Spanish Alphabet

Introduction to Spanish Alphabet

Spanish Alphabet
When you ask the people about English alphabet, you might get the answer of the 26 alphabets, or maybe they’ll sing the ABC song for you. But when you ask the Spanish speaker about the Spanish alphabets or you can say "abecedario" , you might get different answers depending on their regions.

Changes in Spanish alphabet
In the year 2010, with the agreement of 22 member countries of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, “ch” and “ll” has been removed from the Spanish formal alphabet. For now, there are 27 Spanish alphabets with 26 of the English ones, plus the letter “ñ” that we don’t have in English.

Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation
Spanish letters have their own special name while some of them might have more than one. Also, some of the letters might have different pronunciation based on the word.While the Spanish letters are pronounced in the common way, there are some of them change depending on the letters combining with them. For example, “c”, “g

Below are the Spanish Letters with the Letter Names, along with the tips to pronounce and example word.
LETTER LETTER NAME PRONUNCIATION TIPS EXAMPLE
a a ah Like the a in English word “fast”.
a is never pronounced as English word mate nor achieve.
Amarillo (Yellow)
b be
be larga
be alta
beh
beh lahr - gah
beh ahl - tah


Sounds like the b in English. Barco (Boat)
c ce kah
theh

Sounds like the k in English.
When c comes before e or i, it is pronounced as th in English word “thick”.
Casa (House)
Cine (Cinema)

d d deh Sounds like the d in English. Dinero (Money)
e e eh Like the e in English word "elephant".
e is never pronounce as ee in English word "feet".
Elefante (Elephant)
f efe eh - feh Like the f in English. Familia (Family)
g ge heh Sounds like the g in English.
When g comes before e or i, it is pronounced as h in English.
Gato (Cat)
Gente (People)

h hache ah - che In general, this letter is silent.
When h is placed after c, it sounds like ch in in English word “cheese”.
Hoja (Leaf)
Chícharo (Pea)

i i
i latina
ee
ee lah - tee - nah

Like the ea in English word “eat”. Invierno (Winter)
j jota hoh - tah Sounds like the h in English. Jabón (Soap)
k ca kah This letter is uncommon in Spanish, but sounds much like the k in English. Kiwi (Kiwi)
l ele eh - leh Sounds like the l in English.
When two l appears together, it is commonly pronounced as the y in English.
León (Lion)
Llama (Flame)

m eme eh - meh Sounds like the m in English. Mano (Hand)
n ene eh - neh Sounds like the n in English.
When n comes before f, it is pronounced as m.
Noche (Night)
Información (Information)

ñ eñe eh - nyeh Like the ny in English word "canyon". Niños (Children)