7 Common Spanish Words You Are (Probably) Mispronouncing

Are you sure I am wrong? I was convinced that I was pronouncing that word correctly!

That’s what most of my English speaking friends have told me when I tell them the correct way of pronouncing the letter d and t in Spanish.

In today’s lesson, I will show you how to pronounce those letters correctly and how to articulate some Spanish sounds that don’t exist in English. Do you like the idea? Let’s go!

7 Spanish Words That Are Usually Mispronounced

To find out whether or not you are mispronouncing the following 7 words, I’d recommend you to read the Spanish word out loud.

Think of the position of your tongue within your mouth when you pronounce the challenging sound or letter. For example, you could ask yourself, “Where is the tip of my tongue when I say the d in dónde?”

Finally, go through the correct way of pronouncing each challenging sound and correct your pronunciation if it is necessary.

1. dónde

Challenging letter: d

Mispronunciation: The tip of the tongue is placed behind the top teeth, in the alveolar ridge.

Interesting Fact: The alveolar ridge is located just behind your upper teeth. It’s the surface covered with little ridges.

Correct pronunciation: The tip of the tongue should touch the top teeth.

2. salsa

Challenging letter: l

Mispronunciation: The back of the tongue is curved and the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge.

Correct pronunciation: The back of the tongue should stay almost flat and the tip of the tongue should touch the upper teeth.

To learn more vocabulary, visit the post Top 1000 Spanish Words: A Vocabulary List (+ Free PDF).

3. niño

Challenging letter: ñ

Mispronunciation: The tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth, just behind the upper teeth.

Correct pronunciation: The tip of the tongue should touch the lower teeth, and the back of the tongue should touch the roof of the mouth.

4. carro

Challenging letter: rr

Mispronunciation: The tip of the tongue does not touch any part within the mouth.

Correct pronunciation: The tip of the tongue should touch the roof of the mouth, just behind the top teeth.

5. tomate

Challenging letter: t

Mispronunciation: The tip of the tongue is placed in the alveolar ridge.

Correct pronunciation: The tip of the tongue should touch the top teeth.

6. viajar

Challenging letter: v

Mispronunciation: The top teeth touch the lower lip.

Correct pronunciation: The upper and lower lips should touch. The sound /v/ does not exist in Spanish.

7. caza

Challenging letter: z

Mispronunciation: The throat vibrates.

Correct pronunciation: The throat should not vibrate. The letter “s” is pronounced like the English “s” in Latin America or like the “th” in the word “think” in Spain.