Each vowel in Spanish is represented by one phonetic sound, and accent marks are used only to determine the amount of stress needed. After each of the following vowel explanations you will have the opportunity to practice repeating sentences that reinforce the sounds presented.

Take advantage and practice your accent until you feel comfortable that you have mastered the material below.

a
There is only one sound for a. Just open your mouth and say ahhh.

VOWEL - a, á
SYMBOL - ah
PRONUNCIATION - a as in ma

Mariana is going home now with Susana’s mother.
Mariana va a su casa ahora con la mamá de Susana.
mah-ree-yah-nah bah ah soo kah-sah ah-oh-rah kohn lah mah-MAH deh soo-sah-nah.

e
There is one sound for the vowel e:

VOWEL - e, é
SYMBOL - eh
PRONUNCIATION - e as in gate

Enrique Estevez is the man from Chile.
Enrique Estevez es el hombre de Chile.
ehn-ree-keh ehs-teh-behs ehs ehl ohm-breh deh chee-leh

i
The i is pretty straightforward and easy to pronounce as an ee sound:

VOWEL - i, í
SYMBOL - ee
PRONUNCIATION - i as in magazine

Isidro is an Italian individual.
Isidro es un individuo italiano.
ee-see-droh ehs oon een-dee-bee-doo-woh ee-tahl-ee-yah-noh

o
Round your lips to get the o sound:

VOWEL - o, ó
SYMBOL - oh
PRONUNCIATION - o as in go

I don’t understand it.
Yo no lo comprendo.
yoh noh loh kohm-prehn-doh

u
Say the sound oo as in moo when pronouncing u:

VOWEL - u, ú
SYMBOL - oo
PRONUNCIATION - oo as in too

You use a pen in a university.
Tú usas una pluma en una universidad.
too oo-sahs oo-nah ploo-mah ehn oo-nah oo-nee-behr-see-dad.

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