Spanish grammar
The Spanish alphabet
Spanish uses the same letters as English plus one extra, ñ. Here are the names of the letters and a note on ch, ll and rr.
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters: the 26 you already know from English, plus ñ. Letters are called letras, and the alphabet is el alfabeto or el abecedario. Knowing the letter names helps when you spell your name, an email address or a street over the phone.
The Letter Names
All letter names are feminine: la a, la b, la eñe.
| Letter | Name | Sounds roughly like |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | "ah" |
| B | be | "beh" |
| C | ce | "seh" |
| D | de | "deh" |
| E | e | "eh" |
| F | efe | "EH-feh" |
| G | ge | "heh" |
| H | hache | "AH-cheh" |
| I | i | "ee" |
| J | jota | "HO-tah" |
| K | ka | "kah" |
| L | ele | "EH-leh" |
| M | eme | "EH-meh" |
| N | ene | "EH-neh" |
| Ñ | eñe | "EH-nyeh" |
| O | o | "oh" |
| P | pe | "peh" |
| Q | cu | "koo" |
| R | erre | "EH-rreh" (rolled r) |
| S | ese | "EH-seh" |
| T | te | "teh" |
| U | u | "oo" |
| V | ve | "beh" |
| W | doble ve, doble u | "DOH-bleh beh", "DOH-bleh oo" |
| X | equis | "EH-kees" |
| Y | ye | "yeh" |
| Z | zeta | "SEH-tah" |
Telling B and V Apart
In Spanish, b and v sound exactly the same, so their names be and ve sound alike too. To make the difference clear when spelling, Latin Americans often say be grande or be larga for B, and ve chica or ve corta for V.
You may also hear uve for V. It is the official name, but it is less common in Latin America.
Other Names You May Hear
Some letters have older or regional names that are still very common:
- Y is officially ye, but many people still call it i griega ("Greek i").
- W is doble ve in much of Latin America and doble u in Mexico and some other countries.
- R is always erre today. Older books sometimes call it ere.
The Letter Ñ
Ñ is a separate letter, not just an n with a mark on it. It comes right after n in the alphabet and in dictionaries. It sounds like the "ny" in "canyon":
- año - year
- niño - boy, child
- mañana - tomorrow, morning
The little wave on top is called a tilde, the same word Spanish uses for the written accent (´). Never leave it off: without it you get a different word, or no word at all.
Ch and Ll Are Not Letters
Older books list ch and ll as letters of their own, giving 29 or 30 letters. Since 2010, they are officially treated as pairs of letters (dígrafos), not separate letters.
Dictionaries have filed them under c and l since 1994, so chico comes after cielo, and llamar comes after libro.
Rr was never a letter of the alphabet. It is simply two r's written together.
Letter Pairs With Their Own Sound
Ch, ll and rr are not letters, but each one has its own sound. The guide on Spanish sounds covers them in detail:
- ch sounds like the "ch" in "church": noche - night
- ll sounds like the "y" in "yes" in most of Latin America: llamar - to call
- rr is a strong, rolled r: perro - dog, carro - car
K, W and X
K and w appear almost only in words borrowed from other languages, such as kilómetro (kilometer) and wifi. Native Spanish words use c or qu for the "k" sound instead: casa (house), queso (cheese).
X usually sounds like "ks": taxi, examen (exam). In some place names, mostly in Mexico, it sounds like Spanish j: México, Oaxaca.