Ole Bebe Spanish Pronunciation Guide

Spanish is a completely phonetic language. The letters are always pronounced in the same way. This guide should help you to pronounce the words correctly as you read Spanish books to children. For practice, go to www.studyspanish.com/pronunciation/ or any other Spanish pronunciation website

 
Basic Rules of Accentuation

1. For words ending in a vowel or n or s, the next to last syllable is stressed.
2. For words ending in a consonant other than n or s,

stress falls on the last syllable.

3. If the word has an accent mark, then that syllable is stressed, ignoring the rules above.

 
Vowels         
a – like the a sound in father (sal, mamá, cama, más, lámpara)
 
e – like the e in they (té, de, bebé, debe, temes, esperen)
 
i – like the I in machine (sí, lindo, amigo, viví, tímido)
 
o – like o in vote (yo, boca, loco, poco, famoso, tonto)
l
u - the u in rule, silent after q and in the groups que and gui (tú, mucho, gusto, cultura, música, pulsera, luna, cuna)
 
Diphthongs
 
ai (ay) --like the I in side (aire, baile, paisaje, hay, Paraguay)
 
au- like the ou in found (aun, autor, ausente, pausa)
 
ei (ey) – like the ey in they (seis, treinta, veinte, ley aceite)
 
eu – like the vowel sounds in may-you (Europa, deuda)
 
oi (oy)—like the oy in boy (voy, oigo, estoy, soy, asteroide)
           
Consonants
 
b/v – When found at the beginning of a word or following a consonant, these are pronounced like a b. Otherwise, they have a sound which falls somewhere in between the English b and v sounds (bailie, burro, vaca, voz, sabe, uva, nueve)
 
c—before a consonant or a, o or u, like the c in cat; before e or I, like an s (casa, coco, cuento ,cara, centavo, cerca, cinco, cielo, incidente, cosa, acento, reciente, preciosa)
 
ch – like the ch in church (cheque, chico, leche, muchacho)
 
d –like the English d, except between vowels where it is pronounced like the th in this (dinero, domingo, andar, lado, ido, radio, falda, mitad, ciudad)
 
f – like the f in for (febrero, afán, ofender, farol, fanático)       
g -- before e or I, like the h in house; otherwise like the g in get (gato, gordo, gente, ganga, general, angel, gymnasia)                         
h – silent, always. (hoy, humor, hospital, honor, hola)  
j -- like the h but stronger (jugo, mujer, viaje, reloj, jamás)                                                                                              
k – like a k (only appears in foreign, not Spanish words
l – like an l, only more tense (la, color, polvo, real, capital)
ll – like the y in you (llorar, llanto, hallar, calle, llamar)
m – like the m in mother (madre, música, embajada, mental, mientras)
 
 
n – like the n in nice. If is followed by a b, v, f or p, it has the sound of m in empathy. (no, en, en vez de, andar, nadie, nunca)
 
 
p – like the p in spot. Not that the p in spot is softer and less explosive than the p in pot. (papas, padre, pipa, suponer, postre, pilota)
 
 
q – like a k. Not that the u following a q is not pronounced. (quetzal, siquiatra, que, quien, quiere, quince)
 
 
r – is formed by a flap of the tongue against the roof of the mouth. It is better to make the sound like the “tt” in better than to make an English r, which changes the shape of the mouth. (pero, probable, caro, comer, gris) If the “r” starts the word, then it is pronounced like the rr – as a trill.
 
 
rr – a trill that is made by your tongue tapping rapidly on the roof of your mouth. It is the sound that cats make. (perro, carro, cigarro, ferrocarril, zorro, arriba)
 
 
s – like the s in simple. You do not give it the “z” sound heard in wears and many other English plural words, although it can be slightly voiced (like a soft “z”) when it comes before an m, b, d, v, g, l, n or r. (Susana, seres, Tesoro, sencillo, fantasma)
 
t – like the t in stop. Note that the t of stop is softer and less explosive than the t of top. (todo, yate, temer, interesante, torta, total
 
 
v – like a b (see b above)
 
w – like the w in water. It is found primarily in words of foreign origin. (kilowatt, Zimbabwe)
 
x – varies in sound, depending on the origin of the word, It is often pronounced like the x in example or exit, but it also may be pronounced like the s or the Spanish j. (éxito, experiencia, México, expert)
 
 
y – like the y in yes. (mayo, yo, ya, oyente, apoyar)
 
z – like the s in simple. In Spain, it is often pronounced like the th in thin. (zorro, zeta, vez)
 
The biggest mistake people make in pronouncing words in Spanish is when they see a word that looks like a word in English, and they pronounce it in English. Try these words:
 
 
satán                           tortilla                           multiple
diablo                           educación                   periódico
familiar                                    taco                             actual
lectura                         rápido                          departamento
enchilada                     public                           político