LinguaTwenty-seven letters, and you can read them all today
The Spanish alphabet is the English one plus ñ: 27 letters. The good news is bigger than that: almost every letter has exactly one sound, and a word is said exactly as it is written. Once you know the letters, you can read any Spanish word aloud – even one you have never seen.
| Vowel | Always sounds like | Word |
|---|---|---|
| a | a in father | casa |
| e | e in bed | mesa |
| i | ee in see | sí |
| o | o in sport | no |
| u | oo in moon | uno |
Vowels never change
In English one letter can hide several sounds. In Spanish a vowel has one sound and keeps it everywhere: a is the same in casa, amigo and España, whether the syllable is stressed or not. Vowels are short and clean, and a written e is always said – there is no silent final vowel.
The letters that surprise an English reader
| Letter | What it does | Words |
|---|---|---|
| h | silent, always | hola, hotel |
| j | a strong h from the throat | jamón, Juan |
| ñ | ny as in canyon | España, año |
| ll | like y in yes | llamar, calle |
| v | the same sound as b | vivir, vaca |
| qu | k, the u is silent | queso, ¿qué? |
Two of these matter most on day one. h is never pronounced: hola starts with the vowel. And b and v are one and the same sound, so vaca and baca sound identical – the spelling is history, not pronunciation.
Hola, me llamo Ana.Hello, my name is Ana.
El amigo de Juan vive en España.Juan's friend lives in Spain.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hola | hello | Hola, Marta, ¿qué tal? Hello, Marta, how are you? |
| adiós | goodbye | Adiós, hasta mañana. Goodbye, see you tomorrow. |
| sí | yes | Sí, soy Ana. Yes, I am Ana. |
| no | no, not | No, no soy Juan. No, I am not Juan. |
| el agua | water | El agua está fría. The water is cold. |
| la casa | house, home | La casa es grande. The house is big. |
| el amigo | friend (male) | Pedro es mi amigo. Pedro is my friend. |
| España | Spain | Ana es de España. Ana is from Spain. |
| la letra | letter (of the alphabet) | La letra h no suena. The letter h makes no sound. |
| la vocal | vowel | El español tiene cinco vocales. Spanish has five vowels. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which letter is never pronounced in Spanish?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.