Spanish Pronunciation Guide

Hey parents!
One of my goals for my students is that they learn how to correctly pronounce and sound out words in Spanish.  To assist them in their learning, you can learn basic pronunciation of Spanish so that when practicing, you can say the word correctly. (Or your student may correct you because I'm a stickler for pronunciation!)

Spanish letters consistently are pronounced the same. For example, the letter a is always pronounced 'ah' as in father. In contrast, an English a can be pronounced as 'ah', but also as æ as in apple, and 'ay', as in face. English as a whole is complicated, but it certainly doesn't help that some letters have multiple sounds.  

In Spanish, letters (almost) always sound the same.  Even when a letter does have two or more different sounds, the sounds are predictable and follow a pattern. Below are the sounds in Spanish that are different than English. If they are not below, then pronounce them as you already know (i.e. L in Spanish sounds like L in English).

A - ah (as in father) - adiós, azul, papas 
B - beh - Hard "b" sound - bien, bueno
             - Soft "b" sound between vowels; lips barely touch - bebé, bebida, abuela 
C - say - Before e & i like "s" - cinco, cerdo, cebolla 
             - Otherwise, like "k" without puff of air - cuatro, caliente, ¿cómo? 
E - a (sounds like when you say the letter a) - el, estás, empanadas 
H - silent (do not pronounce) - hola, hambre, hasta, ahora
I - ee (as in feet) - iglesia, indio, igual 
J - like the English 'h' jiraffa, ojos, orejas, anaranjado, junio, julio
K - same as English, but without puff of air: put your hand in front of your mouth and try the 'k" sound) - kilo, kilogramo 
Ll - makes the 'y' sound*** - llamo, llamas, silla 
Ñ - sounds like an 'n' and 'y' put together (español would be eh-span-yol) - cumpleaños, niños, años 
O - long o sound: do not pronounce like a Minnesotan: keep it short - oso, ocho, octubre 
P - same as English, but without puff of air - pequeño, pan, pies, policía, sopa 
Q - like "k" as in kit, even when followed by a u - ¿qué?, ¿quién?, queso, quiero, quieres
R - similar to English, but keep it soft - amarillo, color, caramelos, flores, oro 
Rr - roll/trill "r's" like a motor - some say that saying the word butter over and over again kind of sounds like the rr sound in Spanish - perro, perrito, correr, barriga 
T - same a English, but without puff of air - tengo, tomates, piñata, bate 
U - like oo as in boot - uno, usted, tú, uvas 
V - Hard "b" sound like boy when at the beginning of the word - vamos, vámonos, verde, vengan 
   - Soft "b" sound between vowels; lips barely touch - favor 
X x ehkeess - 
    - "ks" like box máximo, expresar 
    - "gs" eggs examen 
    - when between vowels, often English "h" sound; 
Z - "s" as in sun - zapato, manzana, lápiz, azúcar, cabeza 

*** the pronunciation of ll can vary depending on region. In Argentina, for example, it makes a soft 'j' sound, so llamo would be pronounced 'jamo.'

That's it! Let me know if you have questions!