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Silent h, b and v, soft d

Hola is written with four letters but has three sounds: the h is silent.

Some Spanish letters are quieter than their English twins. This unit covers the silent h, the shared sound of b and v, the soft d, and the p, t and k sounds, which Spanish says without the puff of air English adds at the start of a word. Each change is small, but together they make a clear difference to how natural you sound.

h is silent

The RAE describes h as the only letter of the alphabet that stands for no sound. Hola is said ola, hotel is otel, ahora (now) is aora, and hablar (to speak) begins with the a. The h matters only inside the digraph ch, and in a few borrowed words such as hámster, where it is breathed like a soft j.

BackgroundWhy keep a letter nobody pronounces? Mostly for history. Some words already had h in Latin: hora (hour) and hombre (man, from Latin hominem). Many more come from Latin words that began with f. In medieval Castilian that f weakened to a breathy h and later disappeared, but the spelling kept a trace of it: facere became hacer (to do), farina became harina (flour), filium became hijo (son) and ferrum became hierro (iron). Portuguese fazer and Italian fare kept the f.

b and v sound the same

There is no difference in pronunciation between b and v in Spanish. Both are made with the two lips, never with the upper teeth on the lower lip as in English very. Pairs like baca (roof rack) and vaca (cow), or bello (beautiful) and vello (body hair), sound exactly alike, so spelling has to be learned word by word. At the start of a phrase or after m or n the lips close fully: vamos (let’s go), un vaso (a glass). Between vowels the lips only come close, giving a softer sound: uva (grape), lobo (wolf).

Soft d

At the start of a phrase and after n or l, d is firm, with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth: dos (two), donde (where), falda (skirt). Between vowels it softens to a sound like the th in English this: cada (each), nada (nothing), todo (everything). At the end of a word it is very light, and in parts of Spain nearly silent: Madrid, usted, verdad (truth).

p, t and k without a puff

Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say pin in English: you feel a puff of air. Now say spin: almost no puff. Spanish p, t and k are always like the ones in spin. Say papá, taco and casa with no puff. The t is also made further forward than in English, with the tongue touching the upper teeth.

If you hear a b sound and are unsure whether it is written b or v, check a dictionary. Listening alone cannot tell you.

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.

Hola, ¿hablas español? · Hi, do you speak Spanish?
Ahora no, gracias. · Not now, thank you.
Hoy hace calor. · It is hot today.
una vaca y un burro · a cow and a donkey
Vamos a Valencia. · Let’s go to Valencia.
cada día, nada, todo · every day, nothing, everything
¿De verdad? ¿Usted es de Madrid? · Really? Are you from Madrid?
papá, taco, casa · dad, taco, house

hola	hello
hablar	to speak
ahora	now
hacer	to do, to make
hijo	son
harina	flour
vaca	cow
uva	grape
vamos	let’s go
nada	nothing
todo	everything
verdad	truth
papá	dad

Hola, ¿hablas español? Sí, un poco. ¿De verdad? Hablas muy bien. Gracias, eres muy amable.

How is the h in hola pronounced?
- It is silent
- Like English h
- Like Spanish j
How do b and v compare in Spanish?
- Exactly the same
- v uses teeth and lip
- b is louder
Hacer comes from which Latin word?
- facere
- habere
- hora
How is the d in nada pronounced?
- Soft, like th in this
- Hard, like English d
- Silent
How are Spanish p, t and k said?
- Without a puff of air
- With a strong puff
- Through the nose
Baca (roof rack) and vaca (cow) sound…
- identical
- different
- different only in Spain
In which word is the h pronounced?
- hámster
- hola
- ahora
Type the Spanish word for hello.
What do you use to make the Spanish v?
- Both lips
- Upper teeth on lower lip
- The tongue
Latin farina became…
- harina
- farina
- arena
In which word is the d firm?
- dos
- cada
- todo

Key points

h is silent (except in ch).
b = v, both with the lips.
d softens between vowels; p, t, k have no puff.