Letters and Sounds in Spanish - 2nd part


Hola, my dearest friend! (Yes! First dose of spanglish today)

And Well …now, seriously

As I told you in the previous video, here, I present to you the second part of Letters and Sounds in Spanish.

So, let's go for it!

Letras y Sonidos en Español - Segunda parte

El Abecedario en español

- El ABC -

The Alphabet in Spanish

- The ABC -


Like general culture: The Spanish alphabet is made up of twenty-seven letters

A a   B b   C c   D d   E e
F f   G g   H h   I i   J j
K k   L l   M m   N n   Ñ ñ
O o   P p   Q q   R r   S s
T t   U u   V v   W w   X x
Y y   Z z


Ok!
As you have seen (and it’s a universal matter, in fact) in addition to the vowels, in the ABC there are the consonants, right?

Well! Let's explore their sounds.

B b

It’s similar to English before any vowel.

Ba
Be
Bi
Bo
Bu

Bebé
Baby

Autobús / Bus
Bus

Biblioteca
Library

C c

Before the A a - O o - U u it sounds like in English

Ca
Co
Cu

Cantar
Sing

Costa
Coast

Cuna
Cradle


...but before the E e or I i the sound changes:

Ce
Ci

Cecilia
(it’s a female name)

Celebridad
Celebrity

Cirio
Candle

D d

It sounds like in English before any vowel.

Da
De
Di
Do
Du

Día
Day

Dignidad
Dignity

Dedicar
Dedicate

F f

It sounds like in English before any vowel.

Fa
Fe
Fi
Fo
Fu

Felicidad
Happiness

Fundamental
Fundamental

Fundar
Found

G g

Before the A a - O o - U u it sounds like in English

Ga
Go
Gu

Galaxia
Galaxy

Golosina
Candy

Guardaespaldas
Bodyguard

G g

…but before the E e - I i the sound changes

Ge
Gi

Generoso
Generous

Gigante
Giant

...and when before the E e - I i there’s the U u the sound is like the cases of “before the A a - O o - U u

Gue
Gui

Guerrero
Warrior

Guía
Guide
...and there’s another case.
Wait what?
Yes! When the umlaut says hello.
The umlaut is a spelling sign that in the Spanish language is placed
over the vowel U u when it must be pronounced.

(Ü ü)

Güe
Güi

Ambigüedad
Ambiguity

Bilingüismo
Bilingualism

H h

It’s always mute.

Ha
He
Hi
Ho
Hu

Hacer
Do


Hematología
Hematology

Inhalar
Inhale

Hilo
Thread

Hotel
Hotel

Rehusar
Refuse

Humano
Human

J j

The sound is always like the cases of G g before the E e - I i

Ja
Je
Ji
Jo
Ju

Jardín
Garden

Jefe
Boss

Jirafa
Giraffe

Joven
Young

Justicia
Justice

K k

The sound is always like the cases of C c before the A a - O o - U u

Ka
Ke
Ki
Ko
Ku

Kárate
Karate

Kerosén
Kerosene

Kilómetro
Kilometer

Koala
Koala

Kurdo
Kurdish

L l

The sound is always like in English before any vowel

La
Le
Li
Lo
Lu

Lección
Lesson

Laberinto
Labyrinth

Limpieza
Cleaning

...but when before any vowel there’s another L l the sound changes

Lla
Lle
Lli
Llo
Llu

Llave
Key

Anillo
Ring

Lluvia
Rain

M m

The sound is always like in English before any vowel

Ma
Me
Mi
Mo
Mu

Mencionar
Mention

Maniobra
Maneuver

Mentira
Lie

N n

The sound is always like in English before any vowel

Na
Ne
Ni
No
Nu

Narcisista
Narcissistic

Nicho
Niche

Necesario
Necessary

Ñ ñ

Its sound is something like the N n, but with a special thing.
…and for a better understanding of this, I ask you a question: Have you seen and listen words like "Cognac" or "Bologna"?
Well, that's the sound (in bold) "coGNAC" / "boloGNA"

Ña
Ñe
Ñi
Ño
Ñu

Niña
Little girl

Niño
Child

Cariño
Dear / Darling

Añadir
Add

Guiño
Wink

P p

The sound is always like in English before any vowel

Pa
Pe
Pi
Po
Pu

Párpado
Eyelid

Picante
Spicy

Puerta
Door

Q q

The sound is always like K k and having the U u plus the E e - I i

Que
Qui

Queso
Cheese

Quinto
Fifth

R r

The sound is similar to English before any vowel, but a little stronger

Ra
Re
Ri
Ro
Ru

...and also, the sound changes if before all these options there’s a consonant or a vowel

Amparo
Protection or female name

Pera
Pear

Pero
But

Honrar
Honor

Alrededor
Around

Sonrisa
Smile

Raro
Rare / Weird

Río
River

Ropa
Clothes

Perro
Dog

Cerrar
Close

Susurro
Whisper

S s

The sound is like C c before the E e - I i

Sa
Se
Si
So
Su

Sábana
Sheet

Silla
Chair

Sombrero
Hat


T t

The sound is like in English, always in this way:

Ta
Te
Ti
To
Tu

…and never like the cases in English of, for example, Attention.
That sound of “shon”, NEVER.
Let’s see examples:

Taza
Cup

Tolerante
Tolerant

Tomar
Take

Teléfono
Phone

Tormenta
Storm

V v

The sound is like in English.

Va
Ve
Vi
Vo
Vu

Villa
Town

Ventana
Window

Ventilador
Fan

Volante
Steering wheel

W w

The sound is like in English.
And also, why not, talking about Spanish, the sound is almost similar to gua, güe, güi, guo.
Look and listen too:

Wa
We
Wi
Wo
Wu

There’s something important about this letter.

And even, could be another tip of general culture.

In fact, there’s not many words with the W w in Spanish and majority are anglicisms.

…a couple of examples:

Washingtoniano
Washingtonian

Waterpolista
Water polo player

X x

The sound is like S s before any vowel, and even, it sounds like in English many times.

Xilófono
Xylophone

Examinar
Examine

Píxel
Pixel

Éxodo
Exodus


Y y

The sound is like in English before any vowel.

Ya
Ye
Yi
Yo
Yu

Aleluya
Hallelujah

Yate
Yacht

Yudoca
Judoka

...but in case of being alone or after a vowel, the sound of the Y y is like I i in Spanish

Y
And

Ley
Law

Voy
I go

Z z

The sound is like S s in Spanish before any vowel.

Za
Ze
Zi
Zo
Zu

...but wait, also there's another kind of sound that can be notice in Spain because in Latin America, very few people (or better said, almost no one) pronounce this letter in that way.

On the video, you can hear both ways: With a Latin American or neutral Spanish accent and with Spanish accent from Spain)

Zapato
Shoe

Zombi
Zombie

Zoológico
Zoo

Zumo
Juice

Zodíaco
Zodiac

Capaz
Able

And even, talking about this fact, there are another cases and with other letters that in next videos I will talk to you about.

And well, it’s time to say bye, and, yes, there is a festival of other sounds that I will be showing you, also, in next videos.

But before, you can be having an idea of them, thanks to the examples on the blackboard and coming soon thanks to the readings and other resources for your understanding.

And of course, if you are interested in specific topics about Spanish that you wanna learn and/or practice, come on, let me know it. Ok?

See you soon!
Oh! Wait!
Let’s enjoy another dose of spanglish
Chao, my dearest friend!
See you pronto!

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