| ICS - BONUS LESSON B |
Pronunciation Guide
Spanish contains four additional letters not found in English: ch, ll, ñ, and rr. All letters are pronunced, with the exception of h; the letters v and b are most often both pronunced like the English b. Words ending in a vowel, an, n, or an s are stressed on the next-to-last syllable -- casa (KAH-sah). Words ending in a consonant (other than n or s) are stressed on the last syllable -- general (hehn-eh-RAHL). A written accent is required on any words which break either of these rules -- lápiz (LAH-pees).
NOTE: When pronouncing the words in the following examples, stress the section that appears in CAPITAL letters. ( You will find he Spanish Alphabet at the bottom of this page).
|
| VOWELS |
|
SPANISH LETTER
|
SOUND IN ENGLISH |
EXAMPLES |
| a |
ah (yacht) |
taco (TAH-koh) |
| e |
ay (day)
eh (pet) |
mesa (MAY-sah)
perro (PEH-roh) |
| i |
ee (meet) |
libro (LEE-broh) |
| o |
oh (open) |
foto (FOH-toh) |
| u |
oo (tooth) |
mucho (MOO-choh) |
| COMMON VOWEL COMBINATIONS (Diphthongs) |
| SPANISH LETTER(S) |
SOUND IN ENGLISH |
EXAMPLES |
| au |
ow (cow) |
causa (COW-sah)
auto (ow-toh)
|
| ei |
ay (day) |
aceite (ah-SAY-tay) |
| ai |
y (type) |
baile (BY-lay) |
| ie |
yeh (yet) |
abierto (ah-BYEHR-toh) |
| ue |
weh (wet) |
bueno (BWEH-noh) |
| CONSONANTS |
| SPANISH LETTER(S) |
SOUND IN ENGLISH |
EXAMPLES |
| c (before a, o, u) |
hard k sound (cat) |
campo (KAHM-poh)
cosa (KOH-sah)
Cuba (KOO-bah) |
| c (before e, i) |
soft s sound (cent) |
central (sehn-TRAHL)
cinco (SEEN-koh) |
| cc |
hard & soft cc
(ks sound) - (accept) |
acción (ahk-see-OHN) |
| ch |
hard ch sound (chair) |
muchacho (moo-CHAH-choh) |
| g (before a, o, u) |
hard g (go) |
gafas (GAH-fahs)
goma (GOH-mah) |
| g (before e, t) |
breathy h (hot) |
general (hehn-eh-RAHL) |
| h |
always silent |
hasta (AHS-tah) |
| j |
breathy h sound (hot) |
José (ho-SAY) |
| l |
English l (lamp) |
lámpara (LAHM-pahr-ah) |
| ll |
as in English y (yes) |
pollo (POH-yoh) |
| n |
English n (no) |
naranja (nah-RAHN-ha) |
| ñ |
English ny (canyon) |
señorita (seh-nyoh-REE-tah) |
| qu |
English k (keep) |
que (kay) |
| r |
"trilled r" once |
caro (KAH-roh) |
rr
(or "r" beginning a word) |
"trilled rr" strongly |
rico (RREE-koh)
perro (PEH-rroh) |
| s |
English s (see) |
rosa (ROH-sah) |
| v |
Like b (book) |
primavera
(pree-mah-BEHR-ah) |
| x |
English s, ks
(sign, socks) |
estra (ES-trah)
examinar (ek-sah-mee-NAHR) |
| y |
English y (yes),
by itself y = i) |
yo (yoh)
y (ee) |
| z |
English s |
zapato (sah-PAH-toh) |
|
The Spanish Alphabet
|
A a
ah |
B b
beh |
C c
seh |
Ch ch
tshe |
D d
deh |
E e
eh |
F f
eh'fe |
G g
kheh |
H h
acheh |
I i
ee |
J j
khota |
K k
kä |
L l
eh'leh |
Ll ll
ehl'yeh |
M m
e'meh |
N n
en'eh |
Ñ ñ
en'yeh |
O o
oh |
P p
peh |
Q q
koo |
R R
er'reh |
S s
e'se |
T t
teh |
U u
oo |
V v
beh |
W w
do'bleh beh |
X x
e'kees |
Y y
ee-gree ye'gaegä |
Z z
se'tä |
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