Spanish Vocabulary Guide

Pronunciation hints

Description

 Image result for mouth pronounce espanol

Spanish spelling is fairly good at representing the spoken language. Still, there are a few points you need to keep in mind:

  • “h” is always silent “hola” = “ola” 
  • “z” is pronounced like “s”, e.g.: “azul” = “asul”, "diez" = "dies"  (in Spain it is pronounced like "th")
  • “r” is like the middle sound in the English word “letter”, e.g.: "una cuchara" "a spoon"; you can pronounce the Spanish name "Laura" by pronouncing the English "louder" and dropping the final "r" sound. The middle sound will be the Spansh "r".
  • “rr” is a rolled version of the one in “letter”, e.g.: "un perro"
  •  "b and "v" are the same in Spanish and unlike either in English. Put your lips together when air passes, but don’t completely block the air. The relationship between English “b” and Spanish “b” is like the one between English “d” and English “z”. The first one stops the air, the second allows air with friction, e.g.: "beber"
  •  “ll” is like the first sound in “yes” ("llamo" = "yamo"), e.g.: "Me llamo"
  • the letter "ñ" is pronounced like the middle sound of the word canyon, e.g.: "mañana"

You can find more information about spelling and pronunciation here.


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