Spelling traps: g and j, z and c, r and rr

G and J before e and i

Before e or i, g and j are the same rasping sound, so you learn the word:

• Mi jefe es muy buena gente. - My boss is a really nice person.

Before a, o and u there is no clash: j rasps and g is hard. The vowel after the g decides its sound:

To keep a g hard before e or i, Spanish adds a silent u. When that u is said, it wears two dots (the diaeresis):

• Toco la guitarra. - I play the guitar.
• Me da vergüenza. - I'm embarrassed.

Verbs change their spelling to keep their sound:

Z, C and S

How these sound depends on where you are. In Latin America, the Canary Islands and much of Andalusia, c (before e or i), s and z are all an s sound (seseo). In the rest of Spain, z and c before e or i are the th of English think. Both are correct:

• Mi casa está cerca. - My house is nearby.
• Le gusta la caza. - He/she likes hunting. (sounds like casa in seseo areas)

The spelling is the same everywhere, with one rule: z almost never stands before e or i, so it becomes c. And c turns into qu before e or i to keep its k sound:

• Apaga las luces. - Turn off the lights.

R and RR: the one you can hear

Between vowels, r is a single tap and rr a roll, and the difference changes the word:

• El carro es muy caro. - The car is very expensive. (carro: Latin America)
• Tengo un perro, pero no tengo gato. - I have a dog, but I don't have a cat.

• perrodog
• carrocar

Where r stands in the word decides the rest:

So rr is only ever written between two vowels, and never at the start of a word:

• La rosa es roja. - The rose is red. (both rolled, one r each)

Mistakes English speakers make