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Spanish alphabet

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The modern Spanish alphabet uses the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet plus ñ ("eñe", n with a tilde on top), which is a total of 27 letters.

Diacritics[edit | edit source]

Although not considered separate letters of the alphabet, some letters may have diacritics.

All five vowels may have an acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú) to indicate that a syllable is stressed. For example, the word árbol ("tree") is pronounced "AHR-bohl" (not "ahr-BOHL"). It is also used in writing to distinguish homophones (words that sound the same but mean different things), such as the words si ("if") and ("yes"), both pronounced "see".

Also, the letter u may have diaeresis (ü) to indicate that the u is pronounced. For example, the word pingüino ("penguin") is pronounced "peen-GWEE-noh" (not "peen-GUEE-noh").

List[edit | edit source]

Uppercase (capital) letter Lowercase letter Name Notes
A a a
B b be grande (in Spain "be")
C c ce before e or i, it's pronounced like English "s"
D d de
E e e
F f efe
G g ge
H h hache silent except in loanwords
I i i
J j jota
K k ka only used in loanwords
L l ele two l's together (ll) makes the "y" sound
M m eme
N n ene
Ñ ñ eñe pronounced like "enye"
O o o
P p pe
Q q cu
R r erre one r makes a tap sound (like in "better" in English), but two r's together (rr) makes the trilled/rolled r sound
S s ese
T t te
U u u
V v ve chica (in Spain "uve")
W w ve doble only used in loanwords
X x equis
Y y y griega
Z z zeta pronounced like English "s"
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