Spanish Pronunciation - A guide for beginners

Learning Pronunciation is one of the most challenging parts of language. From pronouncing the double ll & ñ to rolling your r’s, training yourself to adapt to Spanish pronunciation is not easy.

But we have got some good news for you. In Spanish, words are spelled exactly the way they sound. So, as long as you know and learn the sounds of each letter of the alphabet, you’ll be able to pronounce Spanish words correctly!

To get you started, I’ve put together this Spanish pronunciation guide for all beginners.

First up? Spanish consonants.

PRONOUNCING SPANISH CONSONANTS

There are 22 consonants in Spanish and they are spelled out same wherever they fall in a word.

B - ब

C - क, स / Sound k – c+a(का), c+o(को), c+u(कू) Sound s – c+e (से), c+i (सी)

D - द

F - फ

G - ग, ह Sound g (ग) – Ga (गा), go(गो),gu(गु) gue(गे), gui(गी) Sound h(ह) – ge(हे) gi(ही)

H - This letter is silent.

J - ह

K - क

L - ल

M - म

N - न

Ñ - न्य

P - प

Q - क

R - र

S - स

T - त

V - ब

W - व

X - क्स

Y - य

Z - स

Note : Y is “and” in Spanish and it is pronounced as “eee” when you say and in a sentence.

Next up! Spanish Vowels.

PRONOUNCING SPANISH VOWELS

in Spanish there are 5 vowels i.e, “a, e, i, o, u”, and they are always pronounced exactly the same every time wherever they fall in a word.

Spanish vowels are much simpler than English vowels which has 15 different sounds for the same five vowels. And they say learning English is very easy!

Spanish vowels are very short and clear. The sound of it is affected by the shape of your lips:

• a – आ rounded and wide open

• e – ए as a for apple stretched a bit wide

• i – ई as if you were showing your teeth

• o – ओ just a little rounded.

• u – ऊ as if you’re giving a flying kiss

DIAGRAPHS IN SPANISH

A diagraph (El Dígrafo) is a combination of two letters that represent just one sound. There are only 5 diagraphs in Spanish language. Ch, LL, rr, gu, qu are the 5 diagraphs in Spanish.

1. Ch (च)– It represents the same sound as in the word “church” in English. Spanish word coche (car) will be pronounced as koh-chay कोचे.

2. LL – The pronunciation of LL varies depending on the region.

In Spanish and central America it sounds य in hindi and the same as ‘y’ in yogurt in English.

In some other regions it sounds like ज in hindi and j in jam in English.

While in Uruguay or Argentine you’ll hear it pronounced as sh.

You can pronounce it depending on what feels or sounds best to you. There is no best or pronunciation of this letter.

3. RR – It has a bit tricky sound, you say it by rolling your tongue. Spanish word pero (but) is pronounced as पेरो while perro (dog) is pronounced as पैर्रो. While the word pero has a soft sound, the word perro has a rolled sound.

4. Gu – The u is silent when it comes before “e or i”, but when it comes before “a” it has ‘w’ sound. Spanish word is pronounced as Guardia (guard) –ग्वारदिया, guepardo (cheetah) – गेपारदो and la guija (pebble) – गीखा.

5. Qu – is pronounced as K in karate. Qu followed by e is pronounced as que के and if followed by i qui – की. Queso –केसौ and quito – कीतो.