Spanish Alphabet: 27 Letters, Names + Pronunciation

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, from a to z, including the separate letter ñ. The recommended names begin a, be, ce, de and end uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta. Learn the letter names for spelling aloud, but learn sounds inside words separately: one letter can represent different sounds depending on its position and the speaker's accent.

The Real Academia Española's orthography appendix for learners lists the 27 letters and explains that spelling-to-sound correspondence is not exact. Its summary of the 2010 orthography changes records the recommended common letter names and explains why ch and ll are digraphs rather than additional letters. Those sources support the written inventory and names; they do not establish one universal accent or prove a learning result.

Spanish alphabet chart: letters and names

Use the cue column to rehearse the name of the letter, not every sound that the letter makes in words. Capital and lowercase forms have the same name.

The English-style cues are deliberately approximate. Keep the vowel in be, ce, de, pe, and te short and steady rather than turning it into the English sound in “day.” If your goal is accurate production, listen to a trusted recording from the community where you plan to speak and compare whole words, not isolated cues alone.

Letter names are not the same as sounds in words

Knowing that g is called ge does not tell you how it sounds in every word. These contrasts matter more than memorising an English approximation:

The official inventory also notes that h represents no sound in standard Spanish while some borrowed words can behave differently. Treat this page as a spelling and practice map, not a complete phonology course. For a method that focuses on intelligibility rather than imitation, see intelligibility versus a native accent.

Why ch and ll are not separate alphabet letters

Ch and ll remain part of Spanish spelling, but each is a digraph: two written letters used together. They are therefore alphabetised under c and l, not in independent sections after those letters. The same inventory contains other two-letter spellings such as rr, qu, gu, and ch without counting them as extra alphabet letters.

That distinction is practical. When you spell llave, say ele, ele, a, uve, e. When you spell chico, say ce, hache, i, ce, o. You are naming the written letters, even when two letters work together to represent a sound.

B, v, w, and y have regional name variants

The recommended common labels are be, uve, uve doble, and ye. The RAE summary also records established alternatives. Depending on the speaker, you may hear ve with a qualifier such as corta or baja, several orders of doble with ve or uve, and i griega for y. Those names are not errors simply because they differ from the recommended common list.

If a spelling exchange becomes unclear, ask for an example:

¿B de Barcelona o v de Valencia? — V de Valencia.

B as in Barcelona or v as in Valencia? — V as in Valencia.

Use a familiar example rather than assuming that everyone uses the same qualifier. The practical aim is to identify the letter, not to win a debate about its local name.

An audio-ready listen, pause, and repeat script

The following units are short enough to record later as separate clips or read aloud now. The slash marks a pause; it is not punctuation to pronounce.

1. Vowels: a, e, i, o, u / repeat twice / then spell audio: a, u, de, i, o.
2. First consonant set: be, ce, de, efe, ge, hache, jota, ka / repeat in reverse / then spell café.
3. Second consonant set: ele, eme, ene, eñe, pe, cu, erre, ese, te / repeat / then spell señor.
4. Final set: uve, uve doble, equis, ye, zeta / repeat / then spell Vega and wifi.
5. Contrast round: be–uve, ene–eñe, i–ye, cu–ka, ese–zeta / identify the letter before seeing it.

A future recorded version should use a named speaker and disclose the speaker's accent. Until then, this script is audio-ready, not evidence of native audio review. The listen-and-speak practice loop explains how to compare a model, record a response, and retry one small contrast.

Printable spelling card and practice routine

Copy or print the alphabet chart, then fold the page so only the Letter column is visible. Work in both directions:

1. Point to a letter and say its Spanish name without reading the cue.
2. Hear or imagine a letter name and write the capital and lowercase form.
3. Spell a useful word, phone contact, street name, or email username aloud.
4. Mark only the letters that slowed you down; do not restart the whole alphabet.
5. Repeat those marked contrasts after a short break and again the next day.

For a real information-gap drill, Person A chooses one entry from the card and spells it without showing it. Person B writes what they hear, reads it back, and asks one repair question when needed. The Spanish conversation-repair guide provides requests such as ¿Puede repetirlo? and ¿Cómo se escribe?

Ten-question alphabet quiz

Answer aloud before checking the key.

1. How many letters are in the current Spanish alphabet?
2. Which letter comes after n?
3. What is the recommended name of v?
4. What is the recommended name of y?
5. Are ch and ll separate alphabet letters?
6. Spell niño using Spanish letter names.
7. Which written letter normally represents no sound in standard Spanish?
8. Which two letters begin the spelling of queso?
9. Give one clear way to distinguish b from v while spelling aloud.
10. Spell the weekday lunes using Spanish letter names.

Finish by using the alphabet for a communicative job: spell a reservation name, confirm an email address, or correct one letter. Random retrieval is more useful than reciting only from a to z. You can combine the same method with the Spanish numbers 1–100 chart to practise phone numbers and booking references, or spell the names from the Spanish days of the week guide before using them in a schedule.

Limits and commercial disclosure

Spanish pronunciation varies across and within countries. The chart gives recommended letter names and approximate English-facing cues; it does not map every sound, dialect, loanword, or historical spelling. It also does not claim that one recorded accent would be neutral or universally preferred. For names, addresses, medicine, legal information, or other high-stakes spelling, confirm the result with the person or organisation responsible.

LinguaLive sells commercial AI speaking practice and may benefit when readers choose to practise Spanish. This reference, quiz, and repetition routine do not prove a learning outcome, replace a qualified teacher, or make automated pronunciation feedback authoritative.

Frequently asked questions

How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?

The current Spanish alphabet has 27 letters. It contains the 26 basic Latin letters used in English plus ñ as a separate letter.

Are ch and ll letters in Spanish?

Ch and ll are used in Spanish, but they are digraphs made from two letters. They are no longer counted as separate alphabet letters.

What are v and y called in Spanish?

The recommended common names are uve for v and ye for y. You may also hear established regional alternatives such as ve and i griega.

Is the Spanish alphabet phonetic?

Spanish spelling has many regular patterns, but one letter does not always map to one sound. C, g, r, y, and x are examples whose pronunciation can depend on position, word, or accent.

Sources and editorial review

This guide was checked against its primary official or academic reference on 28 August 2026. Language usage can vary by region, relationship, and situation. Review the primary source.