Pronunciation of L and Ll

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

18 questions

2. Lesson 2

16 questions

3. Lesson 3

14 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

The letter lin Spanish is pronounced like the English letter l in the words light and color. Compare the sound of l in light and color with the sound of l in their Spanish translations: luzand color.

The letter group llhas its own pronunciation in Spanish. In most cases, it sounds like an English y, but some Spanish speakers from certain regions pronounce the ll more like the j in judge. For example, listen to how the ll is pronounced in the word llama(flame). Click here to read more about how the letter group ll is pronounced!

The Sound of the Letter L

L Is a Consonant

The letter l represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /l/. 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 ele.

How to Pronounce L in Spanish

The Spanish l is alveolar, which means it is pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue on the gums of the front teeth. This causes the air to be uninterruptedly expelled through each side of the mouth.

Additionally, the vocal cords vibrate when uttering l, so linguists classify it as voiced, or sonorain Spanish. Check out how it is pronounced in these words: lado(side), libre(free), ala(wing), alfombra(rug), enlace(link), and sol(sun).

Is the Spanish L Similar to the English L?

While the Spanish l is almost identical to the English l in leaf or look, it's quite different from the pronunciation of the l in cold and fold. In words like cold and fold, the tongue is placed further back inside the mouth.

In some regions, such as parts of the Caribbean or Andalusia, you may hear native speakers replace the sound of l at the end of some syllables or words with an r sound—or even drop it altogether! A word like algo(something) may be pronounced /áɾgo/ or azul(blue) may be pronounced /asú/. As always, remember that these pronunciations are regional variants, and it's best to stick with the standard pronunciation of the word.

Examples

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

Example	Translation	Position-Combination
labio	lip	beginning of word + vowel
letra	letter	beginning of word + vowel
lista	list	beginning of word + vowel
lobo	wolf	beginning of word + vowel
luchar	to fight	beginning of word + vowel
elefante	elephant	inside word + between vowels
Italia	Italy	inside word + between vowels
burla	joke	inside word + beginning of syllable
isla	island	inside word + beginning of syllable
alzar	to lift	inside word + end of syllable
delfín	dolphin	inside word + end of syllable
aldea	small village	inside word + end of syllable
abril	April	end of word
canal	channel	end of word
voleibol	volleyball	end of word

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter l varies little throughout the Spanish-speaking world, so there shouldn’t be much difference between the way laurel(laurel) sounds in La Paz, Asunción, or Panama City.

The Sound of the Letters Ll

Spanish llis normally pronounced like the y in the English word yellow, but you may hear some native speakers pronounce it more or less like the j in the English word judge.

Is the Spanish Ll Similar to the English Y?

Most Spanish speakers pronounce ll like the y in the English words yes or yellow. Where will you find these consonants?

At the beginning of a word, always followed by a vowel, as in llave(key) or llover(to rain).
Inside a word, never followed by a consonant, as in hallar(to find).
Never at the end of a word!

Is Ll One or Two Letters?

Ll used to be one of the letters in the Spanish alphabet native speakers learned at school, but it is no longer considered a letter as such. Linguists call it a dígrafo(digraph), a combination of two letters that is pronounced as a single sound. However, many speakers still consider ll a letter and will name it when reciting the Spanish abecedario(alphabet).

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letters ll in different places in Spanish words.

Spanish	English	Where It's Found
aullar	to howl	between vowels
botella	bottle	between vowels
brillar	to shine	between vowels
calle	street	between vowels
cebolla	onion	between vowels
estrella	star	between vowels
llama	flame	beginning of word
llamar	to call	beginning of word
llave	key	beginning of word
lluvia	rain	beginning of word
mantequilla	butter	between vowels
medalla	medal	between vowels
olla	pot	between vowels
paella	paella	between vowels
pollito	chick	between vowels
silla	chair	between vowels

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

Spanish	English
El lobo aulló a la luna.	The wolf howled at the moon.
Las estrellas brillan con luz propia en el cielo.	The stars shine with their own light in the sky.
Resolví mi problema de salud en el hospital.	I solved my health problem at the hospital.
Con toda la lluvia, se mojó la calle.	With all the rain, the street got wet.
Leyó su libro y lo subrayó con un lápiz.	He read his book and underlined it with a pencil.
Llamé a Laura y la invité a comer paella.	I called Laura and invited her to eat paella.
Leo abrió la puerta con llave.	Leo opened the door with a key.
Lavó la olla y la botella.	He washed the pot and the bottle.
Luis le puso mantequilla al pastel.	Luis put butter on the cake.
Lorenzo peló la cebolla para la tortilla.	Lorenzo peeled the onion for the Spanish omelette.
Lorena ganó una medalla jugando fútbol.	Lorena won a medal playing soccer.
El libro habla de dos animales.	The book talks about two animals.
El pollito y el pulpo se llaman Lino y Lucas.	The chick and octopus are called Lino and Lucas.
Lidia pensó en una solución sentada en la silla.	Lidia thought of a solution as she sat in her chair.