Spanish pronunciation

Vowels

• a – as in “father”
• e – as in “set” except at the end of a word is like é in “café”
• i – as in “macaroni”
• o – as in “so”
• u – as in “tune” except in gui, gue and qu, it is silent
• ai is close to English “eye”
• i before a, e, i and u like y in “yell”
• u before a, e, i and o is like w in “wait”
• y – as in “baby"

Consonants

Most of the consonants are pronounced as they are in American English with these exceptions:

• c before a, o, u and other consonants, like English “k”
• c before i and e like English “s”
• ch like ch in “cheese”
• d between vowels (even if it starts a word following a word ending in a vowel) or at the end of a word, like English “th”
• g before e or i like the Scottish pronunciation of ch in “loch,” OK to pronounce like English “h”
• g before a or o like g in “get”
• h is always silent
• j like the Scottish ch in “loch,” OK to pronounce like English “h”
• ll is pronounced like English “ya”
• ñ like nio in “onion”
• q like the English “k”
• r like a soft “d” except at the beginning of a word or after l, n or s where it is trilled
• rr should be trilled
• v is always pronounced like the English “b”
• z like the English “s"

Emphasis

Emphasis usually falls on the second to the last syllable; otherwise it falls on a syllable that contains a vowel with an accent.