Spanish Language Survival Guide
Spanish is not a difficult language for English speakers, once the pronunciation of different sounds is mastered. This skill begins with the consonants, ALL of which are pronounced in a word as follows:
| Consonants | |
| f. k, I, m, n, p, t, x, y: | as in English |
| b: | generally as in English b e.g. bueno, (good), pronounced bwayno between vowels, a sound between b and v e.g. bebida, (drink) pronounced baybveedhah |
| c: | centre (centro), pronounced thayntro otherwise, like k in kit e.g. como (how), pronounced komo |
| ch: | as in English e.g. mucho (much), pronounced moocho |
| d: | generally as in dog, e.g. donde (where) pronounced donday; between vowels and at the end of a word, like th in this e.g. edad (age) pronounced aydhahdh |
| g: | before e and i, like ch in Scottish loch e.g. urgente (urgent) pronounced oorghayntay; between vowels and sometimes inside a word, similar to the hard English g, e.g. agua (water) pronounced ahgwah |
| h: | always silent e.g. hombre (man) pronounced ombrray |
| j: | like ch in Scottish loch e.g. bajo (below) pronounced bahkho |
| ll: | like lli in million e.g. Ileno (empty) pronounced lyayno |
| ñ: | like ni in onion e.g. señor (Mr.) pronounced sayniyor |
| qu: | like k in kit e.g. quince (fifteen) pronounced keenthay |
| r: | more strongly trilled e.g. rIo (river) pronounced rreeo |
| rr: | even more strongly trilled e.g. arriba (above) pronounced ahrrreebhah |
| s: | always like the S in sit, e.g. cuantos (how much/many) pronounced kwahntoss |
| v: | tends to be like b in bad e.g. viejo (old) pronounced beeaykho |
| z: | like th in thin e.g. brazo (arm) pronounced brahtho |
| Vowels | |
| a: | like ar in cart, but fairly short e.g. graclas (thank you) pronounced grahthyahss |
| e: | like a in late e.g. de (of,from) pronounced day; less often, like e in get e.g.llover (to rain) pronounced lyobhehr |
| i: | like ee in feet e.g. si (yes) pronounced see |
| o: | like oa in boat, e.g. sopa (soup) pronounced soapah or like o in got e.g. dos (two) pronounced doss |
| u: | like oo in boot e.g. una, (one), pronounced oonah |
| y: | like ee in feet e.g. y (and) pronounced ee |
| in words ending with a consonant (non-vowel), the last syllable is stressed, e.g. señor pronounced sayñor |
| in words ending with a vowel, the next to last syllable is stressed, e.g. mañana pronounced mahniyahnah |
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| 0 cero | thayroa |
| 1 uno | oonoa |
| 2 dos | doss |
| 3 tres | trayss |
| 4 cuatro | kwahtroa |
| 5 cinco | theenkoa |
| 6 seis | sayss |
| 7 siete | syaytay |
| 8 ocho | oachoa |
| 9 nueve | nwaybhay |
| 10 diez | dyayth |
| 11 once | onthay |
| 12 doce | doathay |
| 13 trece | traythay |
| 14 catorce | kahtorthay |
| 15 quince | keenthay |
| 16 dieciséis | dyaytheessayss |
| 17 diecisiete | dyaytheessyaytay |
| 18 dieciocho | dyaytheeoachoa |
| 19 diecinueve | dyaytheenwaybhay |
| 20 veinte | bayntay |
Twenty expressions to use during your stay
| English | Spanish | Pronunciation |
| Yes | Si | see |
| No | No | noa |
| Please | Por Favor | por fahbhor |
| Thank you | Gracias | grahthyahss |
| You're welcome | De nada | day nahdhah |
| Good morning | Buenos dias | bwaynoass deeahss |
| Good afternoon/evening | Buenos tardes | bwaynoass tahrdayss |
| Good night | Buenos noches | bwaynoass noachayss |
| Good-bye | Adios | ahdhyoss |
| Do you speak English? | Habla ingles? | ahblah eenglayss? |
| Where is..? | Dondé está..? | doanday aystah? |
| Have you...? | Tiene..? | tiaynay? |
| Please write it down | Por favor, escribalo | por fahbhor, ayskreebhahloa |
| I would like.. | Quisiera | keessyayrah |
| How much is it? | Cuánto es? | kwahntoa ayss? |
| Can you give me..? | Puede darme ? | pwaydhay dahrmay? |
| I'm sorry, I don`t understand | Lo siento, no comprendo | loa syaynto noa komprayndoa |
| Can I have the key for room.... | Puede darme la llave por habitación.... | pwaydhay dahrmay lah lyahbhay por ahbheetahthyon... |
| Where are the toilets? | Dónde están los servicios? | doanday aystahn loass sayrbeethyoass? |
| English | Spanish | Pronunciation |
| I'm lost | Me he perdido | maay ay payrdeedhoa |
| Leave me alone | Déjeme en paz | daykhaymay ayn pahth |