How to Read Spanish for Kids

With practice, you can read this sign in Spanish.

If you have a friend whose family is from Central America, South America or Spain, his native language is probably Spanish. Spanish has different words and sounds than English. For example, instead of saying "hello," Spanish speakers greet each other by saying "hola." However, they don't pronounce the word the way you might think by reading it. In order to learn Spanish, you must first learn how to pronounce it properly. Then you can read a book aloud in Spanish to show your friend what you've learned.

Instructions

Vowels

1. Pronounce the letter A as "ah." It sounds like the A in "father."

2. Pronounce the letter E as "ay." This is not the way you pronounce E in English, so it may be hard to remember.

3. Pronounce the letters I and Y as "ee." They sound like the I in "pink" and the Y in "funny."

4. Pronounce the letter O as "oh" and the letter U as "oo." They sound like the pronunciation in English, except you don't pronounce the beginning sound of the letter U.

Consonants

1. Pronounce the letter C like the letter K in English, except when it comes before an E or an I. In those cases, pronounce it like an S in English.

2. Pronounce the letter G like the letter H in English when the G is followed by an E or I. Otherwise, pronounce the letter G as you do in English.

3. Don't pronounce the letter H. It's always silent. Pronounce the letter J like the letter H in English.

4. Pronounce the letter V and the letter B the same way. They both sound like the letter B in English.

5. Pronounce the letter X like the "ks" in "socks," unless it's part of a proper noun. In those cases, pronounce it like the letter H in English. For example, the X in the Spanish word "México" sounds like an English H.

6. Pronounce Z like the letter S in English.

Special Combinations

1. Pronounce ñ like the "ni" in the middle of the word "onion" in English. This special N is called "enye" in Spanish.

2. Pronounce R like the "tt" in the middle of the word "butter." To pronounce the "rr" in Spanish, roll your tongue to make a motor sound.

3. Pronounce "qu" like the English letter K. These two letters always appear together.

4. Pronounce "ll" like the letter Y in English. It doesn't sound like the letter L, even though it looks like it should.

5. Pronounce "ch" like "sh" in English. It sounds like the beginning of the word "shoe."

6. Stress the syllable with an accent mark. When there is no accent mark, stress the second to last syllable. For example, you would stress the last syllable in "papá," but the first syllable in "papa."

Tips & Warnings

• If you're reading something from Spain, pronounce the letters C and Z as the "th" in "thumb."

• In some proper nouns, the X sounds like the "ch" in "lunch." These cases don't happen very often.

• The letters K and W are not native to Spanish. The K sounds like it does in English, but pronounce the W like a Spanish B or V.

• Ask your friend to teach you Spanish vocabulary. It's nice to know how to read Spanish, but you should also learn what the words mean.

References

• Study Spanish: Consonant: x
• Study Spanish: Consonant: z
• Study Spanish: Consonant: c
• Study Spanish: Consonants: k,w
• Study Spanish: Consonant: q