Welcome to Vida Antigua’s: Introduction to Spanish, the foundation of your Spanish language journey. In this module, you’ll start building essential skills by learning the basic pronunciation rules, numbers from 1 to 20, and time. These building blocks are crucial for understanding and speaking Spanish with clarity and confidence.
Spanish pronunciation is generally consistent compared to English. Some key rules to remember:
A: pronounced like “ah” (as in “father”)
E: pronounced like “eh” (as in “bet”)
I: pronounced like “ee” (as in “see”)
O: pronounced like “oh” (as in “go”)
U: pronounced like “oo” (as in “food”)
Consonants:
C before e or i sounds like “s”, as in cero (SEH-roh) – zero. Before other vowels, it sounds like “k”, as in calor (kah-LOHR) – hot.
G before e or i sounds like a soft “h”, as in generoso (heh-neh-ROH-soh) – generous. Before other vowels, it has a hard “g”, as in gato (GAH-toh) – cat.
H is silent in Spanish, as in hola (OH-lah) – hello.
J is pronounced like a strong “h”, as in jefe (HEH-feh) – boss.
LL is pronounced like a “y” sound, as in tortilla (tor-TEE-yah) – tortilla.
Ñ is pronounced like the “ny” sound in the English word canyon, as in español (ehs-pahn-YOHL) – Spanish.
Q is pronounced like a “k”, as in qué (KEH) – what.
RR is pronounced with a strong rolled or trilled r, as in perro (PEH-rroh) – dog.
V is pronounced like a soft “b”, as in vaso (BAH-soh) – glass.
When C comes before i or e sounds like “S“:
Ciudad (see-oo-DAH) – City
Cine (SEE-neh) – Cinema
Celebración (seh-leh-brah-see-ohn) – Celebration
When C comes before other vowels, it sounds like “K”:
Casa (KAH-sah) – House
Comida (koh-MEE-dah) – Food
Coche (KOH-cheh) – Car
Caminar (kah-mee-NAHR) – To walk
Corazón (koh-rah-SOHN) – Heart
When G comes before e or i, it sounds like a soft “H”:
Gente (HEHN-teh) – People
Generoso (heh-neh-ROH-soh) – Generous
Gigante (hee-GAHN-teh) – Giant
When G comes before other vowels, it has a hard “G” sound:
Guapo (GWAH-poh) – Handsome
Gobierno (GOH-BEE-ehr-noh) – Government
Gordo (GOHR-doh) – Fat
Gracias (GRAH-see-ahs) – Thank you
Here is the pronunciation for the numbers 1-10 in Spanish:
Uno (oo-noh) – One
Dos (dohs) – Two
Tres (tres) – Three
Cuatro (kwah-troh) – Four
Cinco (SEEN-koh) – Five
Seis (says) – Six
Siete (SYEH-teh) – Seven
Ocho (OH-choh) – Eight
Nueve (NOO-eh-veh) – Nine
Diez (DYEHS) – Ten
Here is the pronunciation for the numbers 11-20 in Spanish:
Once (OHN-seh) – Eleven
Doce (DOH-seh) – Twelve
Trece (TREH-seh) – Thirteen
Catorce (kah-TOHR-seh) – Fourteen
Quince (KEEN-seh) – Fifteen
Dieciséis (dyeh-see-SAYS) – Sixteen
Diecisiete (dyeh-see-SYEH-teh) – Seventeen
Dieciocho (dyeh-see-OH-choh) – Eighteen
Diecinueve (dyeh-see-NOO-eh-veh) – Nineteen
Veinte (BEYN-teh) – Twenty
Telling Time in Spanish:
¿Qué hora es? – What time is it?
Es la una. – It’s 1:00. (Used for 1:00 only)
Son las dos. – It’s 2:00. (Used for all other hours)
Es la una y media. – It’s 1:30.
Son las tres y cuarto. – It’s 3:15. (Quarter past)
Son las cinco menos cuarto. – It’s 4:45. (Quarter to)
Days of the Week:
Lunes – Monday
Martes – Tuesday
Miércoles – Wednesday
Jueves – Thursday
Viernes – Friday
Sábado – Saturday
Domingo – Sunday
Months of the Year:
Enero – January
Febrero – February
Marzo – March
Abril – April
Mayo – May
Junio – June
Julio – July
Agosto – August
Septiembre – September
Octubre – October
Noviembre – November
Diciembre – December
The 4 Seasons:
Primavera – Spring
Verano – Summer
Otoño – Autumn / Fall
Invierno – Winter
By the end of this module, you will have: