Spanish Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 English letters plus ñ. Each letter almost always makes the same sound, so once you know the sounds you can read any word aloud.
Taught in: A1.1 Week 1: Greetings & Introductions
The rule at a glance
27 letters: A to Z plus ñ. Most letters keep one sound (c, g, r, x, y have two sounds; h is silent).
5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 22 consonants
H is always silent
h
hola sounds like "ola"
hola
hello
J is a throaty h
j
like the ch in Scottish "loch": jamón
jamón
ham
Ñ is a new sound
ñ
like "ny" in canyon
niño
child
LL sounds like y
ll
calle sounds like "caye"
calle
street
- RR is rolled: a trilled sound that doesn't exist in English, as in perro (dog).
- Vowels never change: a always sounds like "ah", while English "a" changes in "cat", "cake", "father" and "about".
The 27 letters
The Spanish alphabet has the same 26 letters as English plus ñ: 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U), always pronounced clearly and the same way, and 22 consonants (B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z), most with consistent pronunciation rules. Spanish is much easier to read aloud than English: each letter usually makes the same sound every time. Press play to hear the whole alphabet, or click a letter to hear its name.
Interactive Spanish alphabet
Click any letter to hear it, or press play to hear the complete alphabet.
- A(a)ah (as in "father")
- B(be)beh
- C(ce)theh (Spain; "seh" in Latin America). Sounds "k" before a/o/u, "th" (Spain) or "s" before e/i
- D(de)deh
- E(e)eh (short "e" like in "bet")
- F(efe)EH-feh
- G(ge)heh ("g" as in "go" before a/o/u; like "ch" in "loch" before e/i)
- H(hache)AH-che (always silent)
- I(i)ee (as in "see")
- J(jota)HOH-tah (like Scottish "loch" or German "Bach")
- K(ka)kah
- L(ele)EH-leh
- M(eme)EH-meh
- N(ene)EH-neh
- Ñ(eñe)EN-yeh (like "ny" in canyon)
- O(o)oh (pure "o" sound)
- P(pe)peh
- Q(cu)koo (always followed by "ue" or "ui")
- R(erre)EH-rreh (tapped/flipped)
- S(ese)EH-seh
- T(te)teh
- U(u)oo (as in "food")
- V(uve)oo-beh (sounds like soft "b")
- W(uve doble)oo-beh DOH-bleh (rare, in foreign words)
- X(equis)EH-kees (like "ks" or "h" in some words)
- Y(i griega)ee GREE-eh-gah ("ee" or consonant "y")
- Z(zeta)THEH-tah (Spain; "SEH-tah" in Latin America): "th" in Spain, "s" in Latin America
Spanish letter names are pronounced consistently, which helps with spelling.
Special letters
Ñ (eñe) – Unique to Spanish, pronounced like 'ny' in 'canyon'
LL (elle) – Nowadays pronounced like 'y' in 'yes' in most regions
RR (erre doble) – Rolled 'r' sound, stronger than single 'r'
Accented letters
You will see letters like á, é, í, ó, ú in Spanish words. They are not separate letters: they are the same vowels with an accent mark (tilde) that shows which syllable to stress, and sometimes the meaning.
- café (coffee): accent on final E
- teléfono (telephone): accent on second E
- música (music): accent on first U
- matemáticas (mathematics): accent on the second A
When and how to use accent marks: Spanish rhythm: syllables and stress made simple →
Spanish also uses capital letters and the marks ¿ ¡ differently from English: see capitalisation and punctuation.
Download the study guide: a PDF with all the alphabet information, pronunciation guides and practice exercises.
