Your Final Spanish Pronunciation Information With Audio

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An enormous a part of studying one other language is studying how letters and letter mixtures are pronounced. For these studying Spanish, the method is easy. Spanish pronunciation is simple, so studying the 5 vowel sounds and some particular consonants will be sure that as you study communicate Spanish, you’re additionally studying learn and spell. 

Get began with this information stuffed with useful ideas and audio that you could observe. Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine additionally offers highly effective suggestions to be sure you’re talking accurately from day one.

Spanish vowels 

Studying the 5 vowel sounds is the muse for proper pronunciation in Spanish. Each syllable in Spanish has considered one of these sounds, so you may break aside new and unfamiliar vocabulary one vowel at a time. 

One thing to notice about Spanish vowels is that they’re pronounced purely, with out the diphthong sounds which are frequent in English. Attempt saying Spanish vowels whereas conserving your mouth and lips in the identical place, not altering your mouth form on the finish.

The sound of the vowel can also be the identify of the letter in Spanish.

As you study Spanish vocabulary, pay attention to every vowel and all the time pronounce it the identical means. 

Silent u in Spanish

The letter u may be silent in Spanish, however solely when it’s a part of the letter teams “gue,” “gui,” “que,” or “qui.” It’s pronounced if it has a diérisis, an accent mark consisting of two dots over the u, as in pingüino (penguin) or vergüenza (disgrace/embarrassment).

Primary Spanish consonants

Combining Spanish consonants with vowels is pretty easy as properly. With a couple of exceptions, these Spanish consonants are pronounced persistently it doesn’t matter what phrase or mixture they’re in. 

A extremely useful tip for newbies is to observe every of those consonant sounds in entrance of every of the vowels. Attempt saying ma, me, mi, mo, mu and ta, te, ti, to, tu. This can be a nice technique to observe announcing something you may learn in Spanish. 

These Spanish consonants are constant all through the language and may be discovered with out a lot bother. Trickier consonants are mentioned in separate sections beneath. 

D/d

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The Spanish d sound is softer than the English “d.” Within the center or on the finish of phrases, d is pronounced with the tip of the tongue in the identical place because the “th” in “father.” 

F/f

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

This can be a related pronunciation to English “f.” Chances are you’ll discover that there aren’t any Spanish phrases with “ph,” so any time you’ll usually see an English phrase with “ph” to make the “f” sound, spell it with f in Spanish. 

• foto (photograph)
• teléfono (phone)
• fenomenal (phenomenal)

J/j

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

Should you’re accustomed to Mexican meals in Spanish, consider the proper pronunciation of “jalapeño pepper.” The Spanish j is produced by air passing via the again of the throat, barely closed off, or much like an English “h” sound, relying on the regional accent. 

Laughter in Spanish is accurately written as ¡Ja, ja, ja! (Ha ha ha!). 

If a phrase comes from one other language, just like the English phrase “jazz,” or the identify “Jennifer,” the pronunciation of “j” in Spanish will likely be roughly the identical because the English “j,” however when adapting to Spanish, these borrowed phrases will usually use y to protect Spanish pronunciation, corresponding to bluyín (blue jean). 

Ok/okay

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The okay is pronounced just like the English “okay.” The overwhelming majority of phrases that use okay in Spanish have come from different languages like kayak (kayak), bikini (bikini), and kimono (kimono), or names of locations like Kuwait (Kuwait). 

M/m

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The pronunciation of m is similar to the English sound. A focal point is that Spanish usually doesn’t double the letter m, so English phrases with “imm-” usually start with inm- in Spanish, corresponding to inmediatamente (instantly), inmaculado (immaculate) and inmigración (immigration). 

P/p

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

Just like the consonants d and b, pronounce the p in Spanish a bit softer than in English. Don’t pressure as a lot air via your closed lips as you may in English. With this appropriate pronunciation you may order plenty of meals in Spanish, like piña (pineapple) and pan (bread) and pronounce each por and para accurately.

Q/q

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The letter “q” in Spanish is all the time a part of the qu letter mixture, like in English. That is pronounced just like the laborious “okay” sound in “kayak.” 

S/s

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The pronunciation of s is identical as in English. The s in Spanish is all the time pronounced, however you gained’t discover mixtures like “sp” or “st” at first of Spanish phrases. As a substitute, you’ll see esp- or or est- like in español (Spanish), España (Spain), estudiar (to review), and esfera (sphere). 

T/t

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The letter t in Spanish is pronounced in the identical place of the tongue behind the enamel as in English, however with out expressing air. You may even place your hand in entrance of your mouth to make sure you don’t really feel a puff of air whilst you repeat these phrases.

W/w

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Additionally referred to as: 

Pronunciation ideas:

Many of the phrases that comprise w in Spanish originated in different languages. In phrases which are much like English, it sounds just like the “w” in “winter.”

X/x

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

At the start of a phrase, corresponding to xilófono, the Spanish x seems like an “s” as in “seaweed.” In the midst of most phrases, it’s going to sound just like the “ks” in “backs.” In Mexico and Texas, the sound is extra much like the Spanish jota, as a result of these phrases originated from indigenous phrases. 

