El alfabeto (abecedario) español

The Spanish Alphabet

The “traditional” alphabet

While many of the 30 letters in this slideshow have been removed with the inclusion of Spain in the European Union, these extra characters are useful in learning the sounds of the language.

Please note that the phonetic spellings are designed for easy pronunciation by English speakers. They are not intended to be “correct” phonetic spellings.

A

B

called “beh larga” (long “b”)

Makes English “b” sound

C

Makes soft “s” sound or hard “k” sound. Liceo.........Cancún

Ch

D

E

Vowels always make the same sounds in all words. There are no short or long vowel sounds.

F

G

Makes hard “g” sound before a, o, u. Makes soft “h” sound before e or i.

Gato / Gorra / Guante / Geraldo / Gitano

H

Silent letter.....never pronounced.

I

Vowels always make the same sounds in all words. There are no short or long vowel sounds.

J

Makes the English “h” sound.

K

L

LL

Makes the English “y” sound.

Me llamo

M

N

Ñ

Makes the English “ny” sound.

Español vs Espanol

O

Vowels always make the same sounds in all words. There are no short or long vowel sounds.

P

Q

Makes the English “k” sound.

R

RR

Makes the rolling “r” sound. This sound can also occur with single “r”.

Borrador / Rafael

S

T

U

Vowels always make the same sounds in all words. There are no short or long vowel sounds.

V

called “beh corta” (short “b”)

Makes English “b” sound

“b” de burro / “v” de vaca

B & V.........PRODUCE SAME SOUND

W

Sometimes called “beh-doble”.

X

Y

Z

Makes the English “s” sound.

El Zorro