Pronunciation of C and S

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

17 questions

2. Lesson 2

16 questions

3. Lesson 3

12 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

The letter c in Spanish can be pronounced various ways:

like the k in the English word kick, as in cama(bed), eco(echo), and bistec(steak)—but not before e or i

like the s in the English word sun, as in cero(zero) and vecino(neighbor)—only before e or i (in Latin America, the Canaries, and southern Spain)

like the th in the English word thing—only before e or i (in central and northern Spain)

The letter sin Spanish is pronounced like the letter s in English, as in the words sound and mustard. Compare the sound of s in sound and mustard with the sound of s in their Spanish translations: sonidoand mostaza.

The Sounds of the Letter C

C Is a Consonant

The letter c represents the Spanish consonant sounds, or phonemes, /k/, /s/, and /θ/. When a consonant sound is uttered, the flow of air out of the mouth is partially or completely blocked at some point.

The name of this letter is pronounced ce.

How to Pronounce C in Spanish

Pronunciation 1

The first way to pronounce c in Spanish is like the English c in car or the k in kangaroo, but without any trace of aspiration. For example, you can hear this sound in carro(car) and canguro(kangaroo).

Remember that aspiration is the sound of air being exhaled after certain letters.

Tongue Position in Mouth

This sound of the Spanish c is velar, which means it is pronounced by pressing the back of the tongue against the soft palate to stop the flow of air completely for an instant. Then the air is let out abruptly.

Additionally, the vocal cords do not vibrate when uttering this c, so linguists classify it as voiceless, or sordain Spanish.

When Do You Pronounce C Like This?

This sound of the letter c is used:

before the letter a, as in capitán(captain) or boca(mouth)
before the letter o, as in comer(eat) or abanico(fan)
before the letter u, as in cubrir(to cover) or acusar(accuse)
before any consonant (including c), as in clase(class), cruz(cross), or dirección(address)
at the end of a word, as in aeróbic(aerobics)

Where Can I Hear C Pronounced This Way?

This pronunciation of c is used both in Latin American and European Spanish.

Pronunciation 2

The second way to pronounce c is very similar to the English c in center or the s in sentence. Compare the pronunciation of c in center and sentence with the sound of c in their Spanish translations (please select the Latin American pronunciation option): centroand oración.

Tongue Position in Mouth

The second pronunciation of the Spanish c is alveolar, which means it is pronounced by touching—or almost touching—the gum ridge with the tongue, leaving a narrow opening to let the air out and make a hissing sound.

Additionally, the vocal cords do not vibrate when uttering this c, so linguists classify it as voiceless, or sordain Spanish.

When Do You Pronounce C Like This?

This sound of the letter c is used only:

before the letter e, as in cena(dinner), hacer(do, make), or catorce(fourteen) (please select the Latin American pronunciation option)
before the letter i, as in cinco(five), bocina(horn), or bici(bike) (please select the Latin American pronunciation option)

Where Can I Hear C Pronounced This Way?

This pronunciation of c is used in Latin American countries and two large parts of Spain: the Canary Islands—in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the African coast—and Andalusia, in southern mainland Spain.

Pronunciation 3

The third way to pronounce c is very similar to the English th in birth. Compare the sound of the th in the English word birth with the sound of c in its translation (please select the Spain pronunciation option): nacimiento.

Tongue Position in Mouth

The third sound of the Spanish c is interdental, which means it is pronounced with the tongue between the teeth, leaving a narrow opening to let the air out and make a buzzing sound.

Additionally, the vocal cords do not vibrate when uttering this c, so linguists classify it as voiceless, or sordain Spanish.

When Do You Pronounce C Like This?

This sound of the letter c is used only:

before the letter e, as in cena(dinner), hacer(do, make), or catorce(fourteen) (please select the Spain pronunciation option)
before the letter i, as in cinco(five), bocina(horn), or bici(bike) (please select the Spain pronunciation option)

Where Can I Hear C Pronounced This Way?

This pronunciation of c is only used in central and northern mainland Spain, as well as on the Balearic Islands.

The Canary Effect

Speakers from Andalucía(Andalusia) and las Islas Canarias(The Canary Islands), two regions of Spain, pronounce the letters c and z just like speakers from Latin America (that is, they use an s rather than a th sound). In fact, Latin American Spanish owes its pronunciation of these letters to early Spanish explorers from Andalucía and las Islas Canarias who brought their language and particular pronunciation to the Caribbean and the Americas. This spread of the Andalusian/Canary Islands accent to the New World is known as "The Canary Effect."

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter c, with their different pronunciation types and corresponding English sounds, in different word positions and letter combinations. Please note that to hear types 2 and 3, you must select the Latin American or Spain pronunciation options.

