Spanish is written almost exactly as it is pronounced. Once you know the rules on this page, you can read aloud any word correctly, even one you have never seen.
El alfabeto
| Letra | Nombre | Letra | Nombre | Letra | Nombre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | J j | jota | R r | erre |
| B b | be | K k | ka | S s | ese |
| C c | ce | L l | ele | T t | te |
| D d | de | M m | eme | U u | u |
| E e | e | N n | ene | V v | uve |
| F f | efe | Ñ ñ | eñe | W w | uve doble |
| G g | ge | O o | o | X x | equis |
| H h | hache | P p | pe | Y y | ye (i griega) |
| I i | i | Q q | cu | Z z | zeta |
Ch and ll are pairs of letters (dígrafos), not separate letters, since the 2010 spelling reform of the Real Academia Española.
Sounds that need attention
| Spelling | Sound | Examples | Arabic / French comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| j, g + e/i | strong throat sound | jefe, hijo, gente, jirafa | like Arabic |
| g + a/o/u, gu + e/i | hard g | gato, guapo, guerra, guitarra | like French g in gare |
| güe, güi | g + w | pingüino, vergüenza | the two dots make the u sound |
| c + a/o/u, qu + e/i | k | casa, queso, quince | the u in qu is silent |
| c + e/i, z | Spain: th (as in think); Latin America: s | cielo, cena, zapato, diez | Spain: like |
| h | silent | hola, hermano, hacer | like French h |
| ll, y | y (as in yes) | llave, lluvia, yo, playa | |
| ñ | ny | niño, mañana, España | like French gn in montagne |
| r (between vowels) | single tap | pero, caro, cara | like a light Arabic |
| rr, initial r | rolled r | perro, carro, rosa, Ramadán | like a strong Arabic |
| b / v | same sound | vaca, bueno, vivir, beber | Spanish has no English/ French v |
| d (between vowels / final) | soft, like th in this | cansado, verdad, Madrid | like Arabic |
Pero (but) and perro (dog), caro (expensive) and carro (car): the single and double r change the meaning. Practise them in pairs.
Vowels
Spanish has only five vowel sounds, always short and clear: a, e, i, o, u. A vowel never “disappears” as in English or French (e muet): every letter is read. Coche has two full syllables: co-che.
Stress and written accents (la tilde)
Every Spanish word has one stressed syllable. Three rules tell you which one, and the written accent (´) marks the exceptions.
- Words ending in a vowel, -n or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: ca-sa, ha-blan, lu-nes.
- Words ending in any other consonant are stressed on the last syllable: ha-blar, ciu-dad, re-loj.
- If a word breaks rules 1–2, it carries a written accent on the stressed vowel: ca-fé, ár-bol, mur-cié-la-go, tam-bién, lec-ción.
The written accent also distinguishes words that are otherwise identical (tilde diacrítica):
| Without accent | With accent |
|---|---|
| el (the) | él (he) |
| tu (your) | tú (you) |
| mi (my) | mí (me, after a preposition) |
| si (if) | sí (yes) |
| se (reflexive pronoun) | sé (I know / be!) |
| te (you, object) | té (tea) |
| de (of) | dé (give, subjunctive) |
| mas (but, literary) | más (more) |
| que, como, donde, cuando (relative) | qué, cómo, dónde, cuándo (question/exclamation) |
Two common slips: árabé and tevisión. The correct forms are árabe (stress on the first syllable: Á-ra-be) and televisión.
Punctuation
Questions and exclamations open with an inverted mark: ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bonito! The opening mark goes where the question actually starts: Y tú, ¿de dónde eres?