12 El alfabeto español

In Spanish, there are twenty-seven letters in the alphabet (el alfabeto or el abecedario)—one more than in the English alphabet.The additional letter is ñ, which comes after n in alphabetized lists in Spanish. The letters k and w appear only in words borrowed from other languages. When you talk about letters in Spanish, you need to use the feminine gender (e.g., la letra a, la b, la ele, etc.).

Have a look at the table below, and listen to the audio files attached to each letter. For example, what difference do you notice in the pronunciation of the letter u? What do you notice about the pronunciation of the other vowels?

More information on the pronunciation of Spanish letters

Most letters in Spanish have only one pronunciation, and thus, spelling can be said to be easier in Spanish than in English. However, there are some exceptions:

• When c appears before a, o, u and the consonants l and r, it sounds like /k/ (e.g., carismático, Costa Rica, cultura, clima, crema). When c is followed by e or i, it sounds like /s/ (e.g., centro, emocional) in Latin America, but like /th/ in some parts of Spain. When c is followed by h, it is pronounced like the ch in cheese (e.g., China).
• When g appears before a, o, u and the consonants l and r, it sounds like an English hard /g/ (e.g., arrogante, amigo, gusto, globo, gracias). When g is followed by e or i, it sounds like the English /h/ (e.g., generoso, ágil). However, if a u is between g and e or i, g is pronounced like a hard /g/, and the u is NOT pronounced (e.g., guía, espagueti). Sometimes, in the combinations gue and gui, the u is pronounced if it is marked with a diéresis (the two dots above the ü). In these cases, the g in combination with the u is pronounced /w/. Examples: bilingüe, lingüística.
• Double l (ll) is pronounced like English /y/ in yes. In some parts of Argentina and Uruguay, this sound is pronounced like /sh/ (e.g., me llamo).
• Q can only be found in the combinations que and qui. In these cases, the u is silent, and the q is pronounced /k/ (e.g., ¿qué?, quinto [fifth]). Q cannot be followed by a, o, or u (unless u is followed by e or i).
• When r is at the beginning or in the middle of a word and appears as a double r (rr), it is pronounced like a rolling r (e.g., Río Grande, Rosa, guitarra).

Let’s use these letters actively: