Introduction to Spanish

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.

Lesson 1: Spanish Pronunciation

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

Lesson 2: Numbers

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

Lesson 3: Time

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

End of Module Review

By the end of this module, you will have:

Learned basic Spanish pronunciation, giving you the tools to read, spell, and say words correctly.
Learn numbers from 1 to 20, enabling you to count, discuss quantities, and understand basic numerical concepts.
Build a solid base for progressing to more complex vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills.