The Spanish Alphabet
Spanish uses the Latin alphabet with one additional letter: ñ.
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation |
|---|
| A | a | "ah" like father |
| B | be | like English, softer between vowels |
| C | ce | "k" before a/o/u, "s" or "th" before e/i |
| D | de | like English, softer between vowels |
| E | e | "eh" like bed |
| F | efe | like English |
| G | ge | hard "g" before a/o/u, "h" before e/i |
| H | hache | always silent |
| I | i | "ee" like machine |
| J | jota | "h" sound (like "loch") |
| K | ka | like English (rare in Spanish) |
| L | ele | like English |
| M | eme | like English |
| N | ene | like English |
| Ñ | eñe | "ny" like canyon |
| O | o | "oh" like go |
| P | pe | like English |
| Q | cu | "k" (always with u: que, qui) |
| R | ere | single tap, rolled at start of words |
| S | ese | like English "s" |
| T | te | like English |
| U | u | "oo" like food |
| V | uve | same as B |
| W | uve doble | like English (foreign words) |
| X | equis | "ks" or "h" (in Mexican words) |
| Y | i griega | "y" sound or "ee" alone |
| Z | zeta | "s" (LatAm) or "th" (Spain) |
Pronunciation Rules
Vowels
Spanish has only 5 pure vowel sounds (unlike English's many):
| Vowel | Sound | Example |
|---|
| a | "ah" | casa (KAH-sah) |
| e | "eh" | peso (PEH-so) |
| i | "ee" | sí (SEE) |
| o | "oh" | como (KOH-moh) |
| u | "oo" | tú (TOO) |
Key Consonant Sounds
| Letter(s) | Sound | Example |
|---|
| c + e/i | "s" or "th" | cena (dinner) |
| c + a/o/u | "k" | casa (house) |
| g + e/i | "h" | gente (people) |
| g + a/o/u | hard "g" | gato (cat) |
| gu + e/i | hard "g" | guitarra |
| gü + e/i | "gw" | vergüenza |
| j | always "h" | trabajo (work) |
| ll | "y" (most places) | llamar (to call) |
| ñ | "ny" | año (year) |
| qu + e/i | "k" | que, quiero |
| r | tap (middle), roll (start/rr) | pero vs. perro |
| rr | rolled | perro (dog) |
| v | same as b | vino (wine) |
| z | "s" or "th" | zapato (shoe) |
Stress Rules
Words ending in vowel, n, or s, stress on second-to-last syllable
Words ending in other consonants, stress on last syllable
- ha-BLAR, es-pa-ÑOL, ciu-DAD
Written accent marks, override the rules above
- ca-FÉ, te-LÉ-fo-no, rá-PI-do
Essential Greetings
| Spanish | English | When to Use |
|---|
| Buenos días | Good morning | Until noon |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon | Noon to evening |
| Buenas noches | Good evening/night | Evening onwards |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? | Formal |
| Mucho gusto | Nice to meet you | First meeting |
| Encantado/a | Pleased to meet you | First meeting |
| Spanish | English | When to Use |
|---|
| ¡Hola! | Hello/Hi | Universal informal |
| ¿Qué tal? | How's it going? | Casual |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you? | Informal |
| ¿Qué pasa? | What's up? | Very casual |
| ¿Qué hay? | What's up? | Very casual |
| ¿Cómo te va? | How's it going? | Casual |
Farewells
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| Adiós | Goodbye |
| Hasta luego | See you later |
| Hasta pronto | See you soon |
| Hasta mañana | See you tomorrow |
| Nos vemos | See you |
| Chao/Chau | Bye (informal) |
| Buenas noches | Good night |
| Cuídate | Take care |
First Conversations
Introducing Yourself
Me llamo... (My name is... / I call myself...)
Soy... (I am...)
¿Cómo te llamas? (What's your name? informal)
¿Cómo se llama? (What's your name? formal)
¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from? informal)
¿De dónde es usted? (Where are you from? formal)
Soy de... (I'm from...)
Vivo en... (I live in...)
Polite Phrases
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| Por favor | Please |
| Gracias | Thank you |
| Muchas gracias | Thank you very much |
| De nada | You're welcome |
| No hay de qué | Don't mention it |
| Perdón | Sorry/Excuse me |
| Disculpe | Excuse me (formal) |
| Lo siento | I'm sorry |
| Con permiso | Excuse me (passing by) |
Basic Questions
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Quién? | Who? |
| ¿Dónde? | Where? |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| ¿Cómo? | How? |
| ¿Cuánto/a? | How much? |
| ¿Cuántos/as? | How many? |
| ¿Cuál? | Which? |
When You Don't Understand
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| ¿Cómo? / ¿Perdón? | Pardon? |
| No entiendo | I don't understand |
| ¿Puede repetir? | Can you repeat that? |
| Más despacio, por favor | Slower, please |
| ¿Qué significa...? | What does... mean? |
| ¿Cómo se dice... en español? | How do you say... in Spanish? |
| ¿Habla inglés? | Do you speak English? |
| Hablo un poco de español | I speak a little Spanish |
Spanish distinguishes between formal and informal "you":
| Formal (Usted) | Informal (Tú) |
|---|
| Use with | Strangers, elders, professionals | Friends, family, children, peers |
| Verb form | habla (3rd person) | hablas (2nd person) |
| Possessive | su | tu |
| Abbreviation | Ud. | (none) |
Regional Note: Vosotros vs. Ustedes
| Spain | Latin America |
|---|
| Informal plural "you" | vosotros habláis | ustedes hablan |
| Formal plural "you" | ustedes hablan | ustedes hablan |
Tip: If learning for Latin America, you can ignore vosotros entirely.
Practice Sentences
¡Hola! Me llamo María. ¿Cómo te llamas?
(Hi! My name is María. What's your name?)
Mucho gusto. Soy Carlos.
(Nice to meet you. I'm Carlos.)
¿De dónde eres?
(Where are you from?)
Soy de Australia. Vivo en Madrid.
(I'm from Australia. I live in Madrid.)
¿Hablas inglés?
(Do you speak English?)
Hablo un poco de español.
(I speak a little Spanish.)
Más despacio, por favor. No entiendo.
(Slower, please. I don't understand.)
Common Responses
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| Sí | Yes |
| No | No |
| Tal vez / Quizás | Maybe |
| Claro | Of course |
| Por supuesto | Of course |
| Vale (Spain) | OK |
| Bueno | OK/Good |
| De acuerdo | Agreed |
| Está bien | It's fine |
| No sé | I don't know |
| Creo que sí/no | I think so/not |