Spanish pronunciation rules
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¡Buenos días! Let´s get started with voicing Spanish!
Vocalization of Spanish letters might be confusing for an English speaker as they represent different sounds from their English equivalents. Let´s take a look on those letters that make a difference with regard to pronunciation.
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The letter g before the vowels a, o, u, ue, ui has the English hard g sound, such as in the word "good". However, before e and i, g sounds as exaggerated English h.
g sound | exaggerated h sound |
---|---|
guerra (war) | gerente (manager) |
gastos (expenses) | gigante (giant) |
gorro (hat) | gente (people) |
The pronunciation of Spanish letter y is the same as of Spanish i. For instance:
Depending on the Spanish-speaking country or region this letter could be heard as [ʝ], [ʒ] or [ʃ]. Notwithstanding, the majority of Spanish speakers say it like the letter y. In other words, ll and y represent the same sound. It could be compared to the sounding of the English "yes". For instance:
The Spanish x sounds just like the English one. Exception to the rule are the names containing x. In this cases the letter would rather sound as English h.
x sound | h sound |
---|---|
xenófobo (xenophobic) | México |
xilografía (woodcut) | Xavier |
In Spain it is pronounced like English th in the vocable "thanks" for example. In Latin America the same letter sounds like s. Some Z-words:
In Spanish v and b represent the same sound:
J is alike English h in "hi", but exaggerated. It is also the same as Spanish ge and gi:
It's like English oo in "roof", but shorter in the majority of the words. In the variants gui, gue and qu it is silent, unless it is marked this way:
oo sound, but shorter | silent u | güe, güi |
---|---|---|
Usted (you, polite) | guerra (war) | pingüino (penguin) |
uno (one) | guitarra (guitar) | cigüeña (stork) |
If it´s followed by the vowel sounds e and i, the pronunciation of the letter is like th in English (in Spain) or like s (in Latin America). If the letter is followed by the vowels a, o and u it is pronounced as k.
th sound or s sound | k sound |
---|---|
cerveza (beer) | cuando (when) |
cielo (sky) | comida (food) |
Do you remember the pronunciation lesson number 1 from the alphabet lecture? Let us remind you the most important points:
Which are the common rules?
The Spanish acute accent called tilde (á,é,ó,í,ú) is very important in the language. It indicates that the normal rules of the word stress are being violated. Words with accent mark have to be learnt by memory. For example:
Some more words with "tilde" are:
Some words with acute accent in Spanish |
---|
énfasis (emphasis) |
politización (politization) |
canción (song) |
francés (French) |
característica (characteristic) |
según (according) |
Acute accents are also used to distinguish words written in the same way, but with divergent meanings. For instance: si (if) and sí (yes).
Now you can watch the video below or practice with the audio, microphone and exercises. Have fun!
How does "g" sound in the word "guerra"?
g sound
exaggerated h sound
How does "g" sound in the word "gente"?
g sound
exaggerated h sound
How does the second "g" sound in the word "gigante"?
exaggerated h sound
g sound
How does "x" sound in the word "xilografía"?
x sound
h sound
How does "ü" sound in the word "cigüeña"?
silent u
oo sound, but shorter
How does "c" sound in the word "cuando"?
k sound
s sound
How does "c" sound in the word "cielo"?
th or s sound
k sound
How does "c" sound in the word "comida"?
k sound
th or s sound
The diphtong "ui" in the word "influir" forms:
1 syllable
2 syllables
Where is the stress in the word "pastel"?
on the penultimate syllable
on the last syllable
How does "g" sound in the word "guerra"?
g sound
How does "g" sound in the word "gente"?
exaggerated h sound
How does the second "g" sound in the word "gigante"?
g sound
How does "x" sound in the word "xilografía"?
x sound
How does "ü" sound in the word "cigüeña"?
oo sound, but shorter
How does "c" sound in the word "cuando"?
k sound
How does "c" sound in the word "cielo"?
th or s sound
How does "c" sound in the word "comida"?
k sound
The diphtong "ui" in the word "influir" forms:
1 syllable
Where is the stress in the word "pastel"?
on the last syllable
caracter
cáracter
carácter
inmunologico
inmúnologico
inmunológico
fotografo
fótografo
fotógrafo
aversion
avérsion
aversión
critica
crítica
critíca
energica
énergica
enérgica
brujeria
brujería
brujéria
practica
practíca
práctica
tecnica
tecníca
técnica
magica
mágica
magíca
accion
áccion
acción
caracter
carácter
inmunologico
inmunológico
fotografo
fotógrafo
aversion
aversión
critica
crítica
energica
enérgica
brujeria
brujería
practica
práctica
tecnica
técnica
magica
mágica
accion
acción
How does "g" sound in the word "guerra"?
g sound
exaggerated h sound
How does "g" sound in the word "gente"?
