Spanish Consonant
The pronunciation of the Spanish letter LL varies depending on where you are in the Spanish-speaking world. On this site, as in most of Latin America and parts of Spain, it is pronounced like an English Y.*
Por ejemplo…
| lloviendo | raining | |
| cuello | neck | |
| mejilla | cheek | |
| rodilla | knee |
Also see L lesson.
In Spanish, LL was once considered a single letter. It’s very important to be aware of this when looking something up in an older Spanish dictionary, in which the LL section was between the L and M sections. For example, llama was located after luz.
Please note that this explanation is only a guideline for the Spanish that I know, which is Castilian Spanish. There are many regional variations in Spanish pronunciation.
* Not demonstrated here but for your reference, it can also sound like an English Y with a hint of an L in front of it (softer than in the English words "million" or "scallion").
In Argentina and Uruguay, ll is pronounced similarly to the "zh" sound at the end of "massage." This is called yeísmo.
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