This page has been validated.
SPANISH-ENGLISH
These three sounds are never pronounced with the puff of breath after them, as the corresponding English sounds often are.
| Spelling | Description | Examples |
| b, v | like English b | bebe "he drinks" |
| d | like English d | dedo "finger" |
| gu (before e, i), g (elsewhere) | like English "hard g" | pague Usted "(you) pay"; pagar "pay" |
The above three sounds, when they come between two vowels, are not pronounced with a full closure of lips or tongue (as are English b, d, g) but with the breath forcing its way out between the lips, or between the tongue and teeth, or between the tongue and top of the mouth.
| m | like English m | mano "hand" |
| n | like English n, but with the tip of the tongue against the front teeth | nada "nothing" |
| ñ | like ni in English onion, but a single sound (beginning like n and ending like y) | año "year" |
| f | like English f | fuerte "strong" |
| c (before e, i), z (elsewhere) | like th in English thick | cierto "certain"; zorra "fox"; conozco "I know" |
The above sound is not used by speakers of American Spanish, who replace it by "s".
| s | like English s | seso "brain" | |||
| l | like English l, but with the tip of the tongue against the front teeth | lado "side" | |||
| ll | like lli in English million, but a single sound beginning like l and ending like y; in Latin America, generally like English y | llano "plain"; milla "mile" | |||
| r | single flap of the tongue against the front teeth, somewhat like our American English d | caro "dear" | |||
| rr | several repeated flaps of the tongue against the front teeth, like the telephone operator's "th-r-r-ee" | carro "cart" | |||
| y | like English y | reyes "kings" | |||
| g (before e, i), j (elsewhere) | like English h | gente "people"; junto "together" |
2
