Spanish alphabet
The modern Spanish alphabet uses the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet plus ñ ("eñe", n with a tilde on top), which is a total of 27 letters.
Diacritics
Although not considered separate letters of the alphabet, some letters may have diacritics.
All five vowels may have an acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú) to indicate that a syllable is stressed. For example, the word árbol ("tree") is pronounced "AHR-bohl" (not "ahr-BOHL"). It is also used in writing to distinguish homophones (words that sound the same but mean different things), such as the words si ("if") and sí ("yes"), both pronounced "see".
Also, the letter u may have diaeresis (ü) to indicate that the u is pronounced. For example, the word pingüino ("penguin") is pronounced "peen-GWEE-noh" (not "peen-GUEE-noh").
List
| Uppercase (capital) letter | Lowercase letter | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | a | |
| B | b | be grande (in Spain "be") | |
| C | c | ce | before e or i, it's pronounced like English "s" |
| D | d | de | |
| E | e | e | |
| F | f | efe | |
| G | g | ge | |
| H | h | hache | silent except in loanwords |
| I | i | i | |
| J | j | jota | |
| K | k | ka | only used in loanwords |
| L | l | ele | two l's together (ll) makes the "y" sound |
| M | m | eme | |
| N | n | ene | |
| Ñ | ñ | eñe | pronounced like "enye" |
| O | o | o | |
| P | p | pe | |
| Q | q | cu | |
| R | r | erre | one r makes a tap sound (like in "better" in English), but two r's together (rr) makes the trilled/rolled r sound |
| S | s | ese | |
| T | t | te | |
| U | u | u | |
| V | v | ve chica (in Spain "uve") | |
| W | w | ve doble | only used in loanwords |
| X | x | equis | |
| Y | y | y griega | |
| Z | z | zeta | pronounced like English "s" |
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