Pronunciation and Accent Rules

PronunciationAccent Rules

Pronunciation Key

A /
  • sounds like the A in ah

B /
  • similar to the B in English

C /
  • when followed by a consonant or the letters A, O or U, it sounds like the C in cake
  • when followed by the letters E or I, it sounds like the C in cell

D /
  • similar to the D in English

E /
  • similar to the A in state

F /
  • sounds like the F in English

G /
  • when followed by a consonant or the letters A, O or U, it sounds like the G in goat
  • when followed by a consonant or the letters E or I, it sounds similar to the H in hot

H /
  • always silent

I /
  • sounds like the EE in feet

J /
  • similar to the H in hot

K /
  • sounds like the K in English
  • generally only found in words borrowed from other languages

L /
  • sounds like the L in English

LL /
  • a separate letter in Spanish
  • depending on the accent of the speaker, can sound like the Y in yellow or similar to the J in jet

M /
  • sounds like the M in English

N /
  • sounds like the N in English

Ñ /
  • sounds like the NY in canyon

O /
  • sounds like the O in note

P /
  • sounds like the P in English

Q /
  • must be followed by a U
  • usually found in a que or qui combination
  • que sounds like "kay"
  • qui sounds like "kee"

R /
  • when at the beginning of a word, the R must be rolled or trilled
  • when in the middle of a word and doubled, the R must be rolled or trilled

S /
  • sounds like the S in English

T /
  • sounds like the T in English

U /
  • silent in the gue, gui, que, and qui combinations
  • at all other times, sounds like the U in true

V /
  • depending on the accent of the speaker, can sound like either the V or B in English

W /
  • sounds like the W in English
  • generally only found in words borrowed from other languages

X /
  • except in the case of words derived from Indian languages, sounds like the X in excellent

Y /
  • depending on the accent of the speaker, can sound like the Y in yellow or similar to the J in jet
  • when standing alone, sounds like the EE in feet

Z /
  • sounds like the S in song

Basic Accent Rules

There are two basic rules that tell where the emphasis, or stress, should be placed on a word in Spanish.

Rule 1: Words ending in a vowel, the letter N or the letter S are stressed on the next to last syllable.
For example: morado (the stress is on the "ra"), uno (the stress is on the "u"), tenis (the stress is on the "te")

Rule 2: Words ending in a consonant other thanN or S are stressed on the very last syllable.
For example: papel (the stress is on the "pel"), ciudad (the stress is on the "dad")

If a word breaks these rules, then it needs a written accent.