How to Pronounce Spanish Words

Spanish is a beautiful, rhythmic language spoken by over 500 million people. It is the third most spoken language in the world. With the Hispanic population in the United States growing rapidly, a knowledge of Spanish is becoming more vital than ever. The best way to begin learning a language is to learn the pronunciation.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Vowels

1. Pronounce all vowels with one sound. There are no diphthongs in Spanish. The letter A is pronounced "ah." Say the word mal as "mahl."
2. Pronounce the vowel E as "eh." The word esta is pronounced "ehs-tah."
3. Say the letter I by saying "ee." The letters mis are pronounced "mees."
4. Say "oh" every time you see the letter O. The word mariposa is pronounced "mah-ree-poh-sah."
5. Pronounce the letter U as "oo." The word uno is pronounced "oo-no."
6. Blend vowels together that are next to each other. Pronounce the word puede as "pooeh-deh."
7. Speak the letter Y by saying "ee." The word muy is pronounced "mooee."

Consonants

8. Leave the silent letter consonants silent in Spanish, just as you would in English in most cases. There are a few exceptions. For example, the letter H is silent. Hay is pronounced "ahee."
9. Do pronounce the letters CH in Spanish just as you pronounce them in English.
10. Pronounce the letters LL in Spanish with the English Y sound. Tortilla sounds like "tor-tee-ya."
11. Pronounce the letter J the same as the English H. Juego is pronounced "hooeh-go."
12. Pronounce the letter ñ as ny, like the English word onion. The word niño sounds like "nee-nyo."
13. The Spanish letter R is spoken as a rolled R.
14. Pronounce Z in Spanish as an S is verbalized in English. For example, azul sounds like "ah-sool."

Tips & Warnings

• An accent mark over a letter gives that syllable the greatest stress.
• As a general rule, the next to the last syllable is accented.