Spanish pronunciation made easy
Good news: Spanish is spelled the way it sounds. Learn a handful of rules and you can read any word out loud, even one you've never seen.
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Five vowels, always the same
English vowels change all the time. Spanish vowels never do. Keep them short and clean.
| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | the a in “father” | casa (KAH-sah), house |
| e | the e in “bed” | mesa (MEH-sah), table |
| i | the ee in “see” | sí (SEE), yes |
| o | the o in “more”, short | ocho (OH-choh), eight |
| u | the oo in “food” | uno (OO-noh), one |
- casa, mesa, sí, ocho, unoHear all five vowelsSay it: KAH-sah, MEH-sah, SEE, OH-choh, OO-noh
The letters that surprise English speakers
| Letter | How to say it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| h | Always silent | hola (OH-lah), hotel (oh-TEHL) |
| j, and g before e or i | A breathy h, from the back of the throat | jamón (hah-MOHN), gente (HEHN-teh) |
| ñ | Like the ny in “canyon” | mañana (mah-NYAH-nah) |
| ll and y | Like the y in “yes” (like “sh” in Argentina) | llave (YAH-beh), playa (PLAH-yah) |
| r | A quick tap of the tongue, like the tt in “butter” | pero (PEH-roh), but |
| rr, and r at the start of a word | A rolled r | perro (PEH-rroh), dog |
| v and b | The same soft b | vino (BEE-noh), bien (byehn) |
| qu | Like k (the u is silent) | queso (KEH-soh), ¿qué? (keh) |
| z, and c before e or i | Like s in Latin America, like th in most of Spain | cerveza (sehr-BEH-sah / thehr-BEH-thah) |
- pero, perrobut, dog: one tap versus a rollSay it: PEH-roh, PEH-rroh
- mañanatomorrow, or morningSay it: mah-NYAH-nah
- jamónhamSay it: hah-MOHN
- la llavethe keySay it: lah YAH-beh
Where the stress goes
- Word ends in a vowel, n or s? Stress the second-to-last syllable: CA-sa, HA-blan, TA-pas.
- Word ends in any other consonant? Stress the last syllable: ho-TEL, ciu-DAD, ha-BLAR.
- A written accent breaks the rule and shows you the stress: ca-FÉ, te-LÉ-fo-no, a-vi-ÓN.
- café, teléfono, avióncoffee, telephone, airplaneSay it: kah-FEH, teh-LEH-foh-noh, ah-BYOHN
Spain and Latin America
Both are “real” Spanish and understand each other easily, like British and American English. Three differences matter for travelers.
- The “th” sound. In most of Spain, z and soft c sound like “th”: gracias is GRAH-thyahs. In Latin America it's GRAH-syahs. Either is fine anywhere.
- “You all.” Spain uses vosotros with friends (¿Qué queréis?). Latin America always uses ustedes (¿Qué quieren?). Ustedes is understood everywhere.
- Everyday words. A few common things have different names. See the list below.
- GraciasThank youLatin America GRAH-syahsSpain GRAH-thyahs
- Una cerveza, por favorA beer, pleaseLatin America OO-nah sehr-BEH-sah, pohr fah-VOHRSpain OO-nah thehr-BEH-thah, pohr fah-BOHR
| English | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🌎 Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| car | el coche | el carro / el auto |
| cell phone | el móvil | el celular |
| juice | el zumo | el jugo |
| ticket | el billete | el boleto |
| potato | la patata | la papa |
| computer | el ordenador | la computadora |
| OK | vale | está bien / OK |
| to take the bus | coger el autobús | tomar el autobús / el camión |
Heads-up: in Spain, coger just means “to take”. In much of Latin America it's rude slang, so use tomar there.
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