Pronunciation Guide

Letter of the Alphabet -------------------------- Phonetic pronunciation

Vowels

A ---------------------------------------------- ah
E ---------------------------------------------- ay
I ---------------------------------------------- ee
O ---------------------------------------------- oh
U ---------------------------------------------- oo

Consonants

(for this guide we have only listed the consonant if the Spanish pronunciation is different from the English)

C ------------------------------------------------ soft C is like the English S Sound, hard C is like the English K sound
G ------------------------------------------------ soft G is like the English H sound, hard G is the same as in English
H ------------------------------------------------ is always silent
J ------------------------------------------------ is like the English H sound
LL ---------------------------------------------- is like the English Y Sound
Q ---------------------------------------------- is like the English K sound, vowels that follow Q are always silent
V ---------------------------------------------- is like the English B
Z ---------------------------------------------- is like the English S sound

Vowel Combinations

ei ---------------------------------------------- ay (for example, aceite is pronounced ah-say-tay)
ua ---------------------------------------------- wah (for example, cuando is pronounced kwan-doh)
ue ---------------------------------------------- way (for example, escuela is pronounced S-kway-lah)
ui ---------------------------------------------- wee (for example, suiza is pronounced swee-sah)

Vowel/Consonant combinations

el ---------------------------------------------- L
en ---------------------------------------------- N
er ---------------------------------------------- air
ess -------------------------------------------- S
ir ---------------------------------------------- eer (rhymes with deer)
om -------------------------------------------- ohm
or --------------------------------------------- or (rhymes with for)
oy --------------------------------------------- oy (rhymes with toy)

Examples

Garganta -------------------------------------- gahr-gahn-tah
Me --------------------------------------------- may
Libro ------------------------------------------ lee-broh
Hombro --------------------------------------- ohm-broh
Cintura ---------------------------------------- seen-too-rah
Cuidado --------------------------------------- kwee-dah-doh
Pierna ----------------------------------------- pee-air-nah
Vivir ------------------------------------------ bee-beer
Por -------------------------------------------- por
Voy ------------------------------------------- boy