g sound
exaggerated h sound
How does the second "g" sound in the word "gigante"?
exaggerated h sound
g sound
How does "x" sound in the word "xilografía"?
x sound
h sound
How does "ü" sound in the word "cigüeña"?
silent u
oo sound, but shorter
How does "c" sound in the word "cuando"?
s sound
k sound
How does "c" sound in the word "cielo"?
th or s sound
k sound
How does "c" sound in the word "comida"?
k sound
th or s sound
The diphtong "ui" in the word "influir" forms:
2 syllables
1 syllable
Where is the stress in the word "pastel"?
on the penultimate syllable
on the last syllable
How does "g" sound in the word "guerra"?
g sound
How does "g" sound in the word "gente"?
exaggerated h sound
How does the second "g" sound in the word "gigante"?
g sound
How does "x" sound in the word "xilografía"?
x sound
How does "ü" sound in the word "cigüeña"?
oo sound, but shorter
How does "c" sound in the word "cuando"?
k sound
How does "c" sound in the word "cielo"?
th or s sound
How does "c" sound in the word "comida"?
k sound
The diphtong "ui" in the word "influir" forms:
1 syllable
Where is the stress in the word "pastel"?
on the last syllable
caracter
carácter
cáracter
inmunologico
inmúnologico
inmunológico
fotografo
fótografo
fotógrafo
aversion
avérsion
aversión
critica
critíca
crítica
energica
énergica
enérgica
brujeria
brujéria
brujería
practica
práctica
practíca
tecnica
técnica
tecníca
magica
magíca
mágica
accion
áccion
acción
caracter
carácter
inmunologico
inmunológico
fotografo
fotógrafo
aversion
aversión
critica
crítica
energica
enérgica
brujeria
brujería
practica
práctica
tecnica
técnica
magica
mágica
accion
acción
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My name is Alberto and I am 29 years old. I speak Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. As you might have seen, one of my passions is the study of foreign languages. I love learning them, studying them, and keeping permanently in touch with them.
I have been a foreign language teacher for eight years, and I have always obtained remarkably good results. I personnally love working as a language teacher. It is another opportunity of keeping studying one specific language whereas you are helping other people to learn.
In my clases I adapt myself to the needs of my student. We practice the speaking, the writing, or any other skill the student desires. We learn also grammar and vocabulary. I like to work with spread sheets of grammar and vocabulary to consolidate the grammar basis, but I also like using other ressources, such as films, books, videos, games, songs or articles from the newspaper.
I am quite patient comprehensive and kind. All the students that came to me with problems or difficulties bearing relation to the grammar have come through them with a great success after some lessons with me.
So I look forward to welcoming you all with open arms to help you discover a new language or improve your language skills.
Alberto
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Alberto is an admirable teacher. Not only is he very attentive, but he is also available and ready to adapt to my schedule difficulties without any problem. In addition, he prepared the session very well. It is clear that he is a serious and hard-working teacher. I can't wait for our next class!
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I'm an experienced language teacher with 5 years of experience teaching Catalan, Spanish and English to all levels and ages (children and adults) and German to beginners. I've worked as a private teacher and as a teacher in a school, so I can handle students one to one as well as groups. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, I also have experience in online teaching.
I've got a degree in Catalan and English philology, a post-degree in teaching Catalan and the official master for teaching in secondary and Language Schools (English speciality).
In my classes I always take into account my students' needs. I focus on communication, without forgetting that we need to learn the grammar in order to speak/write correctly.
I use different materials depending on the level, the language and the students, but they are always of diverse nature and they include videos. I usually include material created by me.
I love learning languages myself, so I always try to think how I like the classes in order to make my own teaching more appealing to my students, so you can trust that, if you take classes with me, you will have an experiences teacher as well as an experienced language learner.
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Maria is well experienced in teaching children and adults. She is also very friendly, I can surely recommend her as a teacher.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hi, my name is Nomsa. I am an English tutor with 3 years experience in English tutoring. I can teach both adults and children for beginners, intermediate and business English lessons. My hobbies are watching movies, cooking and traveling around the world. I would like to meet new people and learn their ways of living as I am teaching them English as a second language.
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Nomsa has good grammar and interesting english exercises ! She has a good communication and teaching experiences as well.
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Karine is a French and German teacher. She adaptes her lessons according your demands, level and your studies or work. Students can learning French or German easily with her. She is a nice and smiling person, French or German grammar won't be a problem anymore and funny to learn !
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
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After years teaching online, I can say that the computer screen is not a limitation. I love to see my students thrive in a new language, I develop my own exercises too, My classes are fun, dynamic and interesting to say the least, I believe I have the patience to create exercises and drills for my students and approach learning from a different perspective and overcome boredom, tiredness and lack of discipline.
I work with realia mostly, and I can tell you that nothing is more powerful than things and situations that are personal to a person.
