Pronunciation of "Y"

Explanation

Quick Answer

Learn to pronounce Y (and or the letter y) in Spanish!

Click on the audio button to hear the pronunciation of the word y.

Y is one of the letters in the Spanish alphabet and a word meaning and.

Here are three phonetic alphabets that show you the pronunciation of y.

Alphabet	Pronunciation
SpanishDict Phonetic Alphabet	ee
International Phonetic Alphabet	i
Spanish Alphabet	y

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The letter yhas two basic pronunciations in Spanish:

As a consonant, it’s pronounced like the Spanish letter group ll, which is equivalent to the English y in yellow. For example:

When y comes after the vowels a, e, o, or u, it can form a diphthong. A diphthong is the combination of two vowels together in the same syllable. For example:

Here are some useful sentences and phrases containing Y. Remember to emphasize the bold syllables the most!

Spanish	Phonetic Pronunciation	English
y	ee	and or the letter y
¿Y tú?	ee too	And you?
¿Y eso?	ee eh-soh	Why?/How come?
Y yo.	ee yoh	And me. /And I.
¿Y a ti?	ee ah tee	And you?
nombre y apellido	nohm-breh ee ah-peh-yee-doh	first name and last name
tal y como	tahl ee koh-moh	just as
siempre y cuando	syehm-preh ee kwahn-doh	as long as
ida y vuelta	ee-dah ee bwehlt-tah	there and back again, round-trip
cuarenta y cinco	kwah-rehn-tah ee seeng-koh (Latin America) kwah-rehn-tah ee theeng-koh (Spain)//	forty-five
treinta y uno	treyn-tah ee oo-noh	thirty-one
noventa y nueve	noh-behn-tah ee nweh-beh	ninety-nine
ochenta y cinco	oh-chehn-tah ee seeng-koh (Latin America) // oh-chehn-tah ee theeng-koh (Spain)	eighty-five
Es la una y media.	ehs lah oo-nah ee meh-dyah	It's one thirty.
al fin y al cabo	ahl feen ee ahl kah-boh	in the end
mis amigos y yo	mees ah-mee-gohs ee yoh	my friends and I