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Spanish sounds and pronunciation (I)
When you study Spanish pronunciation on this page, please try to guess the meaning of all Spanish words.
To check whether you guessed right, move the mouse over a Spanish word and wait for a second before a field
with the English translation of this word should show up.
This page is divided into two parts and consists mainly of pronunciation tables, which list all
existing Spanish sounds. Each sound is linked to one or more letters and
is accompanied by an English word, which includes the respective Spanish sound.
You also find some Spanish example words to each given sound as well as some audio examples.
The following two pages will teach you how to correctly pronounce vowels, consonants, diphthongs (double sounds)
and combinations of consonants in Spanish.
Vowels:
Look at the following table and use our audio examples to learn the Spanish vowels.
The 'y' is considered a vowel in Spanish as well.
| sound/ letter: | | Spanish Examples | English examples | | a |  | hablar , también | master (brit.), after (brit.) | | e | | correr , ensalada | non-existent in English | | i | | dormir , igualmente | eel, Steven | o | | chico , oficina | close to: owl, goal | | u | | usted , jugo | school, fool | y | | yoga , y (and) | yoga , yacht |
Consonants:
Now please have a look at the next table.
It contains only the sounds of those consonants
in Spanish, which differ in their pronunciation with respect to their English counterparts.
Listen to the audio examples and try to repeat aloud what you hear.
| sound/ letter: | | Spanish Examples | English examples | | c|computer, center| camisa , gracias , centro | | | camisa , gracias , centro | computer, center | | g|great, sometimes 'g' is a sound that doesn't exist in English| gorila , gente | | | gorila , gente | great, sometimes 'g' is a sound that doesn't exist in English | | h|mute| hablar , hotel | | | hablar , hotel | mute | | j|no equivalent in English| jamón , frijól | | | jamón , frijól | no equivalent in English | | ñ|ninja|español, otoño | | | español, otoño | ninja | | r|rolled 'r' (close to Schottish 'r')| radio , cocinar | | | radio , cocinar | rolled 'r' (close to Schottish 'r') | | v|veil, vase| vaso , evolver | | | vaso , evolver | veil, vase | | w|used very very rarely|| | | | w|used very very rarely|| | | z|zebra| zapato , zanahoria | | | zapato , zanahoria | zebra |
Maybe you have already noticed some rules here:
- The Spanish 'c' is pronounced like a 'k', if it comes in front of 'a', 'o', 'u' or a consonant.
But, if 'c' precedes an 'e' or 'i', it is pronounced like the 's' in 'sea' or 'sober'.
- The 'g' in Spanish is sometimes pronounced like a 'g' in English ('gorilla'), but sometimes it is produced
in the throat and there is no English equivalent to that sound.
- The 'ñ' is like a 'nj' in English.
- 'R's in Spanish are rolled.
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| Courses Overview |
 Course 1
Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Epilogue I
 Course 2
Course 3
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Lesson 1
