The Spanish Alphabet

 

    The Spanish alphabet, known as, "el alfabeto," or, "el abecedario," officially uses the same 26 letters as the English alphabet, with the addtion of the letter, "ñ", for a total of 27 letters.
    I say, "officially," however, because until 2010, el alfabeto de español also included 3 separate letter combinations, called, "diagraphs," which looked like this:

2. The letters, "ch" - the "che, or "ce hache""
3. The letters, "ll" - dobled "l," or, "doble elle"
4. The letters, "rr" - doubled. "r," or, "doble erre "

    However, these diagraphs were removed from the alphabet by the Royal Spanish Academy* (RAE) as separate letters in 2010. They are now considered separate letters but used in combination, representing a single sound.
    But you will find older textbooks and some Spanish users/speakers who  still refer to the 30 letter alphabet which includes the diagraphs.
    For my purposes, I will tell you the official version, that there are only 27 letters.
    And then, I will revert to the previous convention of retaining the diagraph pairs as separate letters. I do this because they are written and pronounced in Spanish as separate letters... and you will have enough to keep track of as it is!

    Its also important to remember that the letters in Spanish always have a sound to pronounce, unless they are silent by default, as with, "h."
    This is markedly different from English, which has lots of letters, and combinations of letters, that change their sound - or go totally silent - without rhyme or reason.
    What all this means is that the Spanish "alfabeto," looks and acts similar to English, but it has a very different sound to it

    So, hearing otherwise, "normal," looking letters sound so different will be hard at first... and the extra letters will be totally strange.

    But hang in there and just keep practicing.!

* The RAE is the official institution for the Spanish language, founded in 1713 to preserve its purity and integrity.
Spanish name: Real Academia Española
Abbreviation: RAE 
Mission: To ensure the stability and unity of the Spanish language through publications, linguistic advice, and a common standard for Spanish-speaking countries. 

El Alfabeto de Espanol
(refer to chart above)

(anomalies identified in blue)

a = has the sound of, "a" as in father

b = has the sound of, "b" as in bay, or box, but softened.
It's not like the hard, popping, "b"' of English, as found in bumblebee.
Instead it has a "v" element added to it. Think of it as, "bv" and pronounce it by just pressing your lips together and passing air through them - without popping them...see the entry for, "v."

c = has two sounds:

1. The sound of, "s" as in series

2. The sound of hard, "k" as in cake

ch= has the sound of, "ch" as in chase, or nachos

d = has the sound of, "dth" ...a soft "d," similar to, "th" in there.

e = has the sound of,  long "a," as in base, or cake

f = has the sound of, "f" as in famous, or fantastic 

g = has the sound of,  "g" as in go, or goop.

h =  has NO sound; this letter is mute in Spanish.

i = has the sound of, "ee," as in cheese, or feet. 

Note: called, "i latin" in Spanish

j = same sound as a gutteral, "ha"... No equivalent in English.

k = has the sound of, "k" as in kick.

l = has the sound of, "l" as lift, or look

ll = Technically, this sounds like the letter "y" in yellow, but often, its more like a soft, "dj" or, "juh"...This varies depending on accent and dialect.

m = has the sound of, "m" in mile, or monkey.

n = has the sound of, "n" as in no, or money.

ñ = has the sound of, "-ny" as in canyon

o = has the sound of, long "o," as row or tow

p = has the sound of, "p", as in pilot, or pump

q = has the sound of, "koo," as in cuckoo

r = has the sound of, "r" as in row, or rug, BUT with a slight trill. See below, for, "rr."

rr= No equivalent in English. Has the soft double-d sound of the "tt" in butter, which is called a "trill." I've also described it as the way one might make an airplane propeller sound for a child, using the letter, "d"..."ddddd..."

s = has the sound of, "s" as in step, or snake.

t = has the sound of, "t" as in tomato

u = has the sound of, a long "oo," in English, as in boot.

v = No English equivalent. Has a sound somewhere between, "b + v" with emphasis on the, "b." In most cases, it's simpler to just as use the sound of a soft, "b"

w = has the sound of, "w" as in water. This is adopted from other languages and isn't a normal element in Spanish.

x = has the sound of, "x" as in exit.

y = has the sound of, "ee" as in week. Called, "y griega," or 'Greek y,' to differentiate it from, 'i latin.'

z = has the sound of, a sharp "s" something like the "ts" in it's.