Pronunciation: Consonants

Many consonants sound similar to how they do in English, so I’m just going to mention the key ones here.

ch – always like the “ch” in “chair”. This is actually a letter of the Spanish alphabet.

h – always silent! Learn to correct yourself if you keep saying it out loud until you get used to keeping it silent. Or get someone to test and correct you.

j – a bit like the “h” in “happy” but with a throaty sound (but don’t worry if you can’t make the throaty sound, it doesn’t matter).

ll – like the “y” in “yummy”. This is also a letter of the Spanish alphabet.

ñ – like the “ny” in “canyon”.

r – this one is notoriously difficult for us English speakers. If the “r” is singular and in the middle or end of a word, then it’s a soft “r” but it is spoken. If the “r” is at the beginning of the word, then it should be rolled. And if it is a “rr” it should also be rolled. Do your best with it and don’t worry too much about it!

y – like the “y” in “Sally”.

z – like the “th” in “this”.

The hard and soft ones

c – “c” before “e” or “i” is pronounced like the “th” in English or the “z” in Spanish. “c” before any other vowel or consonant is pronounced like the “c” in “cat”. Sounds tricky but you’ll get used to it quickly!

g  – “g” before “e” or “i” is pronounced like the Spanish “j”. Otherwise, it’s just like English “g” in “gate”.

An extra clever hint

Lots of Spanish words end in “dad”. For example, “universidad”. Often, the English translation ends in “ity”. For example, “university”. Although there are at least two “d’s” in these words, the last two d’s are not pronounced the same as each other. So, to sound really advanced, try to pronounce these as follows: first “d” is hard (normal) and the second “d” is soft (like “th” in English). So, it’s a bit like “ooneeverseedath”. Say it like that and you’ll sound like a native!