Pronunciation of D

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

16 questions

2. Lesson 2

16 questions

3. Lesson 3

18 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

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

similar to the English th in father

Compare the d and th sounds in day and father with the d in their Spanish translations, díaand padre.

"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), 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. One example is in the Spanish translations of different and abundant, diferenteand abundante.

However, in the rest of the positions in words, 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.

Spanish	English	Position-Combination
dar	give	beginning of word + vowel
dulce	sweet	beginning of word + vowel
drama	drama	beginning of word + consonant
droga	drug	beginning of word + consonant
ácido	acid	inside word + between vowels
algodón	cotton	inside word + between vowels
aldea	village	inside word + beginning of syllable
blando	soft	inside word + beginning of syllable
cuerda	rope	inside word + beginning of syllable
admirar	admire	inside word + end of syllable
adquirir	acquire	inside word + end of syllable
actitud	attitude	end of word
Madrid	Madrid	end of word
sed	thirst	end of word

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter d varies very little throughout the Spanish-speaking world, so there shouldn’t be much difference between the way dedal(thimble) sounds in Caracas, Mendoza, or New York.