Spanish	English	Pronunciation Type and Equivalent	Phoneme	Position	Combination
cama	bed	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	beginning of word	before a
recado	message	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	inside word	before a
roca	rock	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	end of word	before a
copa	glass	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	beginning of word	before o
rencor	resentment	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	inside word	before o
loco	crazy	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	end of word	before o
cubo	bucket	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	beginning of word	before u
escudo	shield	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	inside word	before u
cucú	cuckoo	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	end of word	before u
crudo	raw	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	beginning of word	before consonant
anécdota	anecdote	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	inside word	before consonant
acción	action	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	inside word	before c
pícnic	picnic	Type 1 (like English k)	/k/	end of word	---
cerro	hill	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	beginning of word	before e
pecera	fishbowl	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	inside word	before e
trece	thirteen	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	end of word	before e
cielo	sky	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	beginning of word	before i
cocinera	cook	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	inside word	before i
UCI	ICU	Type 2-3 (like English s-th)	/s/-/θ/	end of word	before I

The Sound of the Letter S

S Is a Consonant

The letter s represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /s/. When a consonant sound is uttered, the flow of air out of the mouth is partially or completely blocked at some point.

The name of this letter is pronounced ese.

How to Pronounce S in Spanish

The Spanish s is alveolar, which means it is pronounced with the tip of the tongue near or touching the gums of the upper teeth. The air is uninterruptedly expelled through a small gap between the tongue and the gums. To describe this constant flow of air in a consonant, linguists use the term fricative, or fricativain Spanish.

Additionally, the vocal cords do not vibrate when uttering s, so linguists classify it as voiceless, or sordain Spanish. Check out how the s is pronounced in these words: saco(sack), sí(yes), asado(grilled), esperar(to wait), ensalada(salad), and además(besides).

Is the Spanish S Similar to the English S?

Yes, it’s almost identical to the English s in same or this. Compare the s in same and this to the Spanish s found in their translations: mismoand este.

In general, the pronunciation of s does not change across the Spanish-speaking world, but there are some important dialectal variations, such as the aspirated or silent s and the ceceo. Read on to learn more!

The Aspirated or Silent S

In some areas, such as Chile and parts of the Caribbean or Spain, you may hear native speakers replace the sound of s at the end of a syllable or word with a soft aspirated sound that is similar to the English h of hello. In this case, the s in a word like oscuro(dark) may be aspirated and pronounced /ohkúɾo/. In some parts, this sound becomes so soft that it's lost altogether, so you may hear a word like detrás(behind) pronounced /detɾá/.

So, What Is Ceceo?

Ceceo is the term linguists use to refer to the pronunciation of the letter s in Spanish like the th in thing in English. This sound, or phoneme, is represented by the symbol /θ/. It is used by native speakers from certain areas of Spain, particularly Andalusia (a region in southern Spain). Be prepared to hear some Andalusian Spanish speakers pronounce paso(step) as /páθo/ rather than the standard /páso/.

Words That Start with an S + a Consonant

Words beginning with an s and followed by a consonant are not common in Spanish. They’re usually loanwords that Spanish has borrowed from other languages, like English. Because Spanish speakers aren’t used to beginning words like this, they will normally place an imaginary e before the s to facilitate its pronunciation. For that reason, the word sketch(sketch) is pronounced /eskéʧ/ in Spanish. This has brought about Hispanic variant spellings for some of these foreign loanwords, for example: espray(spray).

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter s in different word positions and letter combinations.

Spanish	English	Position-Combination
sabio	wise	beginning of word + vowel
seta	mushroom	beginning of word + vowel
siete	seven	beginning of word + vowel
sordo	deaf	beginning of word + vowel
subir	to go up	beginning of word + vowel
Asia	Asia	inside word + between vowels
hermosura	beauty	inside word + between vowels
mesa	table	inside word + between vowels
bolsa	bag	inside word + beginning of syllable
consejo	advice	inside word + beginning of syllable
sonrisa	smile	inside word + beginning of syllable
ajustado	tight	inside word + end of syllable
destino	destiny	inside word + end of syllable
obstruir	to block	inside word + end of syllable
adiós	goodbye	end of word
caos	chaos	end of word
martes	Tuesday	end of word

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter s has some dialectal variations, as explained above, but its standard pronunciation varies very little throughout the Spanish-speaking world. There shouldn’t be much difference between the way soso(dull) sounds in Guadalajara, Cali, or Arequipa.

Now let's take a look at some sentences that contain c and s in Spanish!

Spanish	English
La actriz de acción está en la cima de su carrera profesional.	The action actress is at the peak of her career.
La sal se cayó por el suelo de la casa.	The salt fell on the floor of the house.
La sirena miró al cielo desde el océano.	The mermaid looked up at the sky from the ocean.
Sonia leyó la receta antes de ir al mercado.	Sonia read the recipe before going to the market.
Samuel manejó el coche por la calle nueva.	Samuel drove the car down the new street.
El doctor exploró el corazón de la paciente.	The doctor examined the patient's heart.
Sara puso la cuna al lado de la cama.	Sara placed the crib next to the bed.
Sandra se puso los zapatos rojos.	Sandra put on her red shoes.
¿De qué color es el sombrero?	What color is the hat?
Me gusta la blusa de seda rosa.	I like the pink silk blouse.
La sombrilla de Santiago es roja y gris.	Santiago's beach umbrella is red and gray.
Sofía, ¿te gusta el vestido fucsia o el celeste?	Sofia, do you like the fuchsia dress or the light-blue one?