Learn the alphabet in Spanish. Spelling and pronunciation

Learning the alphabet in Spanish is an essential step to learning Spanish pronunciation and being able to speak fluently. The letters of the alphabet in Spanish are exactly the same as the English alphabet, except the Spanish alphabet has 27 letters. Before 2010, however, the Spanish alphabet had 29 letters which included “CH” and “LL”, these were officially excluded as separate letters of the Spanish alphabet by the Royal Spanish Academy.

Spanish has a very phonetic and regular alphabet as each letter generally has one sound associated with it; if you know the sound of each letter, you can phonetically read almost any Spanish word.

To get started, here is a great video on the alphabet pronunciation in Spanish, as well as its use in spelling:

NOTABLE LETTERS IN SPANISH

• B and V

The Spanish names for “B” and “V” have the same pronunciation: ‘beh’. This does, understandably, lead to some confusion when spelling words. To distinguish between the two, the name ‘oo-beh’ was introduced for the letter “V”. Otherwise, many people differentiate the two letters with a trick used commonly in English too; they follow either “B” or “V” with a word that starts with that letter. For example, if they wished to specify a “V”, they would say ‘beh de violín’, much as an English speaker would say ‘V for Violin’.

• K and W

These two letters, though officially a part of the alphabet in Spanish, are not used regularly as they do not appear in any natural Spanish words. They are normally reserved for foreign loanwords in Spanish such as ‘whisky’ and ‘kárate’. 

• H

The letter “H” in the Spanish alphabet is the only letter that, when it appears in Spanish words, is always silent. When placed in the middle of words, the letter “H”, though silent, visibly distinguishes between syllables. When placed at the beginning of words, the letter “H” simply is not pronounced.

• Ñ

The letter “Ñ” is the only difference between the English and Spanish alphabets. The letter “Ñ” makes the total number of letters in the Spanish alphabet 27 and is placed after the letter “N” and before the letter “O”. The accent on the “Ñ”, which differentiates it from a normal “N”, is called a tilde, or virgulilla, and is pronounced eh-nyeh.

• S

The letter “S” in Spanish is also a notable letter. Though pronounced the same as in English, the letter “S” is only ever followed by a consonant if the “S” is preceded by the letter “E”, a popular example of this is the word “España”. This also means that there is no word in Spanish that starts with an “S” and is followed by a consonant, so the word “Spain” doesn’t actually exist in Spanish! 

THE ALPHABET IN SPANISH AND EXAMPLES

A 

• Abeja (Bee)
• Araña (Spider)
• Avión (Airplane)

B 

• Barco (Boat)
• Bebé (Baby)
• Balón (Ball)

C 

• Carro (Car)
• Casa (House)
• Cama (Bed)

D 

• Dedo (Finger)
• Delfín (Dolphin)
• Dinero (Money)

E 

• Elefante (Elephant)
• Estrella (Star)
• Escuela (School)

F

• Flores (Flowers)
• Fuego (Fire)
• Fresa (Strawberry)

G 

• Gato (Cat)
• Gallo (Rooster)
• Gorila (Gorilla)

H 

• Helado (Icecream)
• Helicóptero (Helicopter)
• Hoja (Leaf)

I 

• Iglesia (Church)
• Isla (Island)
• Iguana (Iguana)

J 

• Jirafa (Giraffe)
• Jabón (Soap)
• Jugo (Juice)

K 

• Kárate (Karate)
• Koala (Koala)
• Kilogramo (Kilogram)

L 

• Luna (Moon)
• León (Lion)
• Lupa (Magnifying glass)

M 

• Manzana (Apple)
• Mano (Hand)
• Mesa (Table)

N 

• Naranja (Orange)
• Nube (Cloud)
• Nido (Nest)

Ñ 

• Araña (Spider)
• Niño (Child)
• Mañana (Tomorrow)

O 

• Oveja (Sheep)
• Ocho (Eight)
• Oro (Gold)

P 

• Perro (Dog)
• Pato (Duck)
• Pulpo (Octopus)

Q 

• Queso (Cheese)
• Quince (Fifteen)
• Quieto (Quiet)

R 

• Radio (Radio)
• Ratón (Mouse)
• Rana (Frog)

S 

• Sol (Sun)
• Silla (Chair)
• Serpiente (Snake)

T 

• Tren (Train)
• Tigre (Tiger)
• Tortuga (Tortoise)

U 

• Uva (Grape)
• Uno (One)
• Uniforme (Uniform)

V 

• Violín (Violin)
• Ventana (Window)
• Vaca (Cow)

W

• Wafle (Waffle)
• Whisky (Whiskey
• Wok (Wok)

X 

• Xilófono (Xylophone)
• Examen (Exam)
• Texto (Text)

Y 

• Yogur (Yoghurt)
• Yo-Yo (Yo-Yo)
• Yema (Egg yolk)

Z 

• Zanahoria (Carrot)
• Zapato (Shoe)
• Zorro (Fox)

LEARNING THE SPANISH ALPHABET IS EASY!

Learning the ABC in Spanish is a fundamental part of learning the language, it is vital for spelling in Spanish as well as learning pronunciation. Luckily for an English speaker, the alphabet in Spanish is incredibly similar to the English alphabet, with only the addition of the letter “Ñ”. With its regularly, a learner can easily read almost any Spanish word if they learn the Spanish alphabet and the sounds associated with each letter!

Now that you know the Spanish alphabet, check these 10 Easy Spanish Songs for Beginners and Kids!

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