How to Pronounce Spanish Words Used in English

Have you ever been traveling in the U.S. Southwest or looking at the menu of a Mexican restaurant and were unsure how to pronounce some of the words? You’re not alone! 

Pronouncing these words can get tricky because they’re obviously from Spanish. Foods from other cultures are usually kept in their original form because they often have no translation in English.

However, you may not be aware why U.S. place names are so unusual looking and sounding sometimes. Many regions of the U.S. have names that come from local indigenous languages or the language of the early European settlers, and sometimes even a mix of the two. For example, many place names in states like California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas are borrowed from Spanish. 

Why Spanish Words Used in English Are Tricky to Pronounce

Spanish words used in English can have challenging pronunciations, often mixing both the Spanish and English sounds.

If you compare the alphabets of both languages, you may conclude that they have almost the same sounds, but this is not always the case. We sometimes have different pronunciations for the same letters, and this is where some of the confusion often arises. 

When English borrows words from other languages, we tend to keep the spelling from the original language, yet partially shift toward a more anglicized pronunciation.

Sometimes, there are just sounds or sound combinations that native speakers are not accustomed to, and therefore unable to pronounce. So, you’ll often find that we retain the foreign pronunciation of the consonant sounds while modifying the vowel sounds to fit English speakers’ pronunciation habits.

Let’s look at some tips to help you correctly pronounce Spanish loan words in English. 

Tips for Pronouncing Spanish Words in English

Let’s begin with consonant sounds.

The Letter “J” becomes “H”

In Spanish, the letter “J” is pronounced like the English “H.”

Words pronounced this way include:

• Places: 
  • San Jose
  • La Jolla

• Food & drink: 
  • jalapeño
  • mojito

For names like Juan and Joaquin, the “J” gets dropped altogether, and the “Ju” and “Jo” are pronounced with a “W” sound:

• Juan is pronounced Wan
• Joaquin is pronounced Wakeen

This also applies to pronouncing Tijuana, a famous city on the California-Mexico border. There’s another slight modification to this word. We add an extra sound between the “I” and “W” sounds.

• Tijuana is pronounced by Americans as Tia Wanna. We pronounce the “Ju” as a “W” like we do in the name Juan.

Spanish “H” is silent

• Chihuahua 

The Letter “Ñ”

You may be wondering about that little squiggly line above the “N”. The line is called a tilde and is a combination of “N” & “Y”. The letter is called an “EN yay”. Notice it above in “jalapeño”?

You may also run across it in weather reports. It’s going to be an “el niño” year. 

Note that not all Spanish “N’s” are “Ñ’s”. The other well-known Mexican chili pepper is often mispronounced in English. It has the letter “N”, not an “Ñ”. It’s habanero. 

Double L’s  are pronounced as “Y”

In Spanish, double “L’s” are pronounced like a “Y.” This is a key rule for words still pronounced in their Spanish form in English.

Examples include:

• Places:
  • La Jolla
  • Cabrillo
• Foods:
  • tortilla
  • quesadilla
  • paella

However, some words have been anglicized and are now pronounced with an English “L” sound:

• Places
  • Vallejo
  • Montebello
  • Villa Park
  • Amarillo
• Animals:
  • armadillo 
  • llama 
• Other:
  • guerilla

“T” is pronounced “D” between vowel sounds, as it generally is when “T” occurs between vowels in  American English. 

Examples include:

• margarita
• mojito
• burrito

Vowels

Now, let’s look at vowel pronunciation. The letters E and I are what you need to watch for, since their pronunciation may be different than you’d expect.

The Letter E

The E may be pronounced AY (eɪ). This is applicable in words like:

• La Mesa
• Monterey
• San Jose
• San Diego

The final E may be pronounced AY (eɪ) or EE (i):

• AY (eɪ) pronunciation
  • Santa Fe
  • Felipe
  • carne asada

• EE (i) pronunciation
  • tamale
  • guacamole
  • machete 
  • coyote
  • adobe 
  • San Clemente

“Chile con carne” has been on the American food menu for so long now, that it’s now usually spelled as we pronounce it, now with a final “I” instead of the original “E”, “chili” and we usually drop the “con carne”, although I still hear it said occasionally. 

The Letter I

The letter I is typically pronounced EE (i), as in:

• Encino
• Bonita
• Chino
• Escondido
• Santa Clarita

Words beginning with Y also follow this pattern, EE (i):

• Santa Ynez
• San Ysidro

The Letter A

In most instances, the letter “A” pronunciation is often closer to the American short “A” sound:

• Los Angeles
• Sacramento
• Santa Ana 
• Calabasas

Pronounce Each Vowel

Unlike English, where vowels in combination are often blended into one sound, Spanish words maintain two separate vowel sounds. You’ll find a lot of examples of these in names especially.

Examples include:

• Diego
• Mission Viejo
• Mateo
• Rafael 
• hacienda
• rodeo 

Whether it’s food items, city names, or other everyday terms, Spanish words have made a big impact on American English—and knowing how to pronounce them correctly can make a difference!

Although their pronunciations may initially seem challenging, once you recognize the patterns, it becomes easier to predict how they’ll sound.

So the next time you’re enjoying tortilla chips with guacamole, ordering a margarita, or planning a trip to La Jolla, California, and nearby Tijuana, Mexico, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how to pronounce these words. If you’re unsure about any other Spanish-origin words, feel free to ask!