Lesson 1: The Spanish Alphabet & Pronunciation

Spanish is one of the most learner-friendly languages in the world for English speakers, for one simple reason: it is spelled almost exactly as it sounds. Once you know the twenty-seven letters of the Spanish alphabet and the sound each one makes, you can read almost any Spanish word aloud with confidence — even a word you have never seen before. In this lesson you will master the alphabet, the five pure vowel sounds, and the handful of consonants that behave differently from English. Everything else in this course builds on these sounds, so take your time here.

The Spanish alphabet

Spanish officially has 27 letters: the 26 letters you already know, plus ñ. The letters ch and ll were once counted as separate letters and are still treated as single sounds, even though they are written with two letters. Each letter has a *name* in Spanish, and you will need those names whenever you spell a word aloud — for example, when you give your name at a hotel desk.

The five vowels: your biggest advantage

English has around twelve vowel sounds; Spanish has exactly five, and they never change: a = ah, e = eh, i = ee, o = oh, u = oo. They are short, pure and never reduced to the lazy "uh" sound that English uses in unstressed syllables. Compare the English word "banana" (buh-NA-nuh) with Spanish banana — no, in Spanish you say *plátano* or *banana* with three clear "ah" sounds: ba-NA-na. Drill these five sounds: a — casa, e — elefante, i — sí, o — ojo (eye), u — luna (moon).

When two vowels meet, they glide together into one syllable: ai in *baile* (dance) sounds like "eye", ei in *seis* (six) sounds like "say", oi in *hoy* (today) sounds like "oy", au in *auto* (car) sounds like "ow", and ia in *gracias* (thank you) sounds like "yah". The word *gracias* is therefore GRAH-syahs — two syllables, not three.

Stress: where the voice pushes

Spanish stress follows two reliable rules. If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable: ca-SA, ha-BLAN, es-TU-dian-tes. If a word ends in any other consonant, the stress falls on the last syllable: pa-PEL (paper), ciu-DAD (city), ha-BLAR (to speak). When a word breaks these rules, Spanish writes an accent mark on the stressed vowel: teléfono (telephone), médico (doctor), jamás (never). The accent never changes the sound of the vowel — only where the push goes.

Example sentences

Read each sentence aloud slowly, then check the meaning:

• Hola, me llamo Ana. ("OH-lah, meh YAH-moh AH-nah") — Hello, my name is Ana.
• El perro es grande. ("el PEH-rroh es GRAHN-deh") — The dog is big.
• ¿Cómo te llamas? ("KOH-moh teh YAH-mahs") — What is your name?
• La casa es blanca. ("lah KAH-sah es BLAHN-kah") — The house is white.
• Tengo un queso y un jamón. ("TEHN-goh oon KEH-soh ee oon hah-MOHN") — I have a cheese and a ham.
• El teléfono es nuevo. ("el teh-LEH-foh-noh es NWEH-voh") — The telephone is new.
• Buenas noches, señor. ("BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs, seh-NYOR") — Good night, sir.

Reading practice: spelling at the hotel

Recepcionista: Buenas tardes. ¿Su nombre, por favor? Turista: Me llamo John Carter. Recepcionista: ¿Cómo se escribe Carter? Turista: Ce, a, ere, te, e, ere. Recepcionista: Perfecto. Bienvenido al hotel.

Comprehension questions: 1. Where is this conversation taking place? 2. What does the receptionist ask the tourist to do? 3. Which letter name is used twice in the spelling of "Carter"?

Answer key: 1. At a hotel (reception desk). 2. To spell his surname. 3. Ere (the letter r) — it appears at positions 3 and 6.

Pronunciation notes: this lesson's sounds

• The letter h is always silent. *Hola* is "OH-lah", *hotel* is "oh-TEL". Never pronounce the h.
• rr is rolled by vibrating the tongue against the roof of the mouth. If you cannot roll it yet, practise with "butter" said very fast in American English — that tap is single r. For rr, repeat the tap rapidly.
• ñ is one sound, like the "ny" in *canyon*: *año* (year) is "AH-nyoh". It is completely different from n: *ano* without the tilde is a different (and embarrassing) word.
• ll sounds like "y" in most of the Spanish-speaking world: *me llamo* is "meh YAH-moh". In parts of Argentina and Uruguay it sounds more like "zh".

Common mistakes (wrong → right)

• ✗ Pronouncing *hola* with an English h sound → ✓ Hola — the h is silent: "OH-lah".
• ✗ Saying *pero* and *perro* the same way → ✓ pero (but) has one tap; perro (dog) has a roll. The difference changes the meaning.
• ✗ Stressing the first syllable of *teléfono* because English says "TELephone" → ✓ trust the accent mark: te-LÉ-fo-no.
• ✗ Saying *queso* as "kway-so" → ✓ que is "keh"; the u in *que/qui* is silent: queso = "KEH-soh", quince (fifteen) = "KEEN-seh".

