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The Spanish alphabet with pronunciation: 27 letters through play

Tap a letter to hear how it sounds in Spanish, plus a word with it. Compare Spain and Mexico, play four games and learn to spell your name or email out loud — ñ and á included.

  • 27 letters
  • Spanish audio
  • Spain and Mexico
  • IPA for every letter
  • 4 games
Listen to the alphabetPlay

Tap the letter

[a]

abeja — bee

The Spanish alphabet with pronunciation

Tap a card: first you hear the letter’s name, then a word. Vowels are pink. The ES / MX switch gives you Spain or Latin America. Collect a star for all 27 letters!

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Spanish alphabet chart with IPA

All 27 letters: IPA, an example word and the word Spaniards use to spell the letter over the phone.

The Spanish alphabet with IPA and example words
LetterIPAWordSpelling (A de…)
A a[a]abeja — beeAntonio
B b[be]ballena — whaleBarcelona
C c[θe / se]casa — houseCarmen
D d[de]delfín — dolphinDinamarca
E e[e]elefante — elephantEspaña
F f[ˈefe]fresa — strawberryFrancia
G g[xe]gato — catGranada
H h[ˈatʃe]helado — ice creamHuelva
I i[i]isla — islandItalia
J j[ˈxota]jirafa — giraffeJosé
K k[ka]koala — koalaKilo
L l[ˈele]luna — moonLeón
M m[ˈeme]manzana — appleMadrid
N n[ˈene]naranja — orangeNavarra
Ñ ñ[ˈeɲe]piña — pineappleÑandú
O o[o]oso — bearOviedo
P p[pe]perro — dogParís
Q q[ku]queso — cheeseQuerétaro
R r[ˈere]ratón — mouseRoma
S s[ˈese]sol — sunSevilla
T t[te]tortuga — turtleToledo
U u[u]uva — grapeÚbeda
V v[ˈube]vaca — cowValencia
W w[ˈube ˈdoble]wifi — Wi-FiWashington
X x[ˈekis]taxi — taxiXilófono
Y y[ʝe]yoyó — yo-yoYegua
Z z[ˈθeta / ˈseta]zapato — shoeZaragoza

Spaniards spell with city and first names: “A de Antonio, B de Barcelona”. C and Z have two transcriptions: in Spain [θ], like the th in think; in Latin America a plain [s].

Spanish alphabet games

A round is 10 questions. For kids and adults alike: praise for every right answer, stars for the round.

Choose a game

Spell it out

How do you spell a name or email in Spanish? Type it and you’ll see (and hear) how to say every letter. Accented letters too: á is “a con tilde”, ü is “u con diéresis”.

  1. Start typing and the letters will appear here.

Vowels and consonants

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 Latin ones plus Ñ, right after N. There are 5 vowels — A, E, I, O, U — and they always sound clear, even when unstressed. The other 22 are consonants; Y can be a consonant (yo) or a vowel (y, “and”).

Accented letters — á, é, í, ó, ú — and ü are not separate letters. The digraphs CH and LL counted as letters until 2010 (old dictionaries list 29 or 30), but now they’re just letter pairs with their own sound.

Vowels · 5

Consonants · 22

The letters people mix up most

Their names and sounds aren’t what English suggests. Tap to listen.

  • G is [xe], J is [ˈxota]. Both can be a throaty h, like the ch in loch: jamón, gente. Before a, o, u, G is a hard g: gato.

  • B is “be”, V is “uve”, yet they sound the same, [b]: vaca and baca can’t be told apart by ear. To be clear people say “be de Barcelona” or “uve de Valencia”.

  • C before e, i and Z are [θ] in Spain, like th in think: cena, zapato. In Latin America it’s [s]. Before a, o, u, C is k: casa.

  • H is “hache” and always silent in words: hola is “ola”. Ñ is “eñe”, like ny in canyon: España, niño.

  • R is “erre”; at the start of a word and as rr it’s rolled: perro, ratón. LL sounds like y in yes: llamar, pollo.

  • Y is “ye” (formerly “i griega”, Greek i), I is “i” (i latina). The word y (“and”) sounds like i, while yo sounds like “yo”.

How to learn the Spanish alphabet

It takes a few days: the letters are almost the same as in English, and reading them is simpler.

For parents: the alphabet with your child

  • 5–10 minutes a day rather than one long hour: your child won’t get tired and will look forward to the next time.
  • Listen together and sing along: “a, be, ce, de…” — a rhythm sticks faster than a list.
  • Start with the letters of your child’s name: “Tu nombre — M, A, R, Í, A”.
  • Play “First letter” and look for things at home with the same letter: manzana, mesa, mamá…
  • Praise in Spanish: “¡Muy bien!”, “¡Genial!” — kids pick it up quickly.

For adults: why the alphabet matters

  • Spell your name or email at a hotel, a bank or on the phone — no more “¿cómo se escribe?”.
  • Understand abbreviations: DNI, NIE, ONU, EE. UU. are said letter by letter.
  • Know the marks: “con tilde” (á) and “con diéresis” (ü) are named when spelling.
  • Practise G, J, H, V, Y and Ñ separately — they cause the most mistakes.

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?

27: the 26 Latin letters, as in English, plus Ñ after N. Five are vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and 22 are consonants. Until 2010 CH and LL were counted too, which is why older textbooks mention 29 or 30 letters.

How are the Spanish letters pronounced?

A — a, B — be, C — ce, D — de, E — e, F — efe, G — ge, H — hache, I — i, J — jota, K — ka, L — ele, M — eme, N — ene, Ñ — eñe, O — o, P — pe, Q — cu, R — erre, S — ese, T — te, U — u, V — uve, W — uve doble, X — equis, Y — ye, Z — zeta. The best way is to listen to each letter on this page.

How is Spain’s pronunciation different from Latin America’s?

Mainly c before e, i and z: in Spain it’s [θ] (like th in think), in Latin America [s]. So gracias in Madrid has a th, while in Mexico City it has a plain s. Switch ES / MX and compare.

How do I spell a name or email in Spanish?

Say each letter and any mark on it: María — M, A, R, I con tilde, A. Double letters are “doble”: Anna — A, doble N, A. Symbols: @ — arroba, dot — punto, hyphen — guion, _ — guion bajo. Try the “Spell it out” tool above.

At what age can a child learn the Spanish alphabet?

Listening and singing works from 4–5; recognising and writing letters from 6–7. A child who knows the English alphabet will pick up the Spanish one in a few days: the letters are the same, plus Ñ.

Where do I start with Spanish?

The alphabet and reading rules come first, then basic phrases and numbers. Take the free Spanish level test, and in a free trial lesson at Slay School a teacher will choose a programme for your goals.

What’s next

Next step

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