The Spanish alphabet: all 27 letters, with audio and pronunciation
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 of English plus ñ. Each letter has a name — a, be, ce, de… — that you use to spell words out loud, and almost every letter spells one fixed sound, which is why Spanish is written the way it is said. Tap any letter to hear its name, then say it and get a score.
- 27 letters: the English 26 plus ñ (eñe)
- 5 vowels — a, e, i, o, u — that always sound the same
- h is silent; b and v are the same sound
- ch and ll stopped being separate letters in 2010; like rr, they are letter pairs
Say these 5 letter names — get a score for each
Free, in your browser. Every word and every sound is scored out of 100, weakest first.
jota
The j is a raspy h from the back of the mouth: HO-ta, never "JO-ta".
the letter j
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Spanish alphabet chart with audio
Tap a letter to hear its Spanish name. The table under the chart gives each name in IPA, the sound the letter makes inside words, and an example word you can play.
| Letter | Name — tap to hear | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a[a] | Always "ah", as in "father". | amigofriend |
| B b | be[be] | b — softer between vowels. Same sound as v. | bebébaby |
| C c | ce[se] · Spain [θe] | k before a, o, u; s (Spain: th) before e, i. | casahouse |
| D d | de[de] | d with the tongue on the teeth; a soft "th" between vowels. | dedofinger |
| E e | e[e] | Like "eh" in "bet", with no "y" glide. | elefanteelephant |
| F f | efe[ˈe.fe] | f, as in English. | fotophoto |
| G g | ge[xe] | g of "go" before a, o, u; a raspy h before e, i. | gatocat |
| H h | hache[ˈa.tʃe] | Silent. Only ch has a sound. | holahello |
| I i | i[i] | "ee", as in "see". | islaisland |
| J j | jota[ˈxo.ta] | A raspy h from the back of the mouth. | jamónham |
| K k | ka[ka] | k, without a puff of air. Only in loanwords. | kilokilo |
| L l | ele[ˈe.le] | A light l, even at the end of a word. | lunamoon |
| M m | eme[ˈe.me] | m, as in English. | mamámom |
| N n | ene[ˈe.ne] | n, as in English. | nadanothing |
| Ñ ñ | eñe[ˈe.ɲe] | "ny" as in "canyon", one sound. | niñoboy |
| O o | o[o] | "oh", with no "w" glide. | ojoeye |
| P p | pe[pe] | p, without a puff of air. | panbread |
| Q q | cu[ku] | k. Always written qu, and the u is silent. | quesocheese |
| R r | erre[ˈe.re] | A tap between vowels; a trill at the start of a word and as rr. | rosarose |
| S s | ese[ˈe.se] | A hissed s, not the buzzing English z of "is" (it buzzes only before b, d, g, l, m, n: mismo). | solsun |
| T t | te[te] | t with the tongue on the teeth, no puff. | tacotaco |
| U u | u[u] | "oo", as in "food". Silent in que, qui, gue, gui. | unoone |
| V v | uve[ˈu.βe] | The same sound as b — there is no English v. | vacacow |
| W w | uve doble[ˈu.βe ˈðo.βle] | w (or b) in loanwords only. | wifiWi-Fi |
| X x | equis[ˈe.kis] | "ks"; the j sound in México and Oaxaca. | taxitaxi |
| Y y | ye[ʝe] | y of "yes" before a vowel; "ee" alone or at the end. | yoI |
| Z z | zeta[ˈse.ta] · Spain [ˈθe.ta] | s in Latin America; th of "think" in most of Spain. | zapatoshoe |
Letter names differ a little by region. In much of Latin America, b is "be larga" or "be alta", v is "ve corta" or "ve chica", w is "doble ve" or "doble u", and y is still often called "i griega". All are understood everywhere.
The 5 Spanish vowels
Spanish vowels are the key to the whole alphabet: five short, pure sounds that never change, stressed or not, and never glide into a "y" or "w" the way English "day" and "go" do.
