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Consonants in Spanish
Spanish alphabet is formed by 29 letters: 5 vowels and 24 consonants.
We have already studied the vowels in Lesson 1; now it's time to practice the consonants and learn how they sound.
Listen to the words below and try to become familiar with the new sounds of the consonants in Spanish.
| Letter |
Name |
Audio |
Example |
| B b |
be |
|
bebé, baño |
| C c |
ce |
|
casa, cocina, culebra |
| CH ch |
che |
|
chino, chaleco |
| D d |
de |
|
dedo, duda |
| F f |
efe |
|
Fernando |
| G g |
ge |
|
Gerardo, gigante |
| H h |
hache |
|
hotel, hablar |
| J j |
jota |
|
jarabe, julio |
| K k |
ka |
|
kilómetro |
| L l |
ele |
|
latino |
| LL ll |
elle |
|
llorar |
| M m |
eme |
|
mamá |
| N n |
ene |
|
no, nada |
| Ñ ñ |
eñe |
|
año |
| P p |
pe |
|
Pepe , Paco |
| Q q |
cu |
|
quijote, ¿qué? |
| R r |
ere or erre |
|
rosa ; error |
| S s |
ese |
|
sonido, siempre |
| T t |
te |
|
tango, tú |
| V v |
ve |
|
vino, verde |
| W w |
doble ve |
|
Washington |
| X x |
equis |
|
examen |
| Y y |
y griega |
|
yema - hoy |
| Z z |
zeta |
|
zapato- zero |
While many consonants in Spanish have sounds that are similar to those in English, there are many differences.
Sometimes, it depends on the vowel/consonant that follow that letter.
|
The letter |
sounds like.... |
Listen to them: |
| B (should sound like "beach" in English... ) |
bebé |
|
| V (sounds almost the same as the "b" sound in English , just you should not close your lips together completely.) |
verano |
|
| C (followed by a - o -u has a hard sound,like the K sound in English) |
campo |
|
| C (followed by e - i has a soft sound) |
cena - cinco |
|
| Ch ( has similar as "chief" in English) |
Chile |
|
| H (always silent ) |
hotel |
|
| G (followed by a - o - u) |
gato |
|
| G (followed by e - i) |
gente - gitana |
|
| G (followed by ue- ui) |
guerra- guitarra |
|
| Ñ(is pronounced like "ny" in canyon). |
año |
|
| Qu (before e, i) |
queso |
|
| R and RR ( both have respectivelly same sound when R is at beginning of a word or accompanied by a consonant) |
rueda - arroyo |
|
| R (when it's between vowels, has similar sound as when you say "butter"in Engilsh) |
enero - pera |
|
| X when between vowels or at the end of a word it corresponds to "ks" sound in English. |
examen |
|
| X in words such as Mexico, Oaxaca, Texas, the x must sound like the j sound (as in ojo) in Spanish . |
México- Texas |
|
| Y ( it can be considered as a consonant in words as yema ( yolk), or as a vowel (i), in words as rey, hoy) |
hoy - rey |
|
| LL is pronounced like "yellow" |
amarillo |
|
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