🗣️ Pronunciation ★ Core Say it yourself

Core vowels, consonants and Spanish sounds

Pronounce the five stable vowels and decode the principal letter-to-sound rules of es-ES.

Spanish spelling is relatively regular. Keep vowels pure and short; focus on consonants whose sound changes by context.

Patterns to reuse
a, e, i, o, u
five stable vowel sounds
ah, eh, ee, oh, oo
c + e/i → /θ/ in standard central/northern es-ES; c + a/o/u → /k/
c sound rule
g + e/i → strong /x/; g + a/o/u → /g/
g sound rule
h is silent; j is strong /x/
key consonants
Watch out for
Pronouncing Spanish vowels as English diphthongs.
Keep each vowel steady and pure.

Spanish vowels change less during articulation.

Pronouncing h in hola.
The h is silent: /ola/.

Written h has no sound in standard Spanish.

casa, café, cine, cinco
house, coffee, cinema, five
KAH-sah, kah-FEH, THEE-neh, THEEN-koh
gato, guitarra, gente
cat, guitar, people
GAH-toh, gee-TAH-rrah, HEHN-teh
hola, ahora, hotel
hello, now, hotel
OH-lah, ah-OH-rah, oh-TEHL
España, mañana, niño
Spain, tomorrow, boy
ehs-PAH-nyah, mah-NYAH-nah, NEE-nyoh
Sounds in Spain
c z
c before e/i and z commonly use the “th” sound /θ/; seseo is also valid in many regions
g j
ge/gi and j use a strong velar sound
b v
b and v generally represent the same phoneme
ll y
often share a sound (yeísmo)
qu
qu before e/i gives /k/ and u is silent
ñ
similar to ny in canyon
Minimal Practice
casa / queso / cinegato / guerra / gentepero / perro
Try it out loud
shadowing
Read the example word sets slowly, then at natural speed.
What to include

Keep vowels stable.

sorting
Sort words by hard/soft c and g sounds.
What to include

Use the following letter to decide.

recording
Record a 30-second introduction and check vowels, h, j, c/z and ñ.
What to include

Prioritise clarity over accent imitation.

Happy with all of this?
  • I consistently produce the five Spanish vowels.
  • I can predict the main sounds of c, g, j, h, qu, ñ, ll and y.

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