Pronunciation of Ll and Y
Start first lessonExplanation
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.
The letter yin Spanish can be:
- a vowel pronounced a lot like the ee in the English word see.
- a consonant pronounced much like the Spanish ll!
The Consonants Ll and Y in Spanish
Most Spanish speakers pronounce ll and y the same way when they are consonants: 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), llover(to rain), yegua(mare), or yo(I).
- Inside a word, never followed by a consonant, as in hallar(to find); camello(camel), proyecto(project), or ayer(yesterday).
- 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).
Is That a Case of Yeísmo?
The pronunciation of y and ll described above used to exclusively describe the pronunciation of the letter y. The letter ll, on the other hand, sounded approximately like the j in the English word judge or the s in pleasure.
Nowadays, y and ll are pronounced differently only in certain Spanish-speaking areas and/or by certain speakers. In the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, the letter ll is pronounced exactly like the letter y.
Linguists refer to the disappearance of the distinction between y and ll in spoken Spanish as yeísmo. Speakers who pronounce y and ll the same way are called yeístas.
What about Argentina and Uruguay?
Most Argentinians and Uruguayans also pronounce y and ll the exact same way, so you could say they are yeístas. However, particularly in the area where español rioplatense(River Plate Spanish) is spoken, the pronunciation of the consonants ll and y sounds like the sh in the English words show or fish.
Spelling Tips
Here are some tips to help you remember when to spell a word with ll or y in Spanish!
Write a word with the consonant ll (not a y) in...
Write a word with the consonant y (not ll) in...
| Tip | Examples |
|---|---|
| Conjugated verb forms that contain a y sound that have infinitive forms without a y sound | cayendo(falling) from caer (to fall), vayamos(let's go) from ir (to go), oyeras(you heard) from oír (to hear) |
| Plural -es forms of nouns ending in y | leyes(laws) from ley (law), reyes(kings) from rey (king) |
| Words containing the sound y preceded by the prefixes ad-(ad-), des-(des-), dis-(dis-), and sub-(sub-) | adyacente(adjacent), desyerbar(to weed), disyuntiva(dilemma), subyacente(underlying) |
| Words containing the syllable yec | trayectoria(trajectory), proyectar(project) |
| Words containing the syllable yer in an initial or middle position | yerno(son-in-law), reyerta(fight) |
The Vowel Y in Spanish
The letter y is also used as a vowel in Spanish. In this case, it’s pronounced like the ee in the English word see, but a little shorter. You will find this vowel:
- in the conjunction y(and).
- in the last syllable of a word when it’s unstressed and preceded by a vowel, as in Uruguay(Uruguay), hoy(today), or hay(there is/there are).
Watch out for the plurals of words ending in the vowel y!
Most of these plurals are made by adding -es to the word, in which case the final vowel y becomes the consonant y, for example: bueyes(oxen) from buey(ox), convoyes(convoys) from convoy(convoy).
But there are some Spanish words whose plural is made by adding simply -s. In this case, the final y becomes the vowel i, for example: gais(gays) from gay(gay), and espráis(sprays) from espray(spray).
Want to learn more about Spanish pronunciation? Check out the following articles!
• How to Pronounce "B" and "V" in Spanish
• How to Pronounce "C" and "Z" in Spanish
• How to Pronounce the Letter "R" in Spanish