Exam Experience

Reading comprehension. Read the text and answer in English. *Me llamo Sofía Hernández. Hernández se escribe: hache, e, ere, eñe... no, perdón: hache, e, ere, ene, a, ene, de, e, zeta. Vivo en una ciudad pequeña. Mi casa es grande y blanca. Tengo un perro pequeño: se llama Rocky.* 1. What is the writer spelling out? (1 mark) 2. Where does she live? (1 mark) 3. What is her home like, and what pet does she have? (2 marks) Answer key: 1. Her surname, Hernández (she corrects herself mid-spelling — eñe to ene). 2. In a small city/town. 3. Her house is big and white; she has a small dog called Rocky.

Multiple choice. Choose the correct answer. 1. How is the letter h pronounced in Spanish? a) Like English h b) It is always silent c) Like the Spanish j. Answer: b — h is never pronounced; *hola* = "OH-lah". 2. Which word is stressed on the last syllable? a) casa b) papel c) teléfono. Answer: b — papel ends in l, so stress falls on the final syllable (pa-PEL). 3. ¿Cómo se pronuncia "ll" en "me llamo" en la mayor parte del mundo hispano? a) Like English "l" b) Like "y" in yes c) Like "sh". Answer: b — in most regions ll = a y sound.

Guided writing task. Write 30–40 words of Spanish: introduce yourself, spell your surname as the receptionist heard it (write the letter names in words), and describe your house or a pet with two adjectives. Model answer: *Me llamo Alex Reid. Reid se escribe: ere, e, i, de. Vivo en una casa pequeña y blanca. Tengo un perro grande. Se llama Milo. El perro es bueno.* Marking notes: award content marks for completing all three tasks (name/spelling, home or pet, one extra fact); language marks for correct letter names, adjective agreement (*casa pequeña*, not *pequeño*), and the silent h used correctly in spelling *hache* if your name contains h.

Going further: sounds that change meaning

Spanish has pairs of words separated by a single sound — and sometimes by a single accent. Linguists call the smallest pairs *minimal pairs*, and they are perfect pronunciation training:

• pero (but) vs perro (dog) — the famous r/rr pair.
• papa (potato; also "the Pope") vs papá (dad) — the accent moves the stress and changes the word completely.
• sí (yes) vs si (if) — one tiny accent, two different words.
• tú (you) vs tu (your) — accent = pronoun, no accent = possessive: *Tú tienes tu libro* — You have your book.
• él (he) vs el (the) — same pattern: *Él tiene el libro*.
• año (year) vs ano — the word this lesson warned you about: always write the tilde.

Diagnostic accents like these exist precisely because pronunciation matters. A short drill: read these sentences aloud and make the difference crisp:

• Tu papá tiene un perro, pero tú tienes un gato. — Your dad has a dog, but you have a cat.
• Sí, él come papa en el año nuevo. — Yes, he eats potato in the new year.
• El médico es mi papá. — The doctor is my dad. (note médico — accent on the first syllable, unlike English "medical")

Finally, a fact that delights learners: Spanish is one of the fastest-spoken languages by syllables per second, yet one of the clearest — because those five pure vowels carry so much information, Spanish speakers can afford speed. Aim for clarity first; speed arrives on its own.

Workshop: a first conversation, sound by sound

Put the whole lesson together in this exchange — read it aloud twice, once slowly, once at natural speed: — ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? — Me llamo Guillermo. — ¿Guillermo? ¿Con ge, u, i...? — Sí: ge, u, i, elle, e, ere, eme, o. — ¡Gracias! Yo soy Lucía: ele, u, ce, i con acento, a. Names are perfect spelling practice because they contain the tricky letters: Guillermo has the silent u after g (*gui* = "ghee"), Lucía breaks the diphthong with an accent (loo-SEE-ah, three syllables). Other names to rehearse: Joaquín (hwah-KEEN — j + qu in one name), Ximena (hee-MEH-nah in Mexico, where x often sounds like j), Vázquez (BAHS-kehs — the z and the accent close the word with a push), Núñez (NOO-nyehs — ñ in the middle). When you spell your own name in a Spanish-speaking setting, expect the listener to repeat each letter back; confirm with eso es (that's it) or exacto. One final sound pair to lock in: b and v are the same sound in standard Spanish — *Valencia* and *Barcelona* open with the identical soft b. Never let English "v" lips-on-teeth sneak in; both letters are lips-together, gently.