The Spanish Alphabet

Ask any second-grader how many letters there are in the alphabet and they'll tell you there are 26 and maybe even sing you a song:

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
(Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me?)

Ask several Spanish-speakers how many letters there are in the alphabet and you'll get several different answers (with or without a song). Not everyone in the Spanish-speaking world agrees on what the official alphabet should look like. However, the Real Academia Española, which is basically in charge of the official Spanish language, says it should look like this:

a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z

So in older Spanish dictionaries words beginning with "ch" are listed in a separate section after the rest of the "c" words, and words beginning with "ll" are listed after the rest of the "l" words. However, in 1994 the Royal Academy stated that for alphabetizing purposes "ch" and "ll" should not be considered distinct letters and so modern dictionaries do not have sections for them.

Today's lesson is brought to you by the letter "che."

This brings the Spanish letter total to 29 due to the inclusion of the letters "ch," "ll," and "ñ." Other Spanish-language sources will also include "rr" as a separate letter raising the possibility of a 30-letter alphabet. To make matters more confusing, still other sources don't count the "k" or the "w" since they almost always appear in words that originated outside of the Spanish language.

So how many letters are there? The best answer is somewhere between 25 ("ñ," but no "k" or "w") and 30 (the 26 you're used to plus "ch," "ll," "ñ," and "rr.") Just to cover all the bases let's work with a 30-letter alphabet.

Below are a list of letters, their names in Spanish, and a pronunciation guide:

Letter	Spanish	English	Pronunciation
a	a	ah	like the a in "father"
b	be	bay	like the English b but pronounced very softly ^*
c	ce	say	before a, o, u, like the c in "can"; before e, i, like the c in "cent"
ch	che	chay	like the English ch
d	de	day	like d in "bed" but with tongue forward, almost like th in "the"
e	e	ay	like the ay in "pay" ^*
f	efe	ay-fay	like the English f
g	ge	hay	before a, o, u, like g in "get"; before e, i, like an English h ^*
h	hache	ah-chay	always silent ^*
i	i	ee	like ee in "feet"
j	jota	ho-ta	like the English h
k	ka	kah	like the English k
l	ele	ay-lay	like the English l
ll	elle	ay-yay	like the y in "yes"
m	eme	ay-may	like the English m
n	ene	ay-nay	like the English n
ñ	eñe	ay-nyay	like the ny in "canyon"
o	o	oh	like the o in "no"
p	pe	pay	like the English p
q	cu	koo	like the English k ^*
r	ere	ay-ray	like the English r but softer, almost sounds like a d^*
rr	erre	ay-rray	strongly trilled
s	ese	ay-say	like the English s
t	te	tay	like the English t
u	u	ooh	like the oo in "pool"
v	ve	vay	almost no difference between b and v in Spanish ^*
w	doble ve	do-blay vay	like the English w ^*
x	equis	ay-kees	like the English x ^*
y	i griega	ee gree-ay-ga	like the English y; like ee in "tree" when used alone
z	zeta	say-ta	like the English s ^*

Notes on Letters

The letters "b" and "v" are pronounced so similarly in Spanish that sometimes in order to avoid confusion "b" is called be grande and "v" is called ve pequeña or something similar. It's not uncommon in some Latin American countries to see signs with spelling errors involving "b" and "v" such as Se Bende instead of the correct Se Vende.
The letter "e" is also pronounced at times more like the "e" in "pet," especially when at the beginning of a word, or when spoken quickly.
When a "g" precedes an "e" or an "i" in a word it is pronounced like an "h" but with a slight rasping sound, almost like clearing one's throat.
The future?

Due to the limited usefullness of the letter "h," some (including noted Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Márquez) have called for it to be removed from the Spanish language entirely.
Words beginning with "k," "w," and "x" were adopted into Spanish from other languages and are therefore extremely rare.
Words beginning with "r" are usually trilled as if they began with "rr" (e.g. rojo = rrojo).
There are at least four ways to say the letter "w" in Spanish: doble ve, doble u, doble uve, or uve doble. The "w" is extremely rare in Spanish.
There are many Spanish words borrowed from indigenous languages where the "x" is pronounced like the English "h" (e.g. México).
The pronunciation of the letter "z" (as well as "c" when followed by an "e" or an "i") varies widely.
In regions of Spain, "c" and "z" are pronounced more like "th" (e.g. Barcelona = Barthelona).

Other Notes

Spanish letters are all feminine: la a, la be, la ce, etc.
You may be wondering about letters with accents like á, é, í, ó, and ú or the rare dieresis, ü. These are not considered separate letters. See Accent Marks.
Read up on how to type Spanish characters on an English keyboard.
"Alphabet" is el alfabeto in Spanish, but you can also say el abecediario which is a word made up of the first three letters of the alphabet (like saying "ABCs").
Alfabetizar means "to alphabetize" but it can also mean "to teach reading and writing."

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