Spanish Consonants: B, V, H, LL, Ñ and RR

Most Spanish consonants look familiar, but a handful behave differently from English.

Letters worth learning

Letter	Sound	Example
h	always silent	hola (o-la)
j	a throaty h	jamón (ham)
ñ	like ny in "canyon"	año (year)
ll	like y in "yes" in most regions	llave (key)
rr	a rolled r	perro (dog)
qu	a k sound	queso (cheese)
z	s in Latin America; th in most of Spain	zapato (shoe)

B and V

In Spanish, b and v are pronounced the same. Between vowels they are soft, with the lips barely touching. Vino (wine) and bino would sound alike.

C and G

• c before e or i is s (Latin America) or th (most of Spain): cena (dinner).
• c before a, o, u is k: casa.
• g before e or i is a throaty h: gente (people).
• g before a, o, u is a hard g: gato (cat).

The rolled R

A single r is a quick tap of the tongue, as in pero (but). A double rr, and r at the start of a word, is rolled: perro, rojo (red).

The difference matters:

• pero means "but".
• perro means "dog".

The letter Ñ

Ñ is a separate letter, and not a decorated n. Año means year, and ano is a different word entirely, so be careful.

Silent and soft letters

• h is always silent, apart from ch, which sounds like English "ch": chico (boy).
• d between vowels is soft, close to English th in "this": nada.

Tips

1. Practise the rolled r slowly.
2. Remember h is silent.
3. Use the dictionary to check ñ and accents.

Look up any Spanish word with English Spanish Dictionary →