The Spanish Consonants (C, G, LL, etc.)

In continuation with the basics of the Spanish alphabet, we'll discuss the second basic elements, the consonants. Once again, some letters in the Spanish alphabet are not pronounced a they appear; therefore, it is important that we remember to fully forget how to pronounce English consonants. Since there are more consonants than vowels, there are a few more letters to go over; so, let's get started!

NOTE: There will be phonetic and syllabized pronunciations provided next to the Spanish word examples within brackets; the capitalized and emboldened portions indicate where the stress is placed in each word.

The Spanish Alphabet and their phonetic pronunciation

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First, I'll discuss the letters that tend to sound the same depending on the words they are in and the placement of said letters in those words. So, we'll begin with C, S, & Z.

In Spanish, these three letters produce the same sound as the English S, as shown below:

C --> Cierto (SYEHR-toh)

S --> Semana (seh-MAH-nah)

Z --> Zoológico (soo-oh-LOH-hee-koh)

However, there are words where the letter C maintains the same sound as the English letter K (as in the Spanish alphabet, the letter K is non-existent). For example,

Casa, saCar, piCa

Also, the letter C can have both pronunciations in the same word as per the following examples:

IntroduCCión (een-tro-dook-SYON)

The first C would have the same K pronunciation, and the second would have the the same S pronunciation.

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Next, we will discuss the consonants: G, H, & J, and how they are usually pronounced in Spanish.

These three letters, I have noticed, are a little more difficult for Spanish students to pick up on, because they remember how they are pronounced in English and this is not the case for Spanish. DO NOT DO THIS!

The Spanish G, depending on its placement in a word, can maintain the regular English G pronunciation if it precedes the vowels A, O, & U. For example,

GAlletas ('GAH-yeh-tas')

GOrro ('GOH-rro')

aGUda ('a-GOO-dah')

However, if the Spanish G precedes the vowels E or I, the G will typically take on the English H sound, for example,

Gente ('HEN-te')

aGitar ('ah-hee-TAR')

InteliGente ('een-teh-lee-HEHN-teh')

Luckily, the regular Spanish pronunciation for G returns when the letter U is placed between the E or I, for example:

GUErra ('GEH-rrah')

GUÍa ('GEE-ah')

GUItarra ('gee-TAH-rrah')

The Spanish H is NEVER EVER pronounced as the English H is, except for English loanwords that would maintain the English pronunciation of the letter. For example,

Spanish H

Hueso ('WEH-soh')

BúHo ('BOO-oh')

English H

Hámster ('HAMS-tehr')

Hockey ('HOH-kee')

The Spanish J is also NEVER EVER pronounced as the English J, and instead takes on the sound of the English H. For example,

Jalapeño (ha-lah-PEH-nyoh)

AloJar (ah-loh-HAR-seh)

ReloJ (rreh-LOHH)

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As we continue, we can group the letters LL & Y together since they both have the same pronunciation in Spanish words. For example,

LLana ('YAH-nah')

PaeLLa ('Pah-EH-yah')

pronounced the same as,

Yerno ('YEHR-noh')

MaYoría ('mah-yoh-REE-ah')

Also, as you may already know, the letter Y - itself - is a word in Spanish meaning 'and'. To pronounce the Y in this context, you make the long E sound (Y=EE).

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Next, we will tackle the letter Ñ (ehn-yeh). This letter may be a little tricky for some but is pronounced the same way the letter groupings [NY & GN] are in the following English and Italian words.

For example:

English equivalent

CaNYon ('KAHN-yihn')

LasaGNa ('luh-ZAH-nyuh')

=

Spanish example

MaÑana ('mah-NYAH-nah')

LeÑa ('LEH-nyah')

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Another pair of letters in the Spanish alphabet that tend to pose a challenge for some Spanish students are R & RR. This is often the case due to the fact that some people don't have the ability to roll their R's, which is the common pronunciation style for R's in the Spanish linguistic culture. If this is the case for you, don't worry, this is completely fine.

It is more important that students remember the difference of pronunciation between the two and how important it is for listening, reading and writing purposes in the Spanish language. We note the importance of this difference, particularly in terms of changing the meaning of words, with these two following words,

PeRo --> But

The single R (when rolling R's) is pronounced by rolling the R once.

PeRRo --> Dog

The double RR's (when rolling R's) is pronounced by rolling the R's multiple times.

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Now, V is another interesting letter in the Spanish alphabet, it is pronounced the exact same way as the Spanish B is. For example,

Vaca ('BAH-kah')

PolVo ('POHL-boh')

HerVir ('ehr-BEER')

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Finally, we will tackle the letter X in the Spanish alphabet; and the typical pronunciation for this letter is [KS]. For example,

eXamen ('ehk-SAH-mehn')

TaXi ('TAHK-see')

However, if the word begins with the letter X, in Spanish words, it will take on the S sound. For example,

Xilófono ('see-LOH-foh-noh')

Xenofobia ('seh-noh-FOH-byah')

Lastly, there are some other regional/colloquial variations on the pronunciation of the letter X, such as,

Some regions, most notably in Mexico, pronounce the letter X in certain words with the Spanish J (or English H) sound. For example,

Spelling Pronunciation

México --> ('MEH-hee-koh')/(Méjico)

Texas --> ('TEH-hahs')/(Tejas)

Some words of indigenous origin may have the [SH] pronunciation, but this is less common. A Mayan word, for example,

Spelling Pronunciation

Xibalba --> ('shee-BAHL-bah')

I hope that this explanation helps you to understand how to pronounce the rules around these Spanish consonants. ¡Nos vemos!