Y/y

Letter identify in Spanish: 

The shorter identify ye was formally acknowledged in 2010 by the Actual Academia Española, although each are used. In instances the place i griega (Greek “i”) is used for y, use i latina (Latin “i”) to specify the letter i. 

Pronunciation ideas:

Until you’re announcing the phrase y (the conjunction “and” in Spanish), which is pronounced like “ee” in “tree,” the y in Spanish pronunciation is produced just like the “y” in “sure” as in these audio examples. 

In some accents, the letter y at first of a syllable is pronounced extra like an English “j” as in jam. On the finish of the syllable it’s all the time just like the “y” on the finish of the English phrase “boy.” 

Spanish consonants with tough pronunciation

Whereas Spanish pronunciation on the whole is pretty easy, there are a couple of consonants and consonant mixtures that may be a bit of tough to pronounce at first.

Announcing the Spanish letters ‘b’ and ‘v’

Folks studying Spanish generally have a query about these two consonants, as a result of they sound so related and but there’s variation even amongst native audio system in what they sound like.

B/b

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas: 

The Spanish b seems like a softer English “b.” It will possibly sound like a gentle “v” relying on somebody’s accent. Both means, don’t press your lips collectively as a lot as you’ll in English. The sound may be softer if it seems inside a phrase, however the distinction is delicate, and nonetheless understandable. 

Most Spanish audio system pronounce b the identical means as they pronounce v, although this pronunciation varies between Spanish audio system. 

V/v

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The official description of the Actual Academia Española is that there’s no distinction in pronunciation between b and v. 

Nevertheless, particularly in areas the place English can also be frequent, bilingual audio system may pronounce v extra like an English ‘v.’ These audio examples will even display a delicate distinction when the v is in the midst of the phrase. 

In both case, neither consonant is pronounced precisely as they’re in English. Preserve your lips softer and attempt to imitate what you hear.

The underside line is, use context to find out the distinction between related phrases like bello, which suggests “lovely” in Spanish, and vello, which might consult with fuzzy hair. More often than not the context makes it clear.

Announcing the Spanish single and double ‘l’

Whether or not the “l” is doubled or not impacts the letter’s identify and pronunciation in Spanish. The letters l and ll are not thought-about separate letters of the alphabet in Spanish since 2010, so ll is now thought-about a digraph, and never a part of the abecedario (Spanish alphabet). Nevertheless, it’s pronounced otherwise and remains to be referred to as by its historic identify. 

L/l

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

This letter normally sounds just like the English “l.” You’ll must differentiate it from elle (ll), which has a separate pronunciation mentioned beneath. 

Some regional accents generally tend to pronounce l sounds on the finish of syllables like an r and vice-versa. 

Ll/ll

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

You’ll not hear the identical sound because the English “l” or Spanish ele, however the sound you’ll hear depends upon the speaker’s regional accent. 

In these audio examples, you hear the frequent pronunciation of ll because the “y” within the English phrase “sure.” 

There are additionally many areas the place the ll will sound extra like an English “j” as in “soar.” 

In Argentina and surrounding areas, it comes throughout extra just like the “sh” in “shout.” What higher purpose to discover the Spanish-speaking world in individual? Or, immerse your self from dwelling, even and not using a aircraft ticket. 

Announcing the Spanish letters ‘n’ and ñ

These letters stay listed as two separate letters of the alphabet in Spanish, which has 27 letters. The letter ñ is the one further letter as in comparison with the usual English alphabet. 

N/n

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas:

The pronunciation of n and not using a tilde (accent mark) over it’s much like the English “n” as within the phrase “canon.” 

Ñ/ñ

Letter identify in Spanish:

Pronunciation ideas: 

With the tilde, the Spanish letter ñ is pronounced just like the “ny” within the English phrase “canyon.” It’s a letter and an emblem that Spanish is thought for, although it seems in different languages all over the world, together with el gallego (Galician), and el vasco (Basque). 

To actually pinpoint the distinction between these two related letters, you may pay shut consideration to the phrases mañana and niña, wherein each n and ñ seem. 

Announcing the Spanish single and double ‘r’ 

These aren’t separate letters of the alphabet, however are sometimes listed individually attributable to their pronunciation. 

R/r vs. Rr/rr

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas: 

The Spanish rolled “r,” or “alveolar trill” is usually talked about as a tough consonant to pronounce, and it might take numerous observe to get it excellent. Should you’re a speaker of Scottish English, you may need a head begin on making this sound, however most English audio system might want to observe a model new sound. 

With suggestions from Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition engine, learners can work towards differentiating the sounds of: 

• a single r, extra like a flip of the tongue, in the midst of a phrase like cara (face);
• a stronger rolled or trilled r at first of a phrase like rojo;
• the rolled/trilled rr (double “r”), as in arroz (rice). 

The pronunciation distinction could make a distinction if you’re saying pero (however) vs. perro (canine), or caro (costly) vs. carro (automotive). 

