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Spelling Traps: b vs v, g vs j, silent h (tubo vs tuvo, gente vs jefe)",null,{"type":49,"value":50,"toc":774},"minimark",[51,56,73,78,85,159,170,226,230,277,315,326,345,356,372,376,407,410,453,457,498,522,529,555,559,577,603,613,617,634,666,710,714,747,751],[52,53,55],"h1",{"id":54},"spanish-spelling-traps","Spanish Spelling Traps",[57,58,59,60,64,65,68,69,72],"p",{},"Reading Spanish aloud is a gift: the letters map onto sounds with a regularity that English can only envy. The trap is the reverse trip - going from a sound in your ear to the right letter on the page. A cluster of letters ",[61,62,63],"strong",{},"share a single sound",", so no amount of careful listening will tell you which one to write. You just have to know the word. Below are the traps worth memorising, sorted into the ones that are ",[61,66,67],{},"writing only"," and the one, ",[61,70,71],{},"r versus rr",", where the spelling genuinely changes what you say.",[74,75,77],"h2",{"id":76},"b-and-v-the-same-sound-two-spellings","B and V: the same sound, two spellings",[57,79,80,81,84],{},"In Spanish, ",[61,82,83],{},"b and v are both \u002Fb\u002F",". There is no English-style \"v\" anywhere in the language. That single fact is why so many pairs are perfect homophones, distinguished only on paper:",[86,87,88,101],"table",{},[89,90,91],"thead",{},[92,93,94,98],"tr",{},[95,96,97],"th",{},"Sounds the same",[95,99,100],{},"Meanings",[102,103,104,119,129,139,149],"tbody",{},[92,105,106,112],{},[107,108,109],"td",{},[61,110,111],{},"tubo \u002F tuvo",[107,113,114,115,118],{},"tube \u002F he or she had (from ",[61,116,117],{},"tener",")",[92,120,121,126],{},[107,122,123],{},[61,124,125],{},"baca \u002F vaca",[107,127,128],{},"roof rack \u002F cow",[92,130,131,136],{},[107,132,133],{},[61,134,135],{},"bello \u002F vello",[107,137,138],{},"beautiful \u002F body hair",[92,140,141,146],{},[107,142,143],{},[61,144,145],{},"botar \u002F votar",[107,147,148],{},"to throw away \u002F to vote",[92,150,151,156],{},[107,152,153],{},[61,154,155],{},"hierba \u002F hierva",[107,157,158],{},"grass \u002F (that) it boils",[57,160,161,162,165,166,169],{},"There is no rule that separates ",[61,163,164],{},"tubo"," from ",[61,167,168],{},"tuvo"," by sound. You learn them as words. A few genuine patterns do help, though:",[171,172,173,192,205],"ul",{},[174,175,176,179,180,183,184,187,188,191],"li",{},[61,177,178],{},"b before another consonant",": ",[61,181,182],{},"hablar"," (to speak), ",[61,185,186],{},"brazo"," (arm), ",[61,189,190],{},"blanco"," (white).",[174,193,194,179,197,200,201,204],{},[61,195,196],{},"the imperfect -aba ending",[61,198,199],{},"cantaba"," (I was singing), ",[61,202,203],{},"jugaba"," (I used to play).",[174,206,207,179,210,213,214,217,218,221,222,225],{},[61,208,209],{},"b after m, v after n",[61,211,212],{},"cambio"," (change), ",[61,215,216],{},"hombre"," (man); but ",[61,219,220],{},"envío"," (I send), ",[61,223,224],{},"invierno"," (winter).",[74,227,229],{"id":228},"g-and-j-identical-before-e-and-i","G and J: identical before e and i",[57,231,232,233,236,237,240,241,244,245,248,249,252,253,256,257,260,261,264,265,268,269,272,273,276],{},"Before ",[61,234,235],{},"e"," or ",[61,238,239],{},"i",", ",[61,242,243],{},"g and j share the sound \u002Fx\u002F",", the rasping sound at the back of the throat. So ",[61,246,247],{},"gente"," (people) and ",[61,250,251],{},"jefe"," (boss) begin the same way, yet one takes ",[61,254,255],{},"g"," and the other ",[61,258,259],{},"j",". Memorised by word: ",[61,262,263],{},"gigante"," (giant), ",[61,266,267],{},"general"," (general) with g; ",[61,270,271],{},"jirafa"," (giraffe), ",[61,274,275],{},"mujer"," (woman) with j.",[57,278,232,279,282,283,286,287,290,291,294,295,298,299,302,303,306,307,310,311,314],{},[61,280,281],{},"a, o, u"," there is no overlap. ",[61,284,285],{},"Ja, jo, ju"," are the \u002Fx\u002F sound - ",[61,288,289],{},"jamón"," (ham), ",[61,292,293],{},"joven"," (young), ",[61,296,297],{},"jugar"," (to