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 |
| 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? |
