The h is not pronounced in Spanish. It is written, but it does not add sound. In hola, ahora and hermano the mouth starts directly with the following vowel or with the following consonant. That’s why h does not change the pronunciation, although it does change spelling and can distinguish different words. When reading aloud, it is best to move immediately to the voiced letter that comes after. To relate this idea to other sounds in Spanish, it is useful to review Sounds and Phonetics.

Use of h as a silent letter

Idea
The h is not pronounced and only changes the spelling of the word.
The h can appear at the beginning or inside the word without giving a sound.

In gue, gui, que and qui, the u normally does not sound. It only indicates how the group is written and makes the g or the q keep the expected sound. Thus, in guerra and guitarra you hear the consonant followed by e or i, without an extra vowel in between. In queso and quieto the same happens: the mouth goes directly from the consonant to the written vowel after it. If you compare similar forms, the difference between what is written and what is pronounced becomes clearer.

The silent u before gue gui que qui

Word	Notation	Description	Example
guerra	/ˈgera/	The u is not pronounced and the g maintains the soft sound before e.	La guerra imaginaria empezó con una pizza gigante.The guerra imaginary started with a giant pizza.
guitarra	/ɡiˈtara/	The u is not pronounced and the g maintains the soft sound before i.	La guitarra de juguete cantó muy feliz en la mesa.The guitarra toy sang very happily on the table.
queso	/ˈkeso/	The u is not pronounced and the q serves so that the e has the sound of k.	El queso voló de la cocina como si tuviera cohete.The queso flew from the kitchen as if it had a rocket.
quieto	/ˈkjeto/	The u is not pronounced and the sequence qui preserves the sound of k.	El gato quieto se quedó mirando una mariposa de papel.The cat quieto stayed looking at a paper butterfly.

The diaeresis in güe and güi indicates that the u is pronounced. In words like pingüino, vergüenza and bilingüe, the mouth marks two moments: first the consonant, then the u, and then the following vowel. Without the diaeresis, the u would be mute. The presence of ü changes the reading of the group completely. To see cases that are often confused in writing, it is also useful to study Homófonos y Confusos.

The diaeresis that activates the u

Word	Notation	Description	Example
pingüino	/piŋˈɡwino/	The diaeresis indicates that the u is pronounced between g and e.	El pingüino bailarín saludó con una bufanda absurda.The pingüino dancing penguin waved with an absurd scarf.
vergüenza	/beɾˈɡwensa/	The diaeresis makes the u sound in the sequence güe.	La vergüenza se escondió detrás de una silla muy tímida.The vergüenza hid behind a very shy chair.
bilingüe	/biˈliŋɡwe/	The diaeresis indicates that the u also sounds in the sequence güi.	Mi vecino bilingüe canta en dos idiomas y en pijama.My bilingual neighbor sings in two languages and in pajamas.

At the end of a word, the e can sound very weak in fast speech, especially when the word is followed by another word. In grande, tarde and fuerte, the final vowel is often reduced to almost disappearing, but the spelling keeps it. The tongue and lips do not separate that last vowel with as much force as in slow, careful pronunciation. In clear reading, the e remains present; in fast conversation, it relaxes and loses clarity.

se puede caerse vuelve muy suave

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En habla rápida, la e final puede desaparecer y la palabra suena más ligeraEn algunos hablantes, la e final puede sonar muy débil sin desaparecer del todo

Weakening of the final e in rapid speech

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	se puede caer	In rapid speech, the final e can disappear and the word sounds lighter.	La palabra grande casi se quedó en el aire.The word grande almost stayed in the air.
Colombia	se vuelve muy suave	In some speakers, the final e can sound very weak without disappearing completely.	Mi café tarde salió con sueño y poca energía.My coffee tarde came out sleepy and with little energy.

Scramble

The d at the end of a word tends to weaken in colloquial speech. In verdad, ciudad and mitad, many people pronounce it with a very soft articulation or almost drop it. The tip of the tongue does not strike the teeth as hard as in an initial d of día. When speaking naturally, the ending can sound less marked, especially at the end of a sentence or before a long pause.

se relajase puede caer

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En conversación rápida, la d final puede desaparecer y dejar una pronunciación más cortaEn el habla coloquial, la d final puede perder fuerza al final de la palabra

Softening of the final d

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	se relaja	In colloquial speech, the final d can lose strength at the end of the word.	La palabra ciudad llegó caminando de puntillas.The word ciudad arrived tiptoeing.
Chile	se puede caer	In fast conversation, the final d can disappear and leave a shorter pronunciation.	La mitad del pastel desapareció antes del aplauso.The mitad of the cake disappeared before the applause.

Scramble

In some areas, the final s is aspirated or disappears in everyday speech. In words like más, las and amigos, that s can sound like a soft puff, similar to h, or it may not be clearly heard. The variation depends on the place and the speaking style. In more careful pronunciation, the final s remains clear; in informal speech, it relaxes a lot. This variation appears frequently in many regions of the Spanish-speaking world.

aspiradadebilitada

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La s final puede sonar como un soplo suave en el final de palabraLa s final puede perderse un poco al hablar deprisa en ciertas palabras

Aspiration of the final s in some areas

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain Andalucia	aspirada	The final s can sound like a soft puff at the end of the word.	Mis amigos llegaron con un susurro de fiesta.My amigos arrived with a party’s whisper.
Caribbean	debilitada	The final s can lose itself a bit when speaking quickly in certain words.	Las más divertidas se fueron riendo en la brisa.The más fun ones went off laughing in the breeze.

Scramble

The r and the l are not silent letters. In certain consonant clusters, such as br, bl, pr, pl, tr and dr, they may sound weaker or be confused in fast speech, but they remain present. They are not removed from the word. In mueble, abrazo and trabajo, each consonant has its own role in the sequence. If an r or an l seems to disappear, it is usually a articulatory difficulty or a pronunciation variant, not a silent letter.

Consonants visible in consonant groups

Word	Notation	Description	Example
brillo	/ˈbriʝo/	The r or the l are not mute in these groups and must be heard in reading.	El brillo del globo parecía un sol doméstico.The brillo of the balloon looked like a domestic sun.
plato	/ˈplato/	The l is not lost and forms part of the complete consonant group.	El plato cantó cuando cayó una uva dentro.The plato sang when a grape fell inside.
grillo	/ˈgriʝo/	The r is not turned mute and maintains the rhythm of the consonant group.	El grillo ensayó un concierto de noche en la maceta.The grillo rehearsed a night concert in the flowerpot.

When reading, the task is to recognize which letters are not pronounced and not add sounds that do not exist. The h is never said, the u in gue, gui, que and qui usually stays mute, and the ü indicates just the opposite. It is also advisable to watch for letters that can weaken in fast speech, such as the final e, the final d and the final s. Comparing similarly spelled words helps avoid errors: hola does not start with an h sound, guerra does not have a vowel between g and e, and pingüino does keep the sound of the u. To fine-tune the relationship between spelling and sound, the resources Accents and Accentuation and Sounds and Phonetics are useful.

Careful reading of silent letters

Idea
When reading, you must avoid adding sounds that the word does not have in writing.
You must compare words with and without written sound to recognize the silent letter.
The h, the g and the u require attention because sometimes they are not heard even if they appear in the word.