Letters in words
The five vowels
A: casa, mapa – like 'a' in 'father' · /KAH-sah/, /MAH-pah/
E: mesa, verde – like 'e' in 'bed' · /MEH-sah/, /BEHR-deh/
I: libro, fin – like 'ee' in 'see' · /LEE-broh/, /feen/
O: hola, dos – like the 'o' in 'hot' but rounder, with no glide · /OH-lah/, /dohs/
U: luna, uno – like 'oo' in 'moon' · /LOO-nah/, /OO-noh/
Key consonants
J: jamón (ham), trabajo – like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' · /hah-MOHN/, /trah-BAH-hoh/ - a throaty 'h' from the back of the mouth
H: hola (hello), hora – always silent · /OH-lah/, /OH-rah/ - notice the silent 'h'
Ñ: niño (child), año – like 'ny' in 'canyon' · /NEE-nyoh/, /AH-nyoh/ - practise the 'ñ' sound
LL: llave, calle (street) – like 'y' in 'yes' · /YAH-veh/, /KAH-yeh/ - 'll' sounds like 'y'
RR: perro (dog), torre (tower) – rolled 'r' · /PEH-rroh/ (rolled r), /TOH-rreh/ - roll the 'rr'
Next, learn where the stress falls and when a word needs an accent: Syllables, stress and accents →
Common mistakes
H is silent
Not this (incorrect): Pronouncing 'h' like English 'h'
But this (correct): Always silent 'h' (hola = ola). Spanish H is always silent
J is not English j
Not this (incorrect): Pronouncing 'j' like English 'j'
But this (correct): 'j' like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' (jamón). Spanish J is a throaty sound from the back of the mouth, much stronger than English H
Roll the r
Not this (incorrect): Not rolling 'r' sounds
But this (correct): Rolled 'r' for 'rr' and 'r' at start. Double R needs a trill
LL is not English ll
Not this (incorrect): Pronouncing 'll' like English 'll'
But this (correct): 'll' like 'y' in 'yes' (calle = caye). Spanish LL sounds like Y
Ñ is not n
Not this (incorrect): Not distinguishing 'ñ' from 'n'
But this (correct): 'ñ' like 'ny' in 'canyon' (niño). Ñ is a distinct letter
Quick check
8 questions1. How do you pronounce the letter 'ñ' in Spanish?
The letter 'ñ' is pronounced like 'ny' in 'canyon' - it's a palatal nasal sound.
2. Which letter is pronounced like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch'?
The Spanish 'j' is a throaty sound like the 'ch' in 'loch' (much raspier than English 'h'), and so is 'g' before e/i. The Spanish 'h' itself is always silent.
3. How do you pronounce 'll' in most Spanish-speaking countries?
In most Spanish-speaking countries, 'll' is pronounced like 'y' in 'yes' (yeísmo).
4. Which letters are pronounced like the 'th' in 'think' in Spain?
In Spain, both 'z' and 'c' (before e/i) are pronounced like 'th' in 'think' (distinción). In Latin America, they're pronounced like 's'.
5. How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, including the letter 'ñ'.
6. In Spanish, which letter is ALWAYS silent?
The letter 'H' is always silent in Spanish. Words like 'hola' are pronounced 'ola', and 'hora' is pronounced 'ora'.
7. How is the letter 'J' pronounced in Spanish?
In Spain the 'J' is a throaty sound like the Scottish 'ch' in 'loch' (in much of Latin America it is softer, closer to English 'h'). For example, 'jamón' sounds like 'hah-MOHN' with a raspy h.
8. Which Spanish vowel sounds like 'oo' in 'food'?
The Spanish 'U' is pronounced like 'oo' in 'food'. For example, 'uno' sounds like 'OO-noh' and 'luna' sounds like 'LOO-nah'.
Test what you know about Spanish letters and sounds.
Going further
Regional variations, and why the alphabet used to have 29 letters
Regional variations
Standard pronunciation is the right place to start, but some sounds vary by region:
Spain
'z' and 'c' (before 'e'/'i') pronounced like 'th' in 'think'
Latin America
'z' and 'c' (before 'e'/'i') pronounced like 's'
Argentina/Uruguay
'll' and 'y' pronounced like 'sh' in 'ship'
Don't worry about these variations yet. Focus on standard pronunciation first.
The Spanish alphabet used to have 29 letters
Until 2010 the alphabet had 29 letters. The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) officially removed CH and LL as separate letters, leaving 27.
- CH is now alphabetised under C (chocolate now comes before cielo).
- LL is now alphabetised under L (llave now comes before luz).
- RR was never used at the start of words anyway.
- These combinations still exist and sound the same; they're just not separate letters.
In older textbooks and dictionaries (pre-1994) you may find words with CH and LL listed in separate sections. Modern materials follow the 27-letter system.