Spanish phonemes
There are some letters and groups of letters in Spanish that you need to look out for as they change the way you pronounce a word.
Learn about pronunciation in Spanish with Burt Bessington
BURT: Hello and welcome to Words of the World.
Many letters in Spanish are pronounced differently to English.
In this game, listen to the sound the grapheme makes and use it to read the words that I give you.
Here’s your first question - 'ñ' with a tilde above it has a 'ny' sound and double 'll' sounds like 'y'.
Now read these words:
PATIENT: Mañana, España, ella, amarillo.
BURT: Correct! Next question!
Now then - 'J' and also 'G' with an 'e' or an 'i', make a 'ghhh' sound but g with an 'a', an 'o' or a 'u' makes a 'g' sound.
PATIENT: Oh er, garaje? Gente? Gigante?
BURT: Well done!
'Z' makes a 'th' sound, as does 'c' with an 'e', or an 'i', but 'c' with an 'a', an 'o' or a 'u', makes a 'k' sound.
PATIENT:Diez? Cien? Doce, er cucuracha?
BURT: Whoa! You're brushing up nicely!
And finally… 'r' makes a short 'r' sound. Double 'r' makes a long, rolled 'rr' sound.
'H' is usually silent and 'qu' is pronounced 'k', not 'qu' like in English.
So, for a million points please read the following words…
PATIENT:Pero! Er, perro! Hotel, and er, er, er… Queso!
BURT: Well done! And here’s your star prize - a jet ski!
PATIENT: Oh wow! That's amazing! Thank you so much!
BURT: It doesn't work!
PATIENT: Awww.
Have a go at practising some of the sounds from the video:
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ñ | makes a 'ny' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - Spain |
| ll | makes a 'y' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - yellow |
| j | makes a 'h' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - red |
Same sounds
There are some letters in Spanish that share the same sound.
| letter | sound | example |
|---|---|---|
| z | makes a 'th' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - ten |
| ce | makes a 'th' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - twelve |
| ci | makes a 'th' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. -five |
For example:
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I am ten years old
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I am twelve years old
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I am five years old
| letter | sound | example |
|---|---|---|
| ga | makes a 'g' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - garage |
| go | makes a 'g' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - rubber |
| gu | makes a 'g' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I like |
For example:
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - My car is in the garage
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I have an eraser
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I like chips
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ge | makes a 'j' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - people |
| gi | makes a 'j' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - gigantic |
For example:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - There is a lot of people in the park
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - The giant lives in the forest
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ca | makes a 'k' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - hot |
| co | makes a 'k' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - car |
| cu | makes a 'k' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - cockroach |
| qu | makes a 'k' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - cheese |
For example:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - My food is hot
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I go to the supermarket by car
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I don't like the cockroach
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I don’t like cheese
More sounds
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rr | makes a rolling 'r' sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - dog |
| h | this is a silent sound | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - brother |
For example:
- Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I have a black dog
Pronunciation of questions in Spanish
When asking a question in Spanish the intonation in your voice usually goes higher - this means that it goes up at the end.
When writing questions in Spanish, you need to include an accent on the question word, eg 'who', 'what', 'where' and 'how'.
Take a look at these examples:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - What’s your name?
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - What’s this?
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - Where do you live?
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - Where are you from?
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - How old are you?
Race Across the Continents game - new update! game
Help this team of adventurers race their way to victory. Explore the globe in this exciting game update to discover new audio voiced by Ade Adepitan and fun animations. Challenge yourself with brand-new achievements and become a high-flyer!
More on Spanish skills
Find out more by working through a topic
- count4 of 5
- count5 of 5
- count2 of 5