Vowels
| Spelling | IPA | Sounds like (US English) | Examples — tap to hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | The "a" of "father", but shorter. | casahouseaguawater |
| e | /e/ | Between "bet" and "bait", with no "y" glide. | mesatablelechemilk |
| i | /i/ | The "ee" of "see", short. | síyeslibrobook |
| o | /o/ | The "o" of "go" without the "w" at the end. | todoeverythingojoeye |
| u | /u/ | The "oo" of "food", short. | lunamoonunoone |
Letters that sound different from English
Most Spanish letters are close to their English counterparts. These are the ones that are not — the letters to practice first.
h is always silent
hola is "OH-la" and hablar is "a-BLAR". Only the pair ch has a sound.
j, and g before e or i, are a raspy h
Like the ch of Scottish "loch"; softer, closer to English h, in the Caribbean and much of Latin America.
b and v are the same sound
Both are a b — softened between vowels, with the lips almost touching. There is no English v.
r is a tap; rr is a trill
A single r between vowels is the flap of American "butter". rr, and r at the start of a word, is a rolled r.
ll and y sound alike
Most speakers say both like the y of "yes"; in Argentina and Uruguay both sound like "sh".
z, and c before e or i
s in Latin America; the th of "think" in most of Spain.
qu is k
The u is silent in que and qui: queso is "KEH-so". Spanish never writes k-sounds as "kw" with qu.
ñ is one sound
The "ny" of "canyon", fused into a single consonant.
Reading about a sound is not the same as making it. The TonePerfect app gives you a short daily Spanish session built from your own weakest sounds, and scores every take.
Accent marks and special characters
Spanish adds a few marks to the 27 letters. None of them creates a new letter in the alphabet; they tell you where the stress goes or how a letter sounds.
á é í ó ú — the stress accent (tilde)
Marks the stressed syllable when it breaks the normal stress rules, and tells look-alike words apart: sí (yes) / si (if), tú (you) / tu (your).
ü — the diéresis
Only in güe and güi: it tells you to pronounce a u that would otherwise be silent.
ñ — a letter of its own
The tilde on ñ is not an accent: ñ is a separate letter that comes after n in the dictionary.
¿ ¡ — opening question and exclamation marks
Spanish opens a question or exclamation with an upside-down mark, so you know the intonation before you read the sentence.
How to spell words out loud in Spanish
You will need the letter names to give your name, an email address or a street over the phone. A few phrases do most of the work.
"¿Cómo se escribe?" — How is it spelled?
The answer is the letters, one by one: "Se escribe ce-a-ese-a" (casa).
b or v? Say it with a word
Because b and v sound the same, speakers add a word: "be de burro" and "uve de vaca" — or "be larga" and "ve corta" in much of Latin America.
Double letters and capitals
Say "doble ele" for ll and "doble erre" for rr (or just "erre"), and "mayúscula" for a capital letter.
Accents and the @
"Con tilde" means with an accent mark: "e con tilde" is é. The @ in an email address is "arroba", and the dot is "punto".
Spanish alphabet FAQ
How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?+
Twenty-seven: the 26 letters of English plus ñ. Ch and ll were treated as separate letters until 2010; now they are letter pairs, like rr. Each letter has a Spanish name, such as be, ce, hache, jota and eñe.
What is the Spanish alphabet called?+
El abecedario or el alfabeto. Both are correct; abecedario is the everyday word, especially with children and in school.
Is ñ a separate letter?+
Yes. Ñ (eñe) is its own letter, the 15th of the alphabet, between n and o in the dictionary. It sounds like the "ny" of "canyon": niño, año, España.
Are ch and ll letters in Spanish?+
Not anymore. The Royal Spanish Academy stopped counting them as letters in 2010, and dictionaries had already sorted them under c and l since 1994. They are digraphs: two letters for one sound, like rr.
How do you pronounce the letters of the Spanish alphabet?+
Use the Spanish names: a, be, ce, de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta. Tap any letter in the chart above to hear it.
Why do Spanish speakers say "be de burro" or "be larga"?+
Because b and v sound exactly the same in Spanish, spelling out loud needs a way to tell them apart. People add a word (be de burro, uve de vaca) or use the regional names be larga / ve corta.
Can I check my Spanish pronunciation online for free?+
Yes — the recorder on this page. Say the word, and each word and each of its sounds gets a score out of 100, weakest first. It runs in your browser and needs no account; the TonePerfect app has the full course.
Keep going
- Spanish pronunciation guide →Every sound with IPA, stress rules and the 8 mistakes English speakers make.
- The five Spanish vowels →Why they never change, with practice words.
- How to roll your Rs in Spanish →
- Spanish sound chart →All 31 sounds with audio.
- Free Spanish pronunciation test →5 words, a score for each.
- Spanish pronunciation checker →
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Last reviewed 2026-10-31. Take the free Spanish pronunciation test →