is a soft g, and a gthat is followed by o, a, or u is a hard g. This rule is the same in Spanish and is even more consistent.
The pronunciation of the hard g is the same in both languages. The g in goma (eraser), ganar (to win, earn), or guante (glove) is exactly like “good,” “gallant,” or “gum.” Like in English, a Spanish g is soft if it is followed by an e or i. However, the soft g in Spanish sounds like the English letter h. The g in gente (people) or gitana (gypsy) sounds like the English h in “hat” or “heat.”
To keep their language's pronunciation rules consistent, the Spanish had to face the dilemma of spelling a word with a hard g sound in front of an e or i. To resolve this dilemma, the letter u is placed between the g and e or between the g and i. Since the intent of the u is to produce the hard g sound, the u itself is not pronounced. This is a rare exception to the rule that all vowels are always pronounced. You may be already familiar with the words guerrilla and guitarra. These words can serve as examples to help you avoid the urge to say the gway or gwee sound when you see g and u together.
On extremely rare occasions when the gway or gwee sound is desired, the German symbol called an umlaut (??), translated as diéresis or crema in Spanish, is used to indicate that the u should be pronounced like a wwhen it is in between a g‐i or g‐e. And, the umlaut is used only on the vowel u. Pronounce the word “bilingual,” and then say bilingüe with the same gw sound, and you'll see how the umlaut works.
The letter j
The letter j is always pronounced like the h in “hello” or “happy.” When you need to spell a word with the sound of the English h, followed by an e or i, it is difficult to predict whether to use a j or g. For example, jira andjefe are spelled with a j, and gimnasio and gema are spelled with a g. Your awareness of this difficulty should cause you to focus on whether to use a j or a g when you first learn to spell the word. It is at least certain that words with the h sound in front of o, a, or u (jo, ja, and ju) are always spelled with a j, because a g would be a hard g if it's followed by o, a or u and wouldn't produce the h sound at all.
The letter h
You may be wondering how to pronounce the Spanish letter h when you see it in a Spanish word. The answer is that you don't pronounce it at all. The letter h is always silent. It exists because of the way the language has evolved, but now‐a‐days it is not pronounced, and it seems to confuse spelling issues. There really is no way to predict when a word will begin with a silent h, so be sure to focus on the spelling of words that you learn beginning with a silent h.
The letter d
The letter d is a bit softer in Spanish. It basically sounds like an English d, but will not be stressed at the end of the word like we do in English. Say the word “made” out loud and you'll hear how the strength of the d at the end almost creates its own syllable. In Spanish, any d at the end of the word will barely be pronounced. Say Madrid without the d at the end and you'll sound like a native. Once again, the lack of double consonants makes spelling the d sound easy: It's always a single d in any Spanish word.
The letter t
Another letter that is similar to English, but softer, is the t. It is especially soft when it is followed by an r. The sound of the tr in “triple” would be more like a tl sound in Spanish. Try to say tratar (to try, to treat) without moving your tongue away from the back of your teeth. Or if you don't mind having a slight accent, say the t like in English and keep it simple. When spelling, don't forget that the t will never be doubled in Spanish words.
The letters b and v
The letters b and v sound the same in Spanish. The sound is a combination of bv. To make the sound, start out making the b sound, and slur into the v sound at the last second. When it comes to spelling words that contain a b or a v, many Spanish speakers have difficulty determining which letter to use, but since English speakers often have difficulty pronouncing the bv letter combination, it's 