Spanish Alphabet
The Spanish alphabet, or abecedario, sets the foundation for pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary. This guide goes through each letter and key sounds with clear examples.
Letters
Spanish uses the same 27 letters as English plus ñ; historically ch and ll were separate letters but now count as letter pairs. Each letter has a name and typical sound.
| Letter | Name | Example Spanish Word | English Word | Sound of Spanish Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | amigo | friend | /a/ as in father |
| B | be | barco | boat | /b/ as in ball |
| C | ce | casa | house | /k/ as in cat (before a, o, u) |
| D | de | dedo | finger | /d/ as in dog |
| E | e | elefante | elephant | /e/ as in they |
| F | efe | flor | flower | /f/ as in fun |
| G | ge | gato | cat | /g/ as in go (before a, o, u) |
| H | hache | huevo | egg | silent |
| I | i | isla | island | /i/ as in machine |
| J | jota | jugo | juice | /h/ as in hat |
| K | ka | kilómetro | kilometer | /k/ as in kite |
| L | ele | luna | moon | /l/ as in lamp |
| M | eme | mar | sea | /m/ as in mom |
| N | ene | nube | cloud | /n/ as in nice |
| Ñ | eñe | niño | boy | /ɲ/ as in canyon |
| O | o | oso | bear | /o/ as in go |
| P | pe | pato | duck | /p/ as in pig |
| Q | cu | queso | cheese | /k/ as in key (always followed by u) |
| R | erre | ratón | mouse | trilled or tapped /r/ |
| S | ese | sol | sun | /s/ as in sun |
| T | te | tren | train | /t/ as in top |
| U | u | uva | grape | /u/ as in rule |
| V | ve | vaca | cow | /b/ or /v/ (very similar) |
| W | doble ve | wifi | wifi | /w/ as in water |
| X | equis | xilófono | xylophone | /ks/ as in box |
| Y | ye | yate | yacht | /ʝ/ or vowel sound |
| Z | zeta | zapato | shoe | /θ/ or /s/ depending on dialect |
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 El alfabeto tiene veintiséis letras. | The alphabet has twenty-six letters. |
| 🅰️ La letra A es la primera del alfabeto. | The letter A is the first in the alphabet. |
| 🅱️ La letra B viene después de la A. | The letter B comes after A. |
| 🌙 La letra M está en medio del alfabeto. | The letter M is in the middle of the alphabet. |
| 🦓 La letra Z es la última del alfabeto. | The letter Z is the last in the alphabet. |
Special Letters
Ñ represents a distinct nasal sound found in words like niño. The digraphs ch and ll are two letters each, with ch sounding like English ch and ll varying by region.
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐴 La letra Ñ suena como “ny” en “cañón.” | The letter Ñ sounds like “ny” in “cañón.” |
| 🐍 Antes, la LL se consideraba una letra aparte. | Before, LL was considered a separate letter. |
| 🧹 La CH también fue una letra especial antes. | CH was also a special letter before. |
Accent Marks
Written accents (tildes) show which syllable is stressed and can change meaning; they appear as acute marks (´) over vowels. Rules for when to accent guide proper pronunciation and distinguishing homonyms.
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ☕ Café tiene acento para mostrar la sílaba tónica. | Café has an accent to show the stressed syllable. |
| 🏠 Casa no lleva tilde porque es palabra grave sin regla especial. | Casa has no accent because it’s a grave word without special rule. |
| 🏃 Corrió lleva tilde para diferenciar tiempo verbal. | Corrió has an accent to differentiate verb tense. |
| ❓ ¿Dónde? lleva tilde para marcar palabra interrogativa. | ¿Dónde? has an accent to mark an interrogative word. |
Summary
Mastering the Spanish alphabet and basic letter sounds helps with reading aloud, spelling, and learning new words. Practice naming each letter and pronouncing example words to build a solid foundation.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025