play). ",[61,300,301],{},"Ga, go, gu"," are a ",[61,304,305],{},"hard \u002Fg\u002F"," - ",[61,308,309],{},"gato"," (cat), ",[61,312,313],{},"gota"," (drop).",[57,316,317,318,321,322,325],{},"To get that hard \u002Fg\u002F ",[61,319,320],{},"before e or i",", Spanish slips in a silent ",[61,323,324],{},"u",":",[171,327,328],{},[174,329,330,333,334,337,338,341,342,344],{},[61,331,332],{},"guerra"," (war), ",[61,335,336],{},"guitarra"," (guitar), ",[61,339,340],{},"águila"," (eagle) - the ",[61,343,324],{}," is silent, just steering the g.",[57,346,347,348,351,352,355],{},"And when that ",[61,349,350],{},"u must actually be heard",", it wears a ",[61,353,354],{},"dieresis"," (two dots):",[171,357,358],{},[174,359,360,363,364,367,368,371],{},[61,361,362],{},"vergüenza"," (shame), ",[61,365,366],{},"pingüino"," (penguin), ",[61,369,370],{},"bilingüe"," (bilingual) - now you say the u: \u002Fgw\u002F.",[74,373,375],{"id":374},"h-always-always-silent","H: always, always silent",[57,377,378,379,382,383,386,387,390,391,394,395,398,399,402,403,406],{},"The Spanish ",[61,380,381],{},"h is never pronounced",". Not softly, not sometimes - never. ",[61,384,385],{},"Hola"," (hello) sounds exactly like ",[61,388,389],{},"ola"," (wave); ",[61,392,393],{},"hacer"," (to do), ",[61,396,397],{},"hay"," (there is), ",[61,400,401],{},"ahora"," (now), the exclamation ",[61,404,405],{},"ah"," - the h is pure decoration marking a root you have to remember.",[57,408,409],{},"Two traps catch learners and natives alike:",[171,411,412,432],{},[174,413,414,179,417,420,421,424,425,428,429,431],{},[61,415,416],{},"a \u002F ha \u002F ah",[61,418,419],{},"a"," (to), ",[61,422,423],{},"ha"," (he or she has, from ",[61,426,427],{},"haber","), ",[61,430,405],{}," (oh) all sound the same.",[174,433,434,179,437,439,440,443,444,448,449,452],{},[61,435,436],{},"haber \u002F a ver",[61,438,427],{}," (to have, the auxiliary) sounds identical to ",[61,441,442],{},"a ver"," (let us see). ",[445,446,447],"em",{},"Va a haber problemas"," (there are going to be problems) versus ",[445,450,451],{},"Vamos a ver"," (let us see).",[74,454,456],{"id":455},"c-s-and-z-it-depends-where-you-are","C, S and Z: it depends where you are",[57,458,459,460,463,464,306,467,240,470,473,474,477,478,481,482,485,486,489,490,493,494,497],{},"Here the sound splits by region. In ",[61,461,462],{},"Latin America and much of southern Spain"," - this is ",[61,465,466],{},"seseo",[61,468,469],{},"c before e or i",[61,471,472],{},"s",", and ",[61,475,476],{},"z"," are all ",[61,479,480],{},"\u002Fs\u002F",". So ",[61,483,484],{},"casa"," (house) and ",[61,487,488],{},"caza"," (hunt) are perfect homophones, as are ",[61,491,492],{},"cocer"," (to cook) and ",[61,495,496],{},"coser"," (to sew).",[57,499,500,501,240,504,506,507,509,510,513,514,516,517,506,519,521],{},"In ",[61,502,503],{},"central and northern Spain",[61,505,476],{}," and ",[61,508,469],{}," are ",[61,511,512],{},"\u002Fθ\u002F",", the ",[445,515,95],{}," of English \"think\", so ",[61,518,484],{},[61,520,488],{}," are audibly different. Neither is more correct; the spelling is fixed regardless.",[57,523,524,525,528],{},"One rule always holds: ",[61,526,527],{},"z turns into c before e or i",". This is why plurals and verb forms shift letters:",[171,530,531,545],{},[174,532,533,536,537,540,541,544],{},[61,534,535],{},"luz -> luces"," (light -> lights), ",[61,538,539],{},"cruz -> cruces"," (cross -> crosses), ",[61,542,543],{},"pez -> peces"," (fish).",[174,546,547,550,551,554],{},[61,548,549],{},"empezar -> empiece"," (to begin -> that I begin), ",[61,552,553],{},"cazar -> cacé"," (to hunt -> I hunted).",[74,556,558],{"id":557},"ll-and-y-mostly-merged","LL and Y: mostly merged",[57,560,561,562,240,565,568,569,572,573,576],{},"For ",[61,563,564],{},"most speakers",[61,566,567],{},"ll and y are the same sound"," - a phenomenon called ",[61,570,571],{},"yeismo",". The distinct \"ly\" of ",[61,574,575],{},"ll"," survives only in a few conservative regions. The