El abecedario

Por: Amanda Kittell

AAlbóndigas Meatballs

Like the “A” in rather

Papá, mamá, adiós Amanda, casa, Argentina.

B

Batido Milkshake

Like the “B” in boy

Bien, bonita, blanco,Bogotá, Bolivia.

C

Casa House

Like an English “K”

Carro, carne computadora, Colombia, cuatro, Cuba

Sometimes like “S”

Centro, cereal, cien, ciudad.

Just like in English “k” car, coat, cut “s” center,

city

Ch

Chaqueta Jacket

Like “ch” in chess

Chorizo, chocolate, China, chileno

D

Dinero Money

Like the “D” in dull

Dedo, indio, diez, doctor.

E

Elefante Elephant

Like the “e” in set

Senda, Ema, estudiar, escritorio.

F

Fácil Easy

Like the “f” in fire

Fama, fin, fecha, Francia

G

Gato Cat

Like the “g” in Guam

When followed by “a, o, u”

Ganar, Bogotá, Guatemala

Like the “h” in home

When followed by “e, i”

General, genealogía, gigante, gimnasio

H

Huevos Eggs

Always silent except…

When it has a “c” behind it and then it makes a “ch” like in chess

Hola, hora, hijo, honesto.

I

Iglesia Church

To pronounce it, you must smile

Like “ee” in keep

Italia, Indiana, isla, inglés

J

Julio July

Like the “h” in home

Juan, jueves, junio, Josefina.

K

Kilómetro Kilometer

Like the “k” in kite

There are not many words in Spanish that start with K

Kilo

L

Libro Book

Like the “l” in lad

Listo, Linda, Londres, leche.

LL

Lleno Full

Like the “j” in jam.

Some countries pronounce it like the “y” in “yes”.

Llama, camello, pollo, bella

M

Museo Museum

Like the “m” in many

Manuel, mucho.

N

Nadar Swim

Like “n” in new

Nancy, nachos

Ñ

Ñoño Nerd

Similar to the sound in “onion”

Cañón, señor, español, España,

O

Ocupado Busy

Long “o”, like in or

Oscar, ola, oso, ojo.

P

Pimienta Pepper

Like the “p” in pen

Pedro, pan, pronto.

Q

Queso Cheese

Q is always before u

Sound like “K” and it is followed by “UE or UI” The U is silent in these cases.

¿Qué? ¿Quién? Quince, quiero.

R

Refresco Soda

Between vowels like “tt” in Betty

Cara, pero toro Lara

RR

Perro Dog

Trilled RR

You trilled the “r” when it is at the beginning of a word

Rosa, rojo, rico. Also at the end of a word Color, amor, In the middle of a word when is next

to L, N, D C Turco, Carlos, carne,

Ferrocarril, arroz, burro,

burrito

S

Sopa Soup

Like the ‘s” in son

Soy, Samuel

T

Trofeo Trophy

Like the “t” in tan

Trompeta, todo, tengo.

U

Uvas Grapes

Like “u” in dude

Sometimes silent after g if the “u” is followed by “e” or “i” and q.

Estados Unidos, un, una.Gutiérrez, unión,

Guantánamo.

Seguir, guerra, guitarra

Queso, quesadilla, aquí.

V

Ventana Window

Like the “b” in boy.

It is OK if you pronounce it like “v”

Victor, vamos

W

Whiski Whiskey

Used only in foreign words

Walter, William

X Xilófono Xylophone

Usually not at the beginning of a word

ExamenÉxito

Y

Yeso Plaster

Like “j” in jam.

Some countries pronounce it similar to the “y” in yes

Yo, yegua, yo-yo. Like th “ee” in green at the end of a

word or by itself.

Lucy, muy, Nancy y yo.

Z

Zanahoria

Carrot

Like “s” in Latinamerica

Like the “th” in “think” in Spain There is no “ZZZ” sound in Spanish

Zapato, azul luz lápiz

Repaso

Argentina Bolivia Costa Rica Chichén Itzá República Dominicana Ecuador Las Filipinas Guatemala

Repaso

Honduras Inglaterra Jalisco Kenya Los Ángeles Valladolid Marruecos Nicaragua

Repaso

Oslo Paraguay Quito Perú Santiago Toledo Cuba

Repaso

Venezuela Wyoming México Yucatán Zacatecas.