Phase 1 · Lesson 01 · A0

Spanish Alphabet: Learn the 27 Letters and Their Names

Meet the complete Spanish alphabet, hear every letter name, and learn how to spell a short word without borrowing the English ABCs.

Start with the alphabet View the course
  • 18-minute lesson
  • English guidance
  • Audio + practice

Your one clear goal

Recognize every letter and spell one short word.

By the end, you can name the 27 letters of the Spanish alphabet and use their names to spell a familiar word. Detailed vowel sounds, consonant sounds, and written stress come next in lessons 2–4.

  • Recognize uppercase and lowercase forms.
  • Say the recommended common letter names.
  • Understand useful regional name variations.

Interactive check

What do you already notice?

This is a no-pressure starting check. Make a choice, read the feedback, and continue.

01Which letter belongs to the Spanish alphabet but not the English alphabet?
02If you need to spell a name in Spanish, what do you say?

Show answer key
  1. Ñ — Ñ is a separate Spanish letter called eñe. It is not simply an N with decoration.
  2. The names of its letters — Spelling uses letter names: Marta begins eme, a, erre, te, a.

The complete reference

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters.

Most shapes are familiar from English. The important first step is to attach a Spanish name to each one. The examples below help you recognize the letter in a word; lesson 3 will explain why some letters can represent more than one sound.

Audio transcript: a, be, ce, de, e, efe, ge, hache, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene, eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te, u, uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta. Generated teaching audio uses a U.S. Spanish neural voice. Letter-name variants are explained below.

The 27 Spanish letters, their recommended names, and example words
LetterSpanish nameExampleMeaning
A aaaguawater
B bbebebébaby
C ccecasahouse
D ddedíaday
E eeEspañaSpain
F fefefamiliafamily
G ggegatocat
H hhacheholahello
I iiislaisland
J jjotajardíngarden
K kkakilokilo
L lelelibrobook
M mememamámom
N nenenombrename
Ñ ñeñeniñoboy / child
O ooojoeye
P ppepanbread
Q qcuquesocheese
R rerreradioradio
S sesesolsun
T tteteléfonotelephone
U uuunoone
V vuvevasoglass
W wuve doblewebweb
X xequistaxitaxi
Y yyeyoI
Z zzetazapatoshoe

Audio transcript: a, be, ce, de, e, efe, ge.

Audio transcript: hache, i, jota, ka, ele, eme, ene.

Audio transcript: eñe, o, pe, cu, erre, ese, te.

Audio transcript: u, uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta.

Spanish across regions

You may hear more than one valid letter name.

The RAE recommends one shared set to make communication easier, but it also recognizes traditional names used across the Spanish-speaking world. Learn the recommended form first and recognize the common alternatives.

V

uve

You may hear ve, ve corta, or ve baja in Latin America. B may then be be larga or be alta.

W

uve doble

Doble uve, doble ve, and doble u also occur. The last form reflects English influence.

Y

ye

I griega is a valid, traditional name and remains widespread. The corresponding regional name for I can be i latina.

One modern alphabet detail

CH and LL are combinations, not extra letters.

Spanish still uses ch in chico and ll incalle. Since 1994, however, they have been alphabetized under C and L because each is a digraph: two written letters working together. The same basic idea applies to rr.

CHchicoLLcalleRRperro

Listen, choose, explain

Train the names that are easiest to mix up.

Play each short clip, choose the name you hear, and use the feedback before moving to spelling.

Audio 1

Audio transcript: hache.

Audio 2

Audio transcript: eñe.

Audio 3

Audio transcript: uve doble.

Audio 4

Audio transcript: ye.

Interactive check

Which letter name do you hear?

Replay the clips as often as you need. Feedback appears as soon as you choose.

01Audio 1: Which letter name did you hear?
02Audio 2: Which letter name did you hear?
03Audio 3: Which recommended letter name did you hear?
04Audio 4: Which recommended letter name did you hear?

Show answer key
  1. hache (H) — H is called hache. The name starts with a vowel sound: ha-che.
  2. eñe (Ñ) — Ñ is eñe. Listen for the middle ñ sound that distinguishes it from ene.
  3. uve doble (W) — W is called uve doble in the common name recommended by the RAE.
  4. ye (Y) — Y is called ye in the recommended common system. I griega is also widely used.

Interactive check

Separate letters from useful conventions

Use the reference and regional notes to make each choice.

01How many letters are in the modern Spanish alphabet?
02What are CH and LL in the modern alphabet?
03If someone calls Y i griega instead of ye, what should you conclude?

Show answer key
  1. 27 — Spanish has 27 letters: the 26 familiar Latin letters plus Ñ.
  2. Digraphs made from two letters — CH and LL remain useful spellings, but each is a digraph made from two alphabet letters.
  3. They use a valid traditional name — Ye is the recommended common name, while i griega remains valid and widespread.

From recognition to production

Spell two words with Spanish letter names.

Listen first. Then type the letter names in order. Commas and hyphens are optional, but ene and eñe must remain different.

Audio transcript: eme, a, pe, a.

Write it out

Write the spelling of mapa

Use Spanish letter names, not the letters themselves.

Punctuation does not matter. The order does.

Show model answer

eme, a, pe, a

Audio transcript: ene, i, eñe, o.

Write it out

Write the spelling of niño

Listen for the difference between N and Ñ.

Keep the ñ in eñe; it identifies a different letter.

Show model answer

ene, i, eñe, o

Common English-speaker slips

Four habits to correct from the first day.

The goal is not a perfect accent. It is to make spelling clear enough that another person can follow it.

  1. 01

    Using English letter names

    J is jota, not “jay”; H is hache, not “aitch.” Switch systems before you begin spelling.

  2. 02

    Treating Ñ as decorated N

    N is ene. Ñ is eñe. They occupy separate places in the alphabet and distinguish words.

  3. 03

    Counting CH and LL as letters 28 and 29

    They are still important spellings, but the modern alphabet counts 27 individual letters.

  4. 04

    Calling a regional name “wrong”

    Uve/ve and ye/i griega reflect regional habits. Learn to recognize both.

Final challenge

Spell something that belongs to you.

Choose your first name, surname, city, or the part of your email before the @ sign. Write the word, then say each Spanish letter name slowly without looking at English.

Model

Marta → eme, a, erre, te, a

I can now…

This checklist is for you; no personal text is saved or submitted.

Three things to keep

Your alphabet summary

  1. Modern Spanish has 27 letters, including Ñ.
  2. Spelling uses Spanish letter names such as jota, eñe, and equis.
  3. Some names vary by region, while CH and LL are digraphs rather than separate letters.

Review tomorrow: play the four audio groups once, then spell your name without the table.

Sources used for this lesson