| b |
the sound of b, as in boy, if it is the first letter of a word
the sound of b, as in boy, if it is the first letter of a syllable,
and the last letter of the previous syllable was m or n
in all other cases it is a b with less force (try to say the b sound
with the lips partly open to make a sound stronger than v but weaker than b)
|
| c |
the sound of c, as in city, if it is before e or i
the sound of c, as in cat, in all other instances
|
| ch |
the sound of ch, as in chili
|
| d |
the sound of d, as in dog, if it is the first letter of a word
the sound of d, as in dog, if it is the first letter of a syllable,
and the previous letter was l or n
the sound of th, as in there
|
| g |
the sound of g, as in got, if before a, o, or u
the sound of g, as in got, if before a consonant
a harsh h (hard to explain), if before e and i
trick- if the letter u is inserted between g and either i or i,
then it has the sound of g, as it got. The u sound is not heard.
|
| h |
The h sound is never heard. |
| j |
It is the same as g before e or i. |
| k |
It is not a spanish consonant. You will only see it in foreign words.
(example: kilómetro) |
| ll |
It is a sort of 'y' sound like the ll in million. |
| n |
It is the same as in English most of the time.
If n is the last letter of a word, and the first letter of the next
word is b, p, or v, then the n takes the sound of m.
|
| ñ |
It has an ny sound as in canyon. |
| que, qui |
The q is only followed by ue or ui, and it is always a k sound, as in
quick. |
| r |
It is like the English r. If it is at the beginning of a word, give it a big trill.
It is like the English r. If it is preceded by n, l, or s, give it a big trill.
In all other cases, it is just like the English r, with no trill.
|
| s |
If the letter after s is b, d, g, l, m, n, or v, then it is like the z
sound.
In all other cases, it is an s sound as in soap.
|
| t |
Very similar to English 't', except with the tongue touching the
upper teeth. |
| w |
It is not a Spanish consonant. You will only see it in front of
foreign words. |
| x |
between two vowels, it is like a gs sound (try saying 'eggsactly'
instead of 'exactly')
if followed by a consonant, it has an s sound as in sit. |
| y |
If y starts a word or a syllable, it is a consonant that sounds
like the y in yes. |
| z |
like the s as in sent. |
| v |
just the same as b |