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Spanish
Alphabet
Worksheet
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 Spanish Alphabet
Worksheet
The Spanish alphabet consists of twenty-seven letters (five vowels and twenty-two consonants). We use all of
the letters in the Spanish alphabet also in the English alphabet, with the exception of -ñ. In addition, there are
three two-letter combinations called digraphs that we traditionally analyze as single units: -ch, -ll, and -rr.

We stress Spanish words according to two patterns. The first regular pattern is for words
that end in one of the five vowels, an -n, or an -s: we stress these words on the second-
BC
to-last syllable. This accounts for the vast majority of Spanish words. The second regular
A
stress pattern is for words that do not end in a vowel, an -n, or an -s, and we stress
those words on the final syllable. We write words that do not follow the two regular stress
patterns listed above with an accent mark over the vowel of the syllable in question.

In addition to accent marks indicating stress, a few Spanish words carry a written accent
to distinguish homonyms (e.g., definite article el vs. subject pronoun él). Listening to
Spanish speakers roll their Rs and sound out other letters, you may be tempted to think
that the Spanish alphabet is mysterious and exotic, but you would be wrong.
The 27-letter alphabet, which is based off the Latin alphabet, does have a few extra
Spanish letters, but it is almost the same as the English alphabet with a few exceptions.

1 The Spanish alphabet and phonetic pronunciation:

A (a) ah J (j) hota R (r) erreh

B (b) beh K (k) kah S (s) eseh

C (c) seh L (l) eleh T (t) teh

CH (ch) che LL (ll) eyeh U (u) uu

D (d) deh M (m) emeh V (v) uveh

E (e) eh N (n) eneh W (w) doble-uu or uveh-

doble

F (f) efeh Ñ (ñ) enyeh X (x) equis

G (g) heh O (o) oh Y (y) yeh

H (h) acheh P (p) peh Z (z) zetah

I (i) ee Q (q) cu

Note: The provided alphabet list above offers phonetic pronunciation; the actual spelling for each letter is similar but not the same.
2 Spanish Alphabet Chart:

Lexicon English Spanish

Memorization Tips
(Name) Approx Example

A, a (a) blond damos Always open, like the ‘o’ of ‘hot’ (i.e. ‘ah’); never the closed ‘a’ sound of ‘hate’

B, b (be) boy bueno This often sounds like an English b.

C, c (ce) scan claro Often sounds like English K

Ch, ch (che) church ocho Sounds like ch in cheese

D, d (de) this cuando Often sounds like th in English, especially when it comes between two vowels

E, e (e) bet vehemente Sounds like Eh in english

F, f (efe) fork falda The ‘f’ sound in the Spanish is equivalent to the ‘f’ and ‘ph’ sound in English

herald escoge Like the ‘h’ in English, but slightly guttural

G,g (ge)
gale gato This hard ‘g’ sound is equivalent to the hard ‘g’ in English

H, h (hache) rhapsody hora The ‘h’ in Spanish is always silent, like the silent ‘h’ in English

The ‘i’ in Spanish is always the ‘ee’ sound; never the open ‘i’ of ‘hit’, nor the closed
I, i (i) meet imponer
sound of ‘bite’

The ‘j’ in Spanish is similar to the ‘h’ in English, except the Spanish ‘j’ is harsher,
J, j (jota) hope julio
slightly gutteral

K, k (ka) coat kilogramo The hard ‘c’ or ‘k’, like in English

L, l (ele) lady lograr The ‘l’ in Spanish is the same as in English

LL,ll (elle) shove llover Between the ‘yuh’ sound of ‘y’ and the ’shuh’ in english

M, m (eme) morning martes The ‘m’ in Spanish is equivalent to the ‘m’ in English

N, n (ene) nature noche The ‘n’ in Spanish is the same as in English

canyon
ñ, ñ (ñ) niño Unlike any single letter in English, the ‘ñ’ must be distinguished from the ‘n’
unyoke

O, o (o) home hablo Always the closed ‘o’ of ‘hope’; never the open ‘o’ of ‘hop’

P, p (pe) parent persona The Spanish ‘p’ is the same as the English

Q, q (cu) take trueque Always the hard ‘k’ sound; although always followed by the ‘u’, the ‘u’ is always silent

The ‘r’ in Spanish requires the tip of the tongue to touch the front part of the roof of
R,r (ere) NONE rodeando
the mouth

S,s (ese) single sonido Always the soft ’s’ of ‘sound’ never the ‘z’ sound of ‘lands‘

T, t (te) touch tomar The Spanish ‘t’ is equivalent to the ‘t’ in English

Always the ‘oo’ sound of ‘fume’; never the open ‘u’ sound of ‘upper’, nor the
U, u (u) tube suponer
closed ‘u’ of ‘unicycle’

V, v (ve) big ver B, like the English ‘b’; there is no phonetic difference between the ‘b’ and ‘v’ in Spanish

W, w (ve doble) water water Only used for foreign words, sounds like w or v in English

expresar express Ex, the hard consonant, as in English

X, x (equis)
xylophone xenófobo The soft ‘c’ or ’s’, not vibrating ‘z’ of buzz

Y, y (i griega) yellow yegua The ‘yuh’ sound, very similar to the English, sometimes with a soft ’sh’

Z, z (zeta) zumbio lace The ’ss’ of ’s’, never the ‘z’ of ‘buzz’
A language’s alphabet is its building blocks. Trying to learn how to write in Spanish without first learning its
alphabet is a bit like trying to build a brick house without touching the individual bricks! It is impossible to
do a good job that way. So don’t believe language schools and methods that try to teach you otherwise.
You will regret it later.

Also, once you start recognizing symbols and words, you will be encouraged by your own progress
and motivated to learn even faster. Even just learning the basics of the alphabet will allow you to start
recognizing simple Spanish words, and it will feel great!

Furthermore, knowing the alphabet even helps with pronunciation, as learning the individual letters of any
language will start uncovering nuances and intricacies that are not always apparent when you’re simply
listening to the words.

Completely mastering the Spanish alphabet, no matter how long it takes, will give you an excellent head
start in learning how to write and read the language. It will offer you a solid foundation on which to build
the other language skills, so set a goal to learn the alphabet so well that you’re able to recite it in your
sleep!

3 Vocabulary and Pronunciation Practice:

Using the correct pronunciation of the Spanish alphabet practice saying the words below;

feliz tijeras perro comer agua

happy scissors dog eat water

reloj zapato gato libro lápiz

clock shoe cat book pencil
4 Vocabulary and Alphabet Practice:

Fill in the Spanish word for the vocabulary;

E Z
happy

T J E S
scissors

P R
dog

C M
eat

A U
water

R O J
clock

Z A O
shoe

G O
cat

L B
book

Á Z
pencil