Pronunciation of L

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

15 questions

2. Lesson 2

15 questions

3. Lesson 3

17 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 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 Spainsh "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.