0.4.1 Pronunciation Gotchas

Question 1

Translate to Spanish:

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z

Answer 1

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z

Question 2

Say the five vowels in Spanish

And what do they sound like when used in words?

Answer 2

• a [ɑ]
• e [e̞]
• i [i]
• o [ō]
• u [u]

In Spanish, the names of the vowels are exactly how they sound in words.

In el gato, the “e” is pronounced like the “e” in “berry”; the “a” is pronounced like the “A” in “father” [ɑ]; and the “o” is pronounced like the “O” in “go” [ō].

And in the word tribu, the “i” is pronounced like the ‘ee’ in “see” [i], and the “u” is pronounced like the ‘oo’ in “food” [u].

Just note that, in Spanish, all vowels are typically pronounced much shorter and more crisply than they are in English, where we tend to speak more lazily. (e.g. In the article el, the “e” may often sound more like the short “e” in the English word “bed” [ɛ].)

The great thing about Spanish vowels is that you can rely on consistency of pronunciation. Unlike languages such as English or French, there are practically no exceptions for vowel pronunciation rules. What you see is what you get!

Question 3

Pronounce in Spanish:

vaca

(cow)

Answer 3

vaca

Note that the “v” in Spanish is pronounced more like a “b” in English (though sometimes a bit more “softly” than a “b”, without fully pursing the lips).

In fact, in many Spanish speaking countries, the “v” and “b” are pronounced so identically, that many poor spellers accidentally choose the wrong letter. (e.g. A kid might write “la baca” instead of “la vaca”.)

Question 4

Pronounce in Spanish:

casa

(house)

Answer 4

casa

Note that when a “c” in Spanish is followed by an “a”, “o”, or “u”, it has a hard C sound, like a “k”.

Question 5

Pronounce in Spanish:

cita

(appointment)

Answer 5

cita

Note that when a “c” in Spanish is followed by an “i” or an “e”, it has a soft C sound, like an “s”.

However, in much of Spain, the “c” (when followed by an “i” or “e”) is pronounced like the “TH” in the English word “thorn” [Θ], as is the letter “z”. This is known as the “theta”.

e.g. You may have heard certain southern Spaniards famously pronounce Barcelona as if it were “Barthelona” to us English speakers.

Question 6

Pronounce in Spanish:

gas

(gas)

Answer 6

gas

Note that when a “g” in Spanish is followed by an “a”, “o”, or “u”, it has a hard G sound, like in the English word “game” [g].

Question 7

Pronounce in Spanish:

general

(general)

Answer 7

general

Note that when a “g” in Spanish is followed by an “i” or an “e”, it is pronounced more like the “H” in the English word “house”, but with a harsher “H” (bringing the back of the tongue up to nearly close the opening in the throat).

Question 8

Pronounce in Spanish:

guerra / guitarra

(war / guitar)

Answer 8

guerra / guitarra

Note that when a “g” is followed by an “i” or “e”, but you still want it to have a hard G sound, you must insert a “u” right after the “g”.

• gue –> [ge̞]
• gui –> [gi]

Question 9

Pronounce in Spanish:

güero / pingüino

(blond / penguin)

Answer 9

güero / pingüino

When you want to make a sound like “GW” as in the English name “Gwen”, you need a “g” + a “ü” (i.e. a “u” with an umlaut above it).

Question 10

Pronounce in Spanish:

hueso

(bone)

Answer 10

hueso

Note that the “h” is silent in Spanish (unless it’s used in a foreign word where it is pronounced).

Question 11

Pronounce in Spanish:

jabón

(soap)

Answer 11

jabón

Note that “j” is pronounced like the “H” in “house,” but with a harsher “H” (bringing the back of the tongue up to nearly close the opening in the throat) [x].

Question 12

Pronounce in Spanish:

llamar

(to call)

Answer 12

llamar

Note that “ll” is pronounced like the “Y” in “yes,” but slightly harsher.

In certain countries (e.g. Argentina), the “ll” and “y” sounds more like the soft “J” [Sz] sound you might hear in the French name “Jacques”.

Question 13

Pronounce in Spanish:

jalapeño

(jalapeno)

Answer 13

jalapeño

Note that “ñ” is pronounced like the “NY” in “canyon,” with a brief “Y” sound.

Question 14

Pronounce in Spanish:

queso / quinto

(cheese / fifth)

Answer 14

queso / quinto

In Spanish, like in English, the “q” is always paired with a “u”. But unlike in English, the letters “qu” in Spanish always have a hard [k] sound.

Question 15

Pronounce in Spanish:

pera

(pear)

Answer 15

pera

In Spanish, the “r” sound actually involves your tongue lightly hitting the roof of your mouth, almost as if it were a soft “d”.

Question 16

Pronounce in Spanish:

perra

(female dog)

Answer 16

perra

Note that a double “rr” in Spanish involves a heavy “trill”, to distinguish it from similar words that have only one “r”. (e.g. “pera” is a totally different word.)

Question 17

Pronounce in Spanish:

rama

(branch)

Answer 17

rama

Note that when an “r” is found at the beginning of a word, it uses a full tongue trill, as if it were a double “rr” in the middle of a word.

Question 18

Pronounce in Spanish:

examen

(exam)

Answer 18

examen

Note that “x” is usually pronounced like the “X” in “tax” [ks], just as it is in English.

Question 19

Pronounce in Spanish:

México

(Mexico)

Answer 19

México

Note that “x” is sometimes pronounced more like a “j” (i.e. a harsh English “H” sound), particularly when words are derived from other languages such as Aztec.

Question 20

Pronounce in Spanish:

zapatos

(shoes)

Answer 20

zapatos

Note that “z” is pronounced like the “S” in “song” [s].

However, in much of Spain, the “z” is pronounced like the “TH” in the English word “thorn” [Θ], as is a “c” when followed by an “i” or “e”.

Note that this distinction can often help those Spaniards provide better specificity to certain words that have a “z” or a soft “c” in them. e.g. In Latin America, the words casa and caza would sound the same, whereas in theta-using regions of Spain, they would sound different.