Spanish Pronunciation - Basic Tips from SpanishbyNative.com

Spanish sounds are easy to master if you practice.  There are only 5 vowel sounds:

 

Spanish

Spelling

Phonetic

Symbol

English Example

Spanish Examples

A

ah

bother, father

playa, casa, esta

E

ay

let, set, get

mesa, queso

I

ee

single, fiend, ping

quiere, dinero, si

O

oh

go, slow, potato

como, puedo, tengo

U

oo

school, cool

una, usted, gusto

General Pronunciation Tips

 

Here are some basic tips to guide you in pronouncing Spanish words.

  1. Words that end in a vowel, or n or s, the next to last syllable is stressed.
  2. For words ending in a consonant other than n or s stress falls on the last syllable.
  3. Finally, if the word has an accent mark then that syllable is stressed, ignoring the tips above.

Syllable division involving two vowels

The vowels a, e, and o are "strong" vowels, and i and u are "weak". Where two vowels fall together, the following rules affect syllable division and accentuation:

  1. A weak + strong combination belongs to one syllable with the stress falling on the strong vowel. aceite, cierra, causa.
  2. A weak + weak combination belongs to one syllable with the stress falling on the second vowel. viuda, fuimos, diluir
  3. A strong + strong combination is divided into two syllables. bom-be- ar, po-le-a, em-ple- o
  4. If the word has an accent mark, then that syllable is stressed. flúido, día, encías

Vowels

a – sound like the a in father or the o in bother

e – is a little tricky.  For a syllable ending in a vowel, it sounds like the e in they; for a syllable ending in a consonant it sounds like the e in get

i – sounds like the i in machine, fiend, or ping

o – is another tricky one.  For a syllables that end in a vowel, it sounds like the o in vote; for a syllable that ends in a consonant, it sounds like like the o in pot

u -- like the u in rule; silent after q and in the groups gue and gui

y -- When used as a vowel, such as in the words y and voy, it is pronounced like the Spanish i.

Diphthongs

Dipthongs are the combination of a strong (a, e, and o) and weak vowels (u and i) or two weak ones, forms a dipthong, which may not be separated into a syllable unless the weak one carries a written accent like: fiesta or familia

Spanish dipthongs are common, but their pronunciation is not extremely difficult since the two vowels keep their individual qualities and both are pronounced.  For example tiene (teeay’nay) or bueno (booay’noh)

ai, ay -- like the i in side

au -- like the ou in found

ei, ey -- like the ey in they

eu -- like the vowel sounds in may-you

ia – like ee-ah

io – ee-o

ie – ee-eh

oi, oy -- like the oy in boy

ua -- oo-ah

uo -- whoa

ue -- oo-eh

ui -- oo-ee

uy-- oo-ee

Semiconsonants (vowels that sound like consonants)

i, y -- like the y in yes. Examples: bien, hielo

u -- like with w in well. Examples: huevo, fuente, agua

Consonants

Most consonants are pronounced like their English equivalents.

b & v -- When found at the beginning of a word or following a consonant, these are pronounced like a b. Otherwise, they have a sound which falls somewhere in between the English b and v sounds.

c -- before a consonant or a, o, or u, like the c in cat; before e or i like an s

ch -- like the ch in church. Historically, the Spanish ch has been treated as a separate letter although this has recently been changed. Therefore, many dictionaries list words beginning with ch after the c's and before the d's.

d -- like the English d except between vowels and following l or n where pronounced like the th in this

f -- like the f in for

g -- before e sounds like hay or before i sounds like heap, like the Spanish j; otherwise like the g in get

h -- is always silent and never pronounced

j -- sounds like the H in hope; silent when at the end of a word

k -- like k

l -- like an l

ll -- sounds like the y in you

m -- like an m

n -- sounds like an n; except where it appears before a v, like an m

ñ -- sounds like the n in onion or canyon

p -- like a p

q -- like a kay; always followed by a silent u

r -- pronounced with a strong trill if at the beginning of a word and following an i, n, or s; very little trill when at the end of a word; and slightly trilled in other positions

rr -- strongly trilled

s – sounds like a z before consonants b, d, g, l, m, n; otherwise like it sounds like an s

t -- like a t

v -- see b & v at the top

w -- usually like a v

x -- when between vowels, like the x in box; before a consonant, like an s

y – sounds like the y in yes

z – sounds like an s