The five vowels

Welcome to Spanish! The best news first: Spanish spelling is very regular. Once you know how each letter sounds, you can read almost any word aloud, even one you have never seen.

A vowel is one of the letters a, e, i, o, u. English uses these five letters for about twelve different sounds (think of the a in cat, father, cake, about). Spanish uses them for exactly five sounds, and each letter keeps its sound in every word.

The five sounds

Keep every vowel short and pure. English speakers tend to slide at the end of a vowel: English no is really "noh-oo", and day is really "deh-ee". In Spanish, hold your mouth still: no is just "noh", and de (of) is just "deh".

• Mi mamá habla mucho.My mum talks a lot.
• La casa es bonita.The house is pretty.
• Pepe bebe leche.Pepe drinks milk.
• Isabel vive aquí.Isabel lives here.
• Lola come poco.Lola eats very little.
• La luna es muy bonita.The moon is very pretty.
• El museo es nuevo.The museum is new.

Every vowel is pronounced, even unstressed ones

In English, unstressed vowels often shrink to a weak "uh" sound (the a in banana at the start and end). Spanish never does this. Every vowel keeps its full sound, and every vowel counts as part of a beat:

• chocolate has four beats: cho-co-la-te (choh-koh-LAH-teh);
• noche (night) has two beats: NOH-cheh. The final e is not silent;
• grande (big) is GRAHN-deh, and leche (milk) is LEH-cheh.

• Me gusta el chocolate.I like chocolate.
• Mi gato es muy curioso.My cat is very curious.

Two vowels together

When two vowels sit side by side, say both of them, quickly, in one smooth movement: bueno (good) is BWEH-noh, seis (six) is SAYS, aire (air) is AY-reh. You will practise these naturally as you learn words.

The letter u after q and g

In que, qui, gue, gui the u is silent. It is only there to tell you how to say the consonant: queso (cheese) is KEH-soh, guitarra (guitar) is ghee-TAH-rrah. When the u must be heard in güe or güi, it gets two dots (ü): pingüino (penguin) is peen-GWEE-noh. More on this in Letters that surprise English speakers.

The word y (and) is one letter on its own and sounds like Spanish i: Ana y Pepe is AH-nah ee PEH-peh.

Latin America

The five vowels sound the same everywhere Spanish is spoken. What changes from country to country is mostly consonants and melody, not the vowels.

Common mistakes

• MAY-sah for mesa: the Spanish e doesn't glide into an "ee". Say MEH-sah.
• NOH-oo for no: keep the o short and still, with no w at the end.
• Dropping the final e: noche, grande and leche end with a clear "eh".
• MYOO-see-kah for música: the Spanish u is always "oo", never "you". Say MOO-see-kah.
• Turning unstressed vowels into "uh": chocolate is choh-koh-LAH-teh, not "choc-uh-lut".