LinguaWhat you can already do: read any Spanish word aloud
Three lessons, one skill: Spanish is read exactly as it is written. The five vowels a e i o u each have one sound and never weaken. Most consonants are what they look like; the handful that are not (silent h, b and v as one sound, ñ, ll and y, the throaty j, the two faces of c and g, the tap and trill of r and rr) are listed below. Once these are automatic, an unfamiliar word is no longer a problem.
| Letter | Rule | Words |
|---|---|---|
| h | silent, always | hola, hotel |
| b, v | one and the same sound | vaca, bien |
| ñ | ny as in canyon | España, año |
| ll, y | the y of yes | llamar, yo |
| j, ge, gi | a strong h from the throat | jamón, gente |
| ce, ci, z | s; in Spain th as in think | cinco, cero, diez |
| que, gue | k and hard g, the u is silent | queso, guitarra |
| r / rr | one tap / a rolled trill | pero / perro |
| ch | ch as in church | chico, coche |
Stress: two rules and one marker
A word ending in a vowel, n or s is stressed one syllable from the end (CA-sa, a-MI-gos); a word ending in any other consonant is stressed on the end (ho-TEL, es-pa-ÑOL). Whenever a word breaks these rules, the tilde marks the stressed vowel (ca-FÉ, ÁR-bol, can-CIÓN). Question words always carry it: qué, dónde, cómo, quién, cuándo. And ¿ ¡ open a question or exclamation so the tone is known from the first word.
| Word | Ends in | Stressed syllable | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| casa | a vowel | CA-sa | the rule |
| hotel | the consonant l | ho-TEL | the rule |
| café | a vowel | ca-FÉ | an exception, so a tilde |
| canción | the letter n | can-CIÓN | an exception, so a tilde |
| árbol | the consonant l | ÁR-bol | an exception, so a tilde |
| ¿dónde? | a vowel | DÓN-de | a question word: always a tilde |
The traps, side by side
| Pair | What differs |
|---|---|
| pero / perro | one tap means "but", a trill means "dog" |
| sí / si | the tilde: "yes" against "if" |
| qué / que | the question word against the linking word |
| hola / ola | the silent h: "hello" against "a wave" |
| vaca / baca | the same sound, two spellings: "cow" against "roof rack" |
Mi amigo Miguel vive en España.My friend Miguel lives in Spain.
¿Qué tal? Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?How are you? Very well, thanks. And you?
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el amigo | friend (male) | Mi amigo toca la guitarra. My friend plays the guitar. |
| España | Spain | Vivo en España. I live in Spain. |
| el café | coffee; café | El café está caliente. The coffee is hot. |
| la canción | song | Es una canción de amor. It is a love song. |
| ¿dónde? | where? | ¿Dónde está el coche? Where is the car? |
| el perro | dog | El perro es de Carlos. The dog is Carlos's. |
| el queso | cheese | El queso es muy bueno. The cheese is very good. |
| gracias | thank you | Gracias, hasta mañana. Thanks, see you tomorrow. |
| la guitarra | guitar | Mi guitarra es nueva. My guitar is new. |
| cinco | five | Son las cinco. It is five o'clock. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 2
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which word begins with a letter that is not pronounced?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.