THE SPANISH ALPHABET

Spanish that Works™

©2006 Almann~ www.spanishthatworks.org

Use the names of the letters if you need to spell something aloud.
LETTER LETTER NAME PRONUNCIATION
a a ah
b be (grande)* beh (g'DDAHN-theh)
c ce seh
ch** che cheh
d de theh
e e eh
f efe EH-feh
g ge heh
h hache AH-cheh
i i ee
j jota HOH-tah
k ka kah
l ele EH-leh
ll** elle / doble ele EH-yeh / THOH-bleh EH-leh
m eme EH-meh
n ene EH-neh
ñ eñe EHN-yeh
o o oh
p pe peh
q cu coo
r ere EH-ddeh
rr** erre / doble ere EH-rreh / THOH-bleh EH-ddeh
s ese EH-sseh
t te teh
u u oo
v ve (chica)* beh (CHEE-cah)
w doble ve /doble u THOH-bleh VEH / THOH-bleh OO
x equis EH-kees
y y griega ee g'ddee-EH-gah
z zeta SEH-tah
*1. Since b and v sound the same in Spanish, some native speakers specify "big" b (b grande) or "little" v (v chica). Other
speakers may clarify with be de burro (b in burro, which means donkey), and ve de vaca (v in vaca, which means cow).
**2. The combinations ch and ll used to always be considered separate letters for alphabetizing (as in dictionaries). This
changed in Spain in 1994, though some speakers (and countries) may still use the traditional names of the letters. The rr is
not really a separate dictionary letter, but sometimes read as such in spelling aloud. The ñ is considered a separate letter.
3. When you spell a Spanish word with an accent mark, you say the vowel first, and then the word acento (ah-SEHN-toh).
Example: aquí: A-cu-u-i, acento.