El Alfabeto
B vs. V B = Be grande = “B de Burro” V = Be chica = “V de Vaca”
Pronunciation of “C” “c + e” and “c + i” both sound like “s” Examples: cero, cita c + any other letter sounds like “k” Examples: casa, Colombia, Cuba How would you pronounce the number 5? “cinco” How would you pronounce the name “Sincioco”?
Pronunciation of “G” “g + e” and “g + i” both sound like “h” Examples: Germán, gitano g + any other letter sounds like “g” in gum Examples: gato, Gómez, guerra, guía How would you pronounce these words? gracias guitarra gente
Pronunciation of “H” The letter “h” is always silent in Spanish How would you pronounce these words? hotel hospital hola
K and W The letters “k” and “w” are not common in Spanish and appear only in words borrowed from other languages. Examples: karate, whiskey
R and RR At the beginning of a word, “r” is always pronounced as a trilled “rr” Examples: Ramón, Rosa, reloj
The letter “Y” Depending on its position, the letter “y” can be a semivowel as in the English words “boy” and “toy”: Paraguay, voy. It can also be a consonant as in the English words “yard” and “yesterday”: yo, maya
The letter “Z” The letter “z” is pronounced like the English “s” Examples: gazpacho, zona, lápiz
¿Cómo se escribe? ¿Cómo se escribe? = How do you spell….? Ana (a-ene-a) Carlos (ce-a-ere-ele-o-ese) Pepe (pe-e-pe-e) Sara (ese-a-ere-a)
“Con acento” When a letter carries an accent, say “con acento” after saying the name of the letter: “María” se escribe: eme-a-ere-i con acento-a