Advanced Pronunciation

Pronunciación avanzada

Spanish pronunciation is phonemic, meaning that according to the pronunciation rules, in a given use, each letter is always pronounced a certain way. Many Spanish letters have only one pronunciation, making them especially easy to learn. But certain consonants have two pronunciations depending on where/how they are used. That's what this lesson is about. Take a look at this summary of "dual-pronunciation" letters, and then click on the individual letters for more in-depth explanations.

Letter	Sound	Usage
B, V	[b]	beginning of word or after consonant
			Similar English sound
bien	good		boy
árbol	tree
vosotros	you (plural)
invierno	winter
B, V	bilabial fricative	everywhere else
			Similar English sound
hablar	speak		n/a
problema	problem
nueve	nine
noventa	ninety
Letter	Sound	Usage
C	[th]	preceding E or I
			Similar English sound
once	eleven		ounce
diciembre	December
C	[k]	preceding A, O, U, or consonant
			Similar English sound
como	eat		cat
cuatro	four
octubre	October
Letter	Sound	Usage
D	[d]	beginning of word or after L or N
			Similar English sound
dos	two		dog
cuándo	when		had
falda	skirt		welding
D	[TH]	everywhere else
			Similar English sound
adiós	goodbye		this
perdón	excuse		bathe
salud	health
Letter	Sound	Usage
G	[g]	preceding A, O, U, or consonant
			Similar English sound
agosto	August		ago
agua	water		go
galleta	cookie		guy
grande	big		great
G	[kh]	preceding E or I
			Similar English sound
gente	people		ch in loch
gigante	giant
Letter	Sound	Usage
S	[z]	preceding B, D, G, L, M, N
			Similar English sound
mismo	same		rose
desde	since		cause
S	[s]	everywhere else
			Similar English sound
escuela	school		house
gris	grey		some
sombrero	hat
Letter	Sound	Usage
X	[ks]	n/a
			Similar English sound
éxito	success		axe
excepto	except		mix
X	[gz]	n/a
			Similar English sound
exacto	exact		exact
exigir	demand		example

Please note that this lesson is only a guideline for the Spanish that I know, which is Castilian Spanish. There are many regional variations in Spanish pronunciation.

Related lessons

• Hard and soft vowels
• Spanish alphabet