Unit 1 · Sounds of Spanish

Say mamá (mom). Open your mouth wide. Say ah. Ma-má has two a sounds. Both say ah.

Now say papá (dad). It has two a sounds too. Each a says ah. In Spanish, a never changes its sound.

In English, a can make many sounds. Think of cat, cake and car. In Spanish, a only says ah.

Spanish has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. Each one has one sound. It says that sound every time.

A says ah. E says eh, like in pet. I says ee, like in see. O says oh. U says oo, like in moon.

Try oso (bear): OH-soh. Try uva (grape): OO-vah. The o and the u never change.

In Spanish, you can read a new word out loud. Just say each letter’s sound. Vowels never trick you.

Look at la isla (the island). The s is easy. I says ee. A says ah. Say it: EES-lah.

In English, many letters are quiet. In Spanish, the vowels always speak. Say every one.

English readers make one common mistake. They use English sounds for Spanish vowels.

Take me (me). In English, me sounds like mee. In Spanish, the e says eh. So me sounds like meh.

Take uno (one). Say OO-noh, not YOO-noh. Keep each vowel short, clean and the same.

A syllable is one beat in a word. Most Spanish beats have one vowel sound. Clap one time for each beat.

Try la mariposa (the butterfly). Ma-ri-po-sa. Clap, clap, clap, clap. It has four beats.

Try oso: o-so. That is two claps. Try Ana: A-na. That is two claps too. Now clap your own name.

When you meet someone, say hola (hi or hello). The h is quiet, so skip it. Say OH-lah.

When you leave, say adiós (goodbye). Say ah-dee-OHS. The mark on the o tells you to say that part loudest.

Hola has two beats: o-la. Adiós has three beats: a-di-ós. Clap them both. Clap them again, fast.

Say hola (hi). Listen closely. You do not hear the h. You say OH-lah. The h is quiet.

Now try el helado (the ice cream). Skip the h. Start with the e. Say eh-LAH-doh.

English speakers often say the h. In Spanish, skip it. Start with the next sound.

The h is quiet. But the j makes a sound like a strong h. Push air from your throat.

Try el jugo (the juice). Say HOO-goh. Do not say the English j sound, like in jump.

So jugo sounds like it starts with an h. Hola starts with h but sounds quiet. Funny, right?

Two l letters together make one new sound. In most places, that sound is like y.

La llama (the llama) sounds like YAH-mah. El pollo (the chicken) sounds like POH-yoh.

Do not say two l sounds. Say one y sound instead. Llama is YAH-mah, not LAH-mah.

The ñ is a special letter. The squiggle on top is called a tilde. Say it: TEEL-deh.

The ñ says ny. El niño (the boy) is NEE-nyoh. España (Spain) is ehs-PAH-nyah.

N and ñ are not the same letter. Always write the little squiggle on top of the ñ.

Put the tip of your tongue behind your top teeth. Blow air. Let your tongue buzz. That is the rolled rr.

El perro (the dog) has rr. Say PEH-rrroh. El carro (the car) has rr too. Roll it!

Rolling takes practice. Many kids learn it slowly. Keep trying every day. It gets easier.

One r in the middle of a word is quick. Your tongue taps one time. Pero (but) has one r.

Perro has two r letters. You roll them. So pero means but, and perro means the dog.

One sound can change the whole word. Listen closely. Tap for pero. Roll for perro.

You know the vowels. You know h, j, ll, ñ and rr. Now you can say almost any Spanish word.

Try la piña (the pineapple). The i says ee. The ñ says ny. The a says ah. Say PEE-nyah.

Say the word first. Then find out what it means. Ask a friend or look at a picture.

The Spanish alphabet is el abecedario (the alphabet). It has the same letters as English, plus ñ.

So it has 27 letters. The ñ comes right after n. Kids sing the letters in a song: a, be, ce, de.

Today, ll and rr are not extra letters. They are pairs of letters with their own sounds.