Explanation
Depending on its position in the word or the sentence, the pronunciation of the letter din Spanish is either:
- similar to the English d in day, but with the tip of the tongue against or near the teeth rather than the gums
or
- similar to the English th in father
Compare the d and th sounds in day and father with the sounds of d in their Spanish translations: díaand padre.
The pronunciation of the letter tin Spanish is similar to that of the letter t in English, but avoiding any aspiration. The tongue position is also different. You lower the tip of the tongue to touch the back of the upper teeth, rather than the gums. Compare the sound of the English t in captain with the sound of t in its Spanish translation, capitán.
Remember that aspiration is the sound of air being exhaled after certain letters.
D Is a Consonant
The letter d represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /d/. 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 de.
How to Pronounce D in Spanish
The Spanish d can be pronounced two ways. The first way to pronounce d is by pressing the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper teeth to stop the flow of air completely for an instant and then let it out abruptly. The second way to pronounce d is by bringing the tip of the tongue between the teeth without actually stopping the flow of air completely.
Unlike the sound t, which is a similar sound, the vocal cords vibrate when uttering d, so linguists classify it as voiced, or sonorain Spanish. Check out how d is pronounced in these words: daño(damage), dragón(dragon), pedal(pedal), acordeón(accordion), soldar(weld), and alud(avalanche).
Is the Spanish D Similar to the English D?
Sometimes it’s similar to the English d in words such as different or abundant, but you must remember that—in Spanish—the tip of your tongue will be placed behind your upper teeth rather than touching your gums. You will hear this sound in Spanish at the beginning of a word or after the letters l or n, as in the Spanish translations of different and abundant: diferenteand abundante.
However, in all other word positions, the Spanish d is closer to the English th in mother. To produce this sound, the tip of the tongue is placed between the teeth. Linguists represent this variant sound of d as [ð̞]. You may hear it inside a word between vowels and/or consonants (except after l or n), for example: dedo(finger), soleado(sunny), madre(mother), verde(green), etc.
When D Becomes Softer or Silent
In everyday colloquial or dialectal speech, the sound of d between vowels or at the end of a word is usually softened—sometimes even silent—particularly in common endings such as that of the participle -ado. So don’t be surprised if you hear acabado(finished) pronounced as /akabáo/ or salud(health) as /salú/. Even if you hear native speakers pronounce words this way, you should stick to the standard pronunciation!
Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter d in different word positions and letter combinations.
The Sound of the Letter T
T Is a Consonant
The letter t represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /t/. 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 te.
How to Pronounce T in Spanish
The Spanish t is dental, which means it is pronounced by pressing the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper teeth to stop the flow of air completely for an instant. Then the air is let out abruptly.
The vocal cords do not vibrate when uttering t, so linguists classify it as voiceless, or sordain Spanish. Check out how it is pronounced in these words: tapa(lid), trueno(thunder), meta(goal), cierto(true), sentarse(sit), clóset(closet).
Is the Spanish T Similar to the English T?
It is like the English t in words like take or cut, but this English t is often pronounced with an aspiration that is not used in Spanish. Note that there's no hissing sound, or aspiration, when uttering the t in the Spanish translations of take and cut: tomarand cortar.
Remember that aspiration is the sound of air being exhaled after certain letters.
The Spanish t is pronounced, as explained above, by pressing the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper teeth. Note that in English, the tip of the tongue is placed higher and with little or no contact with the teeth. Compare the position of the tongue in the American pronunciation of the English word letter and its Spanish translation, letra.
How to Pronounce Tl And Tx in Spanish
If you come across common everyday words that contain the letter group tl, you are bound to hear native speakers pronounce it various ways. One example is the word atlas(atlas), which may be pronounced /át-las/ or /á-tlas/. Both pronunciations are fine.
The letter group tl is also very common in Mexican Spanish because there are many words that come from Nahuatl, one of the indigenous languages of Mexico. You can see this, for example, in common nouns such as tlapatería(hardware store) or geographical names like Popocatépetl(a famous volcano near Mexico City).
If you’re in Spain, you may see words that are sometimes written with a tx. These words come from Basque, a language spoken in central northern Spain and the south of France. More often than not, these words have been Hispanicized with a ch, so txistu(a Basque wind instrument that is like a tin whistle) is commonly written and pronounced chistu.
Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter t in different word positions and letter combinations.
Now let's take a look at some sentences that contain d and t in Spanish!
Want to learn more about Spanish pronunciation? Check out the following articles!
• How to Pronounce the Letter "D" in Spanish
• How to Pronounce the Letter "T" in Spanish
• SPA, IPA, and ABC Pronunciation
