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c, z, g and j

In Madrid, cena (dinner) begins like the th in think. In Mexico City it begins with an s.

Two Spanish letters, c and g, change their sound depending on the vowel that follows. The rule is the same for both: before a, o and u they are hard, and before e and i they turn soft. Learn the pattern once and it covers both letters, plus the spellings qu and gu that Spanish uses to work around it.

c, z and qu

Before a, o and u, c is a k sound: casa (house), cosa (thing), cuna (cradle). Before e and i it changes: cena (dinner), cine (cinema). In most of Spain that sound is the th of think. In all of Latin America, the Canary Islands and much of Andalusia it is an s, so cena sounds like sena. The letter z has the same value as soft c in every position: zapato (shoe), azul (blue), luz (light).

To write a k sound before e or i, Spanish uses qu, and the u is silent: queso (cheese), quince (fifteen), aquí (here). A few borrowed words such as kilo keep a k. So the k sound has three spellings, c, qu and k, and the next letter decides which one is used.

g, j and gu

Before a, o and u, g is hard, as in English go: gato (cat), gota (drop), gusto (pleasure). Before e and i it takes the same rough sound as j: gente (people), gimnasio (gym). The letter j has that sound before every vowel: jamón (ham), joven (young), Juan, jugo (juice). It is made at the back of the mouth with a stream of air, as if breathing on cold hands but further back. In central and northern Spain it is strong and scratchy; in many parts of Latin America it is softer, close to the h in house.

To keep g hard before e or i, Spanish inserts a silent u: guerra (war), guitarra (guitar), Miguel. When that u must be heard, it gets two dots, called diéresis: pingüino (penguin), vergüenza (shame), bilingüe (bilingual).

BackgroundMedieval Spanish had more hissing sounds than Spanish has today, and they merged differently in different places. In central and northern Spain the result was two sounds, s and the th of think, so casa (house) and caza (hunt) are different words there. In the south of Spain, the Canary Islands and the Americas the same sounds became one, so casa and caza sound alike. This is called seseo. The RAE’s Diccionario panhispánico de dudas says seseo is general in all of Spanish America and fully accepted in educated speech. The spelling did not change, which is why speakers with seseo still have to learn whether a word is written with s, z or c.
The voice on this page is from Spain (es-ES), so you will hear the th sound in cena and zapato. If you will mostly use Spanish in the Americas, say s instead. Both are correct.
The grey hints under each line are rough English respellings, with the stressed syllable in capitals. Treat them as a first guess and copy the recording, which uses a voice from Spain.
  • casa, cosa, cuna · house, thing, cradle
  • La cena es a las nueve. · Dinner is at nine.
  • un zapato azul · a blue shoe
  • Quiero queso. · I want cheese.
  • gato, gota, gusto · cat, drop, pleasure
  • La gente joven come jamón. · Young people eat ham.
  • Miguel toca la guitarra. · Miguel plays the guitar.
  • un pingüino · a penguin
casahouse
cenadinner
cinecinema
zapatoshoe
azulblue
quesocheese
aquíhere
gatocat
gentepeople
jamónham
jovenyoung
guitarraguitar
pingüinopenguin

¿Qué quieres para la cena? Quiero queso y jamón. ¿Y para beber? Un zumo de naranja, gracias. ¡Aquí tienes!

  1. How is c in cena pronounced in most of Spain?
    • like th in think
    • like k
    • like ch
  2. How is c in cena pronounced in Mexico?
    • like s
    • like th
    • like k
  3. What is seseo?
    • Saying soft c and z as s
    • Dropping final s
    • Saying s as th
  4. In queso, the u is…
    • silent
    • pronounced like w
    • pronounced like oo
  5. g in gente sounds like…
    • the Spanish j
    • the g in go
    • the s in measure
  6. g in gato sounds like…
    • the g in go
    • the Spanish j
    • nothing
  7. Why is there a u in guitarra?
    • To keep g hard before i
    • Because it is pronounced
    • It is a spelling mistake
  8. What do the two dots in pingüino tell you?
    • Pronounce the u
    • Stress the u
    • Skip the u
  9. Type the Spanish word for cheese.
  10. Which letter always has the same sound as c before e and i?
    • z
    • k
    • q
  11. According to the RAE, is seseo correct?
    • Yes, fully accepted
    • No, it is an error
    • Only in writing
Key points
  • c, g hard before a, o, u; soft before e, i.
  • Soft c and z: th in most of Spain, s elsewhere (seseo).
  • qu, gu: silent u. gü: spoken u.