All about the Spanish Alphabet
Ask several Spanish-speakers how many letters there are in the alphabet and you’ll get several different answers. Not everyone in the Spanish-speaking world agrees on what the alphabet looks like. For many years this was the official Spanish alphabet:
a, b, c, ch , d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll , m, n, ñ , o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
To confuse the issue, some Spanish-language sources consider «rr» a separate letter and others don’t count the «k» or the «w» since they almost always appear in words that originated outside of the Spanish language.
So how many letters are there? Officially there are 27, but you may find answers anywhere between 25 («ñ,» but no «k» or «w») and 30 (the 26 you’re used to plus «ch,» «ll,» «ñ,» and «rr.») Just to cover all the bases let’s work with a 30-letter alphabet.
Below are a list of letters, their names in Spanish, and a pronunciation guide:
Spanish alphabet has 2 7 letters.
- The letter «e» is pronounced like the «e» in «pet,» especially when at the beginning of a word, or when spoken quickly.
- When a «g» precedes an «e» or an «i» in a word it is pronounced like an «h».
- Due to the limited usefullness of the letter «h,» , which is quiet, some people have called for it to be removed from the Spanish language entirely.
- The letter «i» was once called i latina to distiguish it from the letter «y,» known as i griega . (Latin and Greek i’s respectively.)
- Words beginning with «k,» «w,» and «x» proceed from other languages.
- The letter «ñ» is not a variation of «n,» but a distinct letter.
- Words beginning with «r» are usually trilled as if they began with «rr» (e.g. rojo = rrojo ).
- The letter «v» is officially uve but it is also called ve . Because ve and be sound so similar, «b» is sometimes called be grande, be alta, or be larga and «v» is called ve chica , ve pequeña , or ve corta. It’s not uncommon in some Latin American countries to see signs with spelling errors involving «b» and «v» such as Se Bende instead Se Vende .
- There are at least four ways to say the letter «w» in Spanish: doble ve , doble u , doble uve , or uve doble .
- There are many Spanish words borrowed from indigenous languages where the «x» is pronounced like the English «h» (e.g. México ).
- The letter «y» is officially called ye as of 2010, but many people know it as i griega .
- The pronunciation of the letter «z» (as well as «c» when followed by an «e» or an «i») varies widely.
- In regions of Spain, «c» and «z» are pronounced more like «th» (e.g. Barcelona = Barthelona ).
Now, let´s practice the alphabet. Can you spell your name in Spanish? And, do you know these words? … casa, pelota, banco, museo, bocadillo, ratón, perro, queso, … Now try to spell them out.
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