For Students
Pronunciation Guide
La pronunciación
🔊 Pronunciation & First Words
La pronunciación y primeras palabras
a — “ah”
like the a in father
e — “eh”
like the e in bed
i — “ee”
like the i in machine
o — “oh”
steady oh, without an ow glide
u — “oo”
like the oo in moon
ll
y-like here: llama; regional sounds vary
ñ — “ny”
like canyon — año sounds like “AH-nyo”
rr
a rolled/trilled r — perro
j
an h sound — jugo sounds like “HOO-go”
h
silent in hola; ch has its own sound
r
tap between vowels: pero; initial trill: rojo
g + e/i
like h — gente sounds like “HEN-teh”
c + e/i, z
like s — cena, zapato
qu
like k, silent u — queso sounds like “KEH-so”
gu + e/i
a hard g, silent u — guitarra
b / v
same consonant; firmer or softer by context
s → h (PR)
an s before a consonant is often softened — está sounds like “eh-TAH”
-ado → -ao (PR)
the d is often dropped — cansado sounds like “kan-SAO”
r → l (PR)
an r ending a syllable often sounds like l — puerta sounds like “PWEL-ta”
In a sentence
¡Hola! Me llamo Mark.
Hello! My name is Mark.
¿Cómo te llamas? Mucho gusto.
What's your name? Nice to meet you.
¿Cómo estás? Estoy bien, gracias.
How are you? I'm fine, thanks.
What you are learning · Qué vas a aprender
Say clear Spanish vowels, keep h silent, and introduce yourself with a short phrase. First work on the sounds within words; Course: Stress & Accent Marks then shows which syllable to emphasize. You do not need to imitate every regional accent feature yet. Grammar View shows sentence roles in the short sentence examples; use it when you want to connect these sounds with how a sentence works.
❗ Stress & Accent Marks
Acento y tilde: ¿cuál sílaba es fuerte?
In a sentence
casa · hablan · mesa
house · they speak · table No written accent. Ends in a vowel or n → stress the next-to-last syllable.
hablar · español · verdad
to speak · Spanish · truth No written accent. Ends in another consonant → stress the last syllable.
médico · también · inglés
doctor · also · English The written accent shows the stressed vowel.
Ana habla español.
Ana speaks Spanish.
Stress means one syllable is more prominent, not that every other syllable loses its vowel sound. CAPITAL letters in the pronunciation guide show the stressed syllable; they are not changes to Spanish spelling. English sound guides are approximate.
What you are learning · Qué vas a aprender
Divide a word into syllables and choose the strong one. With no written accent, a word ending in a vowel, or in n/s after a vowel, normally stresses the next-to-last syllable; other endings normally stress the last. The mark in á, é, í, ó or ú usually identifies the stressed vowel, not a new vowel sound. Some accents distinguish word meanings even when pronunciation stays the same. Grammar View shows sentence roles in the short sentence examples; use it when you want to connect these sounds with how a sentence works.