Spanish A to Z

El alfabeto español

Here's our not-so-quick guide to the Spanish alphabet:

          Spanish               Pronunciation                          As in                  Example

          letter

A        a                          a                                              Apple                 adiós (goodbye)

B        be (beh)               beh                                          Ban                    el banco (the bank)

C        ce (seh)               k (before a, l, r)                       Call                    la cava (cava)

                                      cwa (before ua)                       Quack                cuando (when)

                                      seh (before e)                         They                  la cena (the dinner)

                                      que (before ue)                        Quest                la cuenta (the bill)

                                      seh (before i)                          They                  el cielo (the sky)

                                      qui (before ui)                         Quit                   cuidado (be careful)

                                      k (before o)                             Comma               la comida (the meal)

                                      quo (before uo)                        Quote                una cuota (a share)

                                      k (before u)                             Call                    una culpa (a fault)

                                      ch (before h)                           Check                 un chico (a boy)

D        de (deh)               deh                                          David                 una ducha (a shower)

E        e (eh)                   eh                                            End                    enero (January)

F        efe                      f                                              Fall                    la fotografía (the photograph)

G        ge (heh)               g (before a)                             Gallon                el gato (the cat)

                                      gwa (before ua)                       -                         guapo (attractive)

                                      huh (before e)                         Hen                    gente (people)

                                      ge (before ue)                         Get                    guerra (war)

                                      huh (before I)                         Hill                     girasol (sunflower)

                                      gi (before ui)                           Give                   la guitarra (guitar)

                                      g (before o)                             Got                    gordo (fat)

                                      g (before u)                             Guts                   gusto (taste)

H        hache (acheh)      almost silent – a ghost of a letter                      hambre (hunger)

I         i (ee)                    ih                                             India                  inglés (English)

J        jota (hota)           h                                              Hot                    jamón (ham)

K        ka                        k                                              Kill                     el kiosco (kiosk)

NB: there is a Spanish K. They pronounce QU as K, so el queso (cheese) is Kayso.

L         ele (eleh)             l                                               Long                   el limón (lemon)

LL       elle (elyeh)          y                                              Yank                   la lluvia (rain)

M       eme (emeh)          m                                             Mat                    la mujer (woman)

N        ene (eneh)           n                                              Not                    negro (black)

Ñ        eñe (enyeh)          nyeh                                        canYon               el niño (child)

O        o                          o                                              Orange               oro (gold)

P         pe (peh)               p                                              Pay                     el pimiento (pepper)

Q       cu                        k                                              Kilo                    quizás (perhaps)

NB: there is a Spanish Q                                               QUestion           la cuenta (the bill)

R        ere (ereh)            r                                              Rat                     el río (river)

S        ese (eseh)            s                                              Send                  el sol (sun)

T        te (teh)               t                                              Tell                    el tren (train)

U        u (oo)                   oo                                            spOOn               las uvas (grapes)

V        uve                      vuh                                          Vice                   la ventana (window)

W       uve doble             v                                              Vat                     el wáter (toilet)

X        equis                    exc                                          EXceed              el extranjero (foreigner)

Y        i griega                yuh                                          Yacht                 la yema (egg yolk)

Z        zeta                     s                                              speed                 los zapatos (shoes).

Z        zeta                     thay                                        They                  los zapatos (shoes)