Announcing the Spanish ‘h’ and ‘ch’

One of many solely instances you’ll hear “h” make a distinction to pronunciation is when it’s a part of the digraph ch in Spanish. 

H/h

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas: 

More often than not, this letter is silent. Phrases with the silent “h” are among the many solely ones the place you’ll must memorize the spelling of phrases that sound the identical however have totally different meanings, like echo (I throw) vs. hecho (achieved) or ola (wave) vs. hola (hello/hi there). 

Ch/ch

Letter identify in Spanish: 

Pronunciation ideas: 

Up till the adjustments in 2010, che was thought-about a separate letter of the alphabet, like ll. Now thought-about a digraph, it makes the sound “ch” as in “church.” Now you may order a leche chocolatada (chocolate milk) or a horchata (beverage made with tiger nuts or almonds, relying on the place you might be). 

Announcing the Spanish letters ‘c,’ ‘g,’ and ‘z’

These are letters the place the pronunciation varies relying on what vowel follows it. There are additionally some regional variations. 

C/c

Letter identify in Spanish:

• ce (Latin American Spanish) 
  
• ce (Peninsular Spanish)
  

Pronunciation ideas: 

In all Spanish dialects, the ce is pronounced like a tough “okay” sound as in “kayak” when it’s adopted by a, o, or u. 

In entrance of e or i, the variation will increase. Latin American dialects pronounce the “c” like an “s” as in “sale,” and audio system of Peninsular Spanish put their tongue between their enamel for extra of the “th” sound in “bathtub.” 

For this reason some folks, even Spanish audio system, say that folks from Spain have a lisp, however that’s actually not an correct description. Now you may consult with Barcelona accurately and also you’ll know why it’s pronounced that means. 

G/g

Letter identify in Spanish:

Pronunciation ideas: 

This letter additionally has two variations relying on the vowel that follows it. The letter g is pronounced like a tough “g” sound as in “golf” when it’s adopted by a, o, u, or ue. 

In entrance of e or i, the pronunciation adjustments to a sound much like jota. 

Z/z

Letter identify in Spanish:

• zeta (Latin American Spanish) 
  
• zeta (Peninsular Spanish)
  

Pronunciation ideas: 

Pronunciation of z in Spanish can vary from sounding like an “s” to a “th” relying on the regional dialect. 

Consonants with a couple of pronunciation in Spanish

As you have got seen, most letters make the identical sound persistently, with only a few exceptions. The three exceptions in Spanish are the consonants c, g, and r. These consonants change in line with the vowel that follows. 

The letter c makes a “okay” sound when adopted by a, o, or u. However when adopted by an e or i, the c makes an “s” sound in Latin American Spanish and a “th” sound (as in “skinny”) in Peninsular Spanish.

The letter “g” makes a tough “g” sound as in “gravity” earlier than a, o, and u, however an “h” sound as in “hear” earlier than e and i. 

The Spanish letter r is rolled or trilled when at first of a phrase, when it’s a double rr, or after “l,” “n,” and prefixes like “des” “pos” o “tras.” In any other case, it’s pronounced as a softer “d” sound, only one faucet of the tongue. 

How accent marks have an effect on Spanish pronunciation 

Now that you could pronounce any letter and letter mixture in Spanish, be certain you’re placing the emphasis on the proper syllable so that you just’re positive to impress native audio system as you strike up a dialog in a café or ask your questions in a store. Spanish audio system will emphasize syllables in line with the next two easy guidelines: 

• Emphasize the penultimate syllable (second-to-last) if the phrase ends in a vowel, n, or s.
  • viaje (journey)
    
  • trabajan (they work) 
  • hablamos (we communicate) 
• Emphasize the final syllable if the phrase ends in some other consonant.

If any phrase breaks these guidelines, it’s going to carry an accent mark on the syllable that’s meant to be emphasised. Spanish accent marks are frequent within the endings for various verb tenses. 

• comí (I ate) 
  
• haré (I’ll do) 
  
• fútbol (soccer/soccer)
  
• tiburón (shark) 
• cortés (courteous)

There are only a few instances the place the diéresis, an accent fabricated from two dots, is positioned over the letter u in Spanish. This means that it is best to pronounce each the ü and the next letter.

• pingüino (penguin) 
  
• vergüenza (disgrace)
• bilingüe (bilingual) 

You’ll seemingly encounter different phrases which have accent marks. Generally this helps to distinguish two phrases which are pronounced identically, like tú (you) vs. tu (your) and él (he) vs. el (the), and to establish Spanish query phrases. 

Get Spanish pronunciation proper each time

Spanish pronunciation is simple and the foundations are very constant. Even so, the variation of Spanish accents, exceptions for borrowed phrases from different languages, and the velocity with which native audio system talk imply that learners want plenty of high quality publicity to Spanish. 

Rosetta Stone affords confirmed instruments throughout the Dynamic Immersion methodology so as to rapidly study to pronounce essentially the most attention-grabbing and delightful Spanish phrases together with these which are fabricated from many syllables.