (English H sound) when before E y I 

Letter R 

  • The double R only appears in between vowels (it is rolled) 

Letter y and digraph LL

  • Y and LL ar pronounced like the y in yes (y can sometimes be pronounced as i) 

  • Both LL and Y are at the beginning of words and between vowels

  • End of words or after consonant is y: hoy (today) y inyectar (to inject)