Vowels in Spanish – Lesson 5

The 5 vowels in Spanish

In the previous grammar lesson we went over the alphabet, including the vowels. But there’s something special about the Spanish vowels that deserves its own lesson, because once you get it, reading and pronouncing Spanish becomes so much easier.

Spanish has 5 vowels, and each one has one sound:

Vowel	Sounds like	Example
a	“ah”, like in father	manzana (apple)
e	“eh”, like in bed	mesa (table)
i	“ee”, like in see	idea (idea)
o	“oh”, like in more	ojo (eye)
u	“oo”, like in food	uva (grape)

The golden rule: one vowel, one sound

Here’s the most important thing to understand: Spanish vowels always have the same sound. The sound doesn’t change depending on the letters around it.

That’s a big difference with English, where one vowel can have lots of different sounds. Think about the letter a in these English words: apple, also, radio. Three words, three different a sounds.

In Spanish, the a always sounds like “ah”. Every time.

Spanish vowels with examples

A: always “ah”

Look at manzana: three a’s, and all three sound exactly the same. And radio isn’t “RAY-dio” like in English: it’s “RAH-dio”.

E: always “eh”

Short and clear, every time. Not “ee”, not “ay”: just “eh”. Elefante sounds like “eh-leh-FAHN-teh”.

I: always “ee”

In English, the i in idea, military and image sounds different every time. In Spanish, it’s always “ee”.

O: always “oh”

In pollo you also see the double L again, which sounds like a “y”. (I promise I’ll stop repeating it… but every time you see ll, it becomes y!) And in gordo, the g is followed by an o, so it has the soft g sound you learned in the alphabet lesson.

U: always “oo”

In English, uniform starts with a “you” sound. In Spanish it’s just “oo”: “oo-nee-FOR-meh”.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Making vowels long or “gliding” them. Spanish vowels are short and crisp. No is “noh”, not “noh-oo”.
• Pronouncing the e like “ee”. Me is “meh”, not “mee”.
• Saying the u like “you”. Uno is “OO-noh”, not “YOU-noh”.
• Swallowing unstressed vowels. In English, many vowels become a vague “uh” sound. In Spanish, every vowel is pronounced clearly, also at the end of a word: grande is “GRAHN-deh”.

Practice: read these words out loud

Use the 5 vowel sounds to read these words. Say them out loud first, then check.

1. How do you pronounce casa (house)?

“KAH-sah”: both a’s sound like “ah”.

2. How do you pronounce bebé (baby)?

“beh-BEH”: both e’s sound like “eh”, with the stress on the last one.

3. How do you pronounce libro (book)?

“LEE-broh”.

4. How do you pronounce tomate (tomato)?

“toh-MAH-teh”: not “to-MAY-to”!

5. How do you pronounce música (music)?

“MOO-see-kah”: the u is “oo”, not “you”.

Quiz: test your Spanish vowels

Ready? Answer the questions to see how much you remember.

Frequently asked questions about Spanish vowels

What are the 5 vowels in Spanish?

A, e, i, o, u, pronounced “ah”, “eh”, “ee”, “oh” and “oo”.

Are Spanish vowels easier than English vowels?

Yes! English vowels can have many different sounds, but each Spanish vowel always has just one sound. That makes Spanish much easier to read out loud.

Do Spanish vowels ever change their sound?

No. A Spanish vowel sounds the same at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Accents (like in café) don’t change the vowel sound either: they only show which syllable gets the stress.

Before you go to the next lesson

This was a short lesson, but a really important one. Now that you know the vowels always sound the same, it’s much easier to read new words and guess how to pronounce them. In English there are so many ways to pronounce the same letter; in Spanish, it’s always just one sound.

Got a question? Leave it in the comments on YouTube, I’m happy to help. ¡Adiós y hasta la próxima!