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Hover over or tap a linked verb for a brief explanation or to open the full verb tool.
Understand it: clear vowels · Entiéndelo: vocales claras
- house; both a vowels keep an ah-like sound
- casaKAH-sah
- table; e stays eh and a stays ah
- mesaMEH-sah
- island; i keeps an ee-like sound
- islaEES-lah
- bear; both o vowels stay clear, without an English ow glide
- osoOH-soh
- grape; u keeps an oo-like sound
- uvaOO-vah
- .Ana: Subject — who or what?; speaks: Verb — action or state
- .Ana: Subject — who or what?; habla: Verb — action or state
Self-check · Comprueba tu respuesta
Casa has a + a; mesa has e + a; isla has i + a; oso has o + o; uva has u + a. The two a vowels in casa and the two o vowels in oso keep their basic vowel quality. KAH-sah and OH-soh mark the stronger syllable, not a different sound for the unstressed vowel. Compare with audio; reading the answer alone cannot check your pronunciation.
Compare the sounds · Compara los sonidos
- hello; the written h adds no sound
- holaOH-lah
- but / dog; a quick r tap versus a rolled rr
- pero / perroPEH-roh / PEH-rroh
- year; ñ has an ny-like sound, distinct from n
- añoAH-nyoh
- .The dog: Subject — who or what?; runs: Verb — action or state
- .El perro: Subject — who or what?; corre: Verb — action or state
Check the contrast · Comprueba el contraste
Hola begins with the o vowel. Perro means dog and uses the trill; pero means but and uses a brief tap between the vowels. Año means year and uses ñ. The spelling tells you what to aim for, but listening and comparing are needed to check the sound you produce.
Build it step by step · Constrúyelo paso a paso
- Hello! My name is Mark.
- ¡Hola! Me Mark.llamo: Verb — action or state¡OH-lah! meh YAH-moh mahrk.
- What's your name? Nice to meet you.
- ¿Cómo te ? Mucho gusto.¿KOH-moh teh YAH-mahs? MOO-choh GOOS-toh.
- How are you? I'm fine, thanks.
- ¿Cómo ? bien, gracias.¿KOH-moh ehs-TAHS? ehs-TOY byehn, GRAH-syahs.
Check and try again · Comprueba y vuelve a intentar
¡Hola! Me llamo [your name]. ¿Cómo te llamas? Mucho gusto. Check silent h in hola, clear vowels, and the y-like ll in llamo/llamas. Listen once, say it, then compare one feature at a time. Synthesized practice audio is not a native accent recording. Continue to Stress & Accent Marks for strong syllables and written accents.
Sound reference · Referencia de sonidos
- like the a in father
- a — “ah”
- like the e in bed
- e — “eh”
- like the i in machine
- i — “ee”
- steady oh, without an ow glide
- o — “oh”
- like the oo in moon
- u — “oo”
- y-like here: llama; regional sounds vary
- ll
- like canyon — año sounds like “AH-nyo”
- ñ — “ny”
- a rolled/trilled r — perro
- rr
- an h sound — jugo sounds like “HOO-go”
- j
- silent in hola; ch has its own sound
- h
- tap between vowels: pero; initial trill: rojo
- r
- like h — gente sounds like “HEN-teh”
- g + e/i
- like s — cena, zapato
- c + e/i, z
- like k, silent u — queso sounds like “KEH-so”
- qu
- a hard g, silent u — guitarra
- gu + e/i
- same consonant; firmer or softer by context
- b / v
- an s before a consonant is often softened — está sounds like “eh-TAH”
- s → h (PR)
- the d is often dropped — cansado sounds like “kan-SAO”
- -ado → -ao (PR)
- an r ending a syllable often sounds like l — puerta sounds like “PWEL-ta”
- r → l (PR)
Check the spelling pattern · Comprueba el patrón escrito
In queso, qu supplies a k sound and u is silent. In guitarra, gu before i keeps a hard g and u is silent. Spanish b and v represent the same consonant sound, so vaca does not begin with the English lip-and-teeth v. Their sound can be firmer or softer depending on context; the spelling alone does not choose that difference.
Use the letters in a sentence · Usa las letras en una oración
- .Ana: Subject — who or what?; eats: Verb — action or state; cheese: Direct object — receives the action
- .Ana: Subject — who or what?; come: Verb — action or state; queso: Direct object — receives the action