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Manuel is the teacher I was willing to meet. He was able on our very first class to understand my needs and expectations. He's very professional and his knowledge and teaching methods make me feel very confident about my ability to improve my skills in Spanish language.
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I started working as an Arabic teacher more than 10 years ago. During this time I have taught students from various countries and of different ages. They are learning Arabic for several reasons such as conversation, politics, Islam and literature. We have enjoyed learning with photos, videos, music and games to develop the different skills like speaking, listening, reading and writing. I studied two diplomas in teaching Arabic to foreigners at Cairo University and a course at the American University in Cairo and currently I am studying masters in the same field.
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Sara is a very nice and friendly teacher. As a learning material she has prepared books where you can learn dialect, grammar, do exercises and other... She is communicative and prepared to teach new students!
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In recent years I have worked as an Academic Director at a Language School in northern Spain. My job duties there included designing intensive Spanish & English courses for beginners’, intermediate and advanced levels, as well as teaching both on-site and via Skype. This constant interest has allowed me to become familiar with techniques and tools that are essential in today´s second language learning, such as the materials used by the Cervantes Institute and the most renowned publications and blogs in the field of language teaching. Most particularly, I have made extensive use of audiovisuals and creative writing activities in order to develop consistent, effective courses.
As an on-line teacher, I have steadily used different technology applications in language learning. My tasks as a teacher included setting homework and giving feedback to my students, according to their needs, on a regular basis, as well as keeping accurate register of their attendance and progress.
Graduated in Hispanic Philology and Masters in Applied French, I have always kept up with my teaching training and have recently completed a Cambridge CELTA course for English teachers This further training has provided me with the familiarity to different teaching methodologies, which have proven to be extremely useful in my classes.
My hobbies: art cinema, hiking, reading and watching and playing basketball.
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I wanted to refresh and improve my Spanish and I contacted Inigo because he 's certified in luinguistic. Inigo is very patient, professional and helpful. He provides well structured lessons, in a very friendly and good atmosphere which is really favorable for learning a foreign language. The lesson material is built around several support such as text, audio, video, etc. You can't be bored and it's nice to switch between the different materials along the hour. He's also fluent in French and English so he can switch from a language to another for any explanation if needed. I really enjoy my lessons with him and I definitely recommand him!
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I am a certified Spanish Teacher. I have worked in education for more than ten years and specialized in educational psychology and music therapy. I make my class very dynamic and creative. If you enjoy music and with to learn with a creative method, this is your class!
I have also worked with children and adults with special needs and language disorders (dyslexia for example), so If you need specialized methods in learning a second language, I can help you!
Wish to meet you!
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Maria is a passioned Spanish teacher. She is certificated by DELE and teaches to kids, teenagers and adults. She makes her own lessons which are very personalized and attractive. Indeed, she uses many visual tools as videos, musics or pictures. Maria is involved in student learning progress and gives sometimes homework. I recommend her, students can be comfortable with her !
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Hello! I'm Marydil, I'm a 25-year old licenced professional teacher from the Philippines. I was a teacher at a private school for 2 years where I handled students from Junior Highschool to Senior Highschool. I believe that teaching should be light and easy. It makes me happy to see my students learn and develop their speaking skills in Filipino and English. Apart from knowledge of my subject, I have a complete understanding of managing students by interacting with them positively.
I offer free trial lessons. Feel free to contact me if you are interested. I'm looking forward to meet you in my class. See you!
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Marydil is a very nice and enthusiastic teacher who is eager to teach you both English and Filipino. She has several years of experience and she always adjusts her classes and her materials to the students wants and needs. Her lessons will always be engaging and entertaining so book your first class with Marydil now!
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Marydil G.
Thank you, ma'am!
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Hello, I'm Rosie. I strongly believe that anyone can not only learn a language, but it can happen naturally, without homework, overcoming the learning-relate traumas. Within only a couple of sessions, students start using the language spontaneously and confidently. Until the end of the course, they can successfully engage in a wide range of topics. Suggestopedia makes it all happen.
I'm a highly-qualified teacher of English and Bulgarian with over 8 years of experience in teaching students from all ages, levels and cultural backgrounds.
I use an innovative and creative methodology to help you learn up to 5 times faster with much better reinforcement compared to any traditional methodologies.
If you are curious to experience it first-hand, do not hesitate to contact me.
I will gladly welcome you to my virtual space!
Best wishes!
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Rosie is a teacher of Bulgarian and English. She has experience teaching both adults and children. In her classes she puts a lot of emphasis on adapting the lessons to her students, thus providing classes that are varied and interesting. In her classes, she works on all four language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Are you looking for a good learning atmosphere to learn Bulgarian or English in a fun way? Then book your first lesson with Rosie now!
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Rosie R.
Thank you for the kind words. Always happy to meet new people and pass my knowledge!
