Table of Contents

The Spanish Alphabet

The Spanish alphabet is currently made up of the following 27 letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z. 

spanish alphabet chart

The orthography used in the Spanish language also includes the following 5 digraphs: ch, ll, rr, gu, qu.

A digraph is a combination of two letters that represent one sound. For example, the digraph “ch” represents the sound /tʃ/, as in “chip.” 

Digraphs continue to be used in the Spanish language. The novelty here is that they are not considered letters of the Spanish alphabet anymore. Before 1994, the digraphs “ch” and “ll” were part of it.  

In today’s lesson, we will learn the names of the letters of the Spanish alphabet, their pronunciation and some rules to read Spanish text correctly. Let’s go!

Letter Names

These are the lowercase and uppercase forms of each of the letters of the Spanish alphabet. Next to each letter, you will see its recommended name.

Interesting Fact: The letters of the Spanish Alphabet are feminine: la a, la be, la ce, la de…

Uppercase Lowercase Name
A a a
B b be
C c ce
D d de
E e e
F f efe
G g ge
H h hache
I i i
J j jota
K k ca
L l ele
M m eme
N n ene
Ñ ñ eñe
O o o
P p pe
Q q cu
R r erre
S s ese
T t te
U u u
V v uve
W w uve doble
X x equis
Y y ye
Z z ceta

Other Letter Names

The following letters of the Spanish alphabet have more than one valid name in areas where Spanish is spoken: b, v, w, y, i. 

In a congress held in 1994, the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language decided to promote the use of one unique name for each letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Letter Name After 1994 Other Names
b be be larga
be grande
be alta
i i i latina
y ye i griega
v uve ve
ve corta
ve chica o chiquita
ve pequeña
ve baja
w uve doble ve doble
doble ve
doble u
doble uve

Pronunciation and Orthography

In general, in the Spanish language, every letter has a sound and every sound has a letter. However, there are some exceptions.

letter letter name English pronunciation tips
A a like the "a" in "father"
B be like the "b" in "about"
C ce before e and i, like the "c" in "cent" in Latin America, or like the "th" in "think" in some regions of Spain
C before a, o, u, like the "c" in "car"
D de like the "d" in "today"
E e like the "e" in "vet"
F efe like the "f" in "face"
G ge like the "h" in "hot" before e, i
G like the "g" in "again" before a, o, u
H hache always silent
I i like the "ee" in "see"
J jota like the "h" in "hot"
K ca like the "c" in "car"
L ele like the "l" in "leg"
M eme like the "m" in "mother"
N ene like the "n" in "need"
Ñ eñe like the "ny" in "canyon"
O o like the "o" in "more"
P pe like the "p" in "spouse"
Q cu like the "c" in "car"
R erre strongly trilled at the beginning of a word, after n, s or l, and when there is a double r in the middle of a word
R otherwise, r makes a softer sound
S ese like the "s" in "sack"
T te like the "t" in "stand"
U u like the "oo" in "food"
V uve like the "b" in "about"
W uve doble like the "w" in "web"
X equis like the "x" in "taxy"
X like the "s" in "sack" at the beginning of a word or before a consonant
Y ye like the "y" in "yes"
Z ceta like the "s" in "sack" in Latin America, or like the "th" in "think" in some regions of Spain

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