The Spanish Alphabet

The Spanish alphabet, known as el abecedario or el alfabeto, contains 27 letters. It is nearly identical to the English alphabet, with one notable addition: the letter ñ. Learning the names of each letter is essential for spelling words aloud, understanding abbreviations, and following along in a classroom setting.

The 27 Letters

Modern Spanish has 27 letters. Historically, the digraphs ch and ll were counted as separate letters and had their own entries in dictionaries, but the Real Academia Española removed them from the alphabet in 2010. You will still see them referenced in older dictionaries and textbooks, but they are no longer considered individual letters.

Complete Letter Table

Here is each letter with its Spanish name and an example word.

The Historical Digraphs: CH and LL

Although ch and ll are no longer counted as separate letters, they still represent single sounds and behave as indivisible units when dividing words into syllables. You will see them referred to as letras in older books.

Regional Names for Some Letters

A few letters have more than one accepted name, depending on the country:

In Latin America you will often hear ve corta (short v) and be larga (long b) used to distinguish v from b when spelling aloud, since both letters sound identical.

Foreign Letters

The letters k and w are rare in native Spanish words and appear almost exclusively in loanwords such as kilo, kiwi, web, and whisky. Most Spanish words avoid these letters entirely.

Next Steps

Now that you know the letters, the next step is to hear them. Continue to Vowel Sounds to learn the five pure vowels of Spanish, then explore individual consonants such as B and V and the unique N and Ñ.