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My name is Iris and I am an English teacher for kids, high school students, college and working adults for over 2 years.
My hobbies are singing and playing my ukulele.
I love teaching English with music because it can help children learn the sounds and meanings of words and
allowing them to practice self-expression. I help young children to learn the basics of the English language, from the alphabet to simple words and sentences. For junior students I teach the basic concepts of English grammar needed to speak and write accurately. The topics include sentence structure, verb tenses, prepositions, and other exercises to help students improve their pronunciation.
I believe my teaching experience and passion for engagement make me an ideal tutor.
I have experience teaching elementary-level students in a variety of settings.
I am currently teaching children ages from 6-12 and working adults from China and European countries. As a former worker in customer service, I acquired technical skills in using multiple software systems and honed my English communication skills through phone calls and email writing.
I think my varied experiences can cater to working adults who are trying to find time in their busy work life to develop their English skills. It is my goal to combine my wide range of experience with my ability as a compassionate, enthusiastic and a smart teacher that can provide a positive contribution to your English proficiency.
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Iris is a nice person and has different type of English exercises ! Beginner or advanced are able to learn more with her courses !
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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I'm an English language teacher for more than 15 years with CELTA ( Cambridge English Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages); for sure, my lessons are active and updated. I can work with different levels mostly with adults.
I've been teaching lessons on line since October 2019 using Zoom.
Students' participation is maximised in my language lessons, for sure they are student-centred; in other words, I ensure plenty of student talking time through the use of communicative activities and consistent pair checks, clarifying the target language to an appropriate depth and in a student-centred way.
Come and join my classes, you´ll never feel like regreting your decision!!!
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Ildefonso is an experienced English teacher with a perfect British pronunciation. If you're talking to him, you can really feel his passion for teaching the English language. He helps students of all levels and tailors his lessons according to their needs and requirements. In his classes, all 4 language skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking are perfectly covered, and you will learn very easy and quick. That's why you shouldn't wait any longer and book your first English lesson with Ildefonso now!
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
Ildefonso Enrique A.
Sure!!! My students will experience the most exciting lessons they've ever had!!! To Hanna and the recruiting team: " I appreciate your feed back, I will never let you down!!!
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My name is Alberto and I am 29 years old. I speak Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. As you might have seen, one of my passions is the study of foreign languages. I love learning them, studying them, and keeping permanently in touch with them.
I have been a foreign language teacher for eight years, and I have always obtained remarkably good results. I personnally love working as a language teacher. It is another opportunity of keeping studying one specific language whereas you are helping other people to learn.
In my clases I adapt myself to the needs of my student. We practice the speaking, the writing, or any other skill the student desires. We learn also grammar and vocabulary. I like to work with spread sheets of grammar and vocabulary to consolidate the grammar basis, but I also like using other ressources, such as films, books, videos, games, songs or articles from the newspaper.
I am quite patient comprehensive and kind. All the students that came to me with problems or difficulties bearing relation to the grammar have come through them with a great success after some lessons with me.
So I look forward to welcoming you all with open arms to help you discover a new language or improve your language skills.
Alberto
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Alberto is an admirable teacher. Not only is he very attentive, but he is also available and ready to adapt to my schedule difficulties without any problem. In addition, he prepared the session very well. It is clear that he is a serious and hard-working teacher. I can't wait for our next class!
Review
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I'm an experienced language teacher with 5 years of experience teaching Catalan, Spanish and English to all levels and ages (children and adults) and German to beginners. I've worked as a private teacher and as a teacher in a school, so I can handle students one to one as well as groups. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, I also have experience in online teaching.
I've got a degree in Catalan and English philology, a post-degree in teaching Catalan and the official master for teaching in secondary and Language Schools (English speciality).
In my classes I always take into account my students' needs. I focus on communication, without forgetting that we need to learn the grammar in order to speak/write correctly.
I use different materials depending on the level, the language and the students, but they are always of diverse nature and they include videos. I usually include material created by me.
I love learning languages myself, so I always try to think how I like the classes in order to make my own teaching more appealing to my students, so you can trust that, if you take classes with me, you will have an experiences teacher as well as an experienced language learner.
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Maria is well experienced in teaching children and adults. She is also very friendly, I can surely recommend her as a teacher.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hi, my name is Nomsa. I am an English tutor with 3 years experience in English tutoring. I can teach both adults and children for beginners, intermediate and business English lessons. My hobbies are watching movies, cooking and traveling around the world. I would like to meet new people and learn their ways of living as I am teaching them English as a second language.
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Nomsa has good grammar and interesting english exercises ! She has a good communication and teaching experiences as well.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Karine is a French and German teacher. She adaptes her lessons according your demands, level and your studies or work. Students can learning French or German easily with her. She is a nice and smiling person, French or German grammar won't be a problem anymore and funny to learn !
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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