upshot is another set of homophones:",[171,578,579,593],{},[174,580,581,584,585,588,589,592],{},[61,582,583],{},"calló \u002F cayó",": he or she went silent (from ",[61,586,587],{},"callar",") \u002F he or she fell (from ",[61,590,591],{},"caer",").",[174,594,595,598,599,602],{},[61,596,597],{},"halla \u002F haya",": he or she finds \u002F (that) there be - and both also sound like ",[61,600,601],{},"aya"," (governess).",[57,604,605,606,506,609,612],{},"As ever, the ear will not save you: ",[61,607,608],{},"cayó",[61,610,611],{},"calló"," are chosen by meaning, on paper.",[74,614,616],{"id":615},"r-and-rr-the-one-that-really-changes-the-sound","R and RR: the one that really changes the sound",[57,618,619,620,623,624,627,628,509,631,325],{},"Every trap above is writing only. ",[61,621,622],{},"This one is not."," The single ",[61,625,626],{},"tapped r"," and the ",[61,629,630],{},"rolled rr",[61,632,633],{},"different sounds that change the word",[171,635,636,646,656],{},[174,637,638,641,642,645],{},[61,639,640],{},"pero"," (but) versus ",[61,643,644],{},"perro"," (dog).",[174,647,648,651,652,655],{},[61,649,650],{},"caro"," (expensive) versus ",[61,653,654],{},"carro"," (car, in Latin America).",[174,657,658,661,662,665],{},[61,659,660],{},"coro"," (choir) versus ",[61,663,664],{},"corro"," (I run).",[57,667,668,669,672,673,676,677,680,681,684,685,179,688,691,692,694,695,240,698,701,702,705,706,709],{},"The rule is mechanical. ",[61,670,671],{},"Rr only appears between vowels",". At the ",[61,674,675],{},"start of a word",", or ",[61,678,679],{},"after n, l or s",", the r is ",[61,682,683],{},"already rolled"," even though you write a single ",[61,686,687],{},"r",[61,689,690],{},"rojo"," (red), ",[61,693,644],{}," but ",[61,696,697],{},"Enrique",[61,699,700],{},"alrededor"," (around). So you never write ",[61,703,704],{},"rr"," at the start - ",[61,707,708],{},"rosa"," already rolls.",[74,711,713],{"id":712},"the-short-version","The short version",[57,715,716,717,720,721,240,724,727,728,240,731,734,735,738,739,741,742,506,744,746],{},"Five of these six traps are ",[61,718,719],{},"spelling only",": your ear cannot distinguish ",[61,722,723],{},"b\u002Fv",[61,725,726],{},"g\u002Fj"," (before e, i), silent ",[61,729,730],{},"h",[61,732,733],{},"c\u002Fs\u002Fz"," (under seseo) or ",[61,736,737],{},"ll\u002Fy"," (under yeismo), so you memorise the word and lean on the handful of rules where they exist. The exception is ",[61,740,71],{},", a real sound difference worth drilling until ",[61,743,640],{},[61,745,644],{}," feel as separate in your mouth as they are on the page.",[74,748,750],{"id":749},"see-also","See also",[171,752,753,760,767],{},[174,754,755,759],{},[419,756,758],{"href":757},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar","The Spanish alphabet and pronunciation"," - the sound-to-letter map these traps sit on top of.",[174,761,762,766],{},[419,763,765],{"href":764},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Faccents","Accents and the written stress rules"," - the other half of Spanish spelling you have to see to get right.",[174,768,769,770,773],{},"The ",[419,771,772],{"href":757},"Spanish grammar cheatsheet"," collects the b\u002Fv, g\u002Fj and r\u002Frr traps on one card.",{"title":775,"searchDepth":776,"depth":776,"links":777},"",2,[778,779,780,781,782,783,784,785],{"id":76,"depth":776,"text":77},{"id":228,"depth":776,"text":229},{"id":374,"depth":776,"text":375},{"id":455,"depth":776,"text":456},{"id":557,"depth":776,"text":558},{"id":615,"depth":776,"text":616},{"id":712,"depth":776,"text":713},{"id":749,"depth":776,"text":750},"B2","The Spanish letters that sound identical but are spelled differently - b\u002Fv, g\u002Fj, silent h, c\u002Fs\u002Fz, ll\u002Fy - and the one pair, r\u002Frr, where the spelling really does change the sound.",[789,819],{"type":790,"instructions":791,"items":792},"fill-blank","Complete each word with the correct letter. Think about the rule or the root, since the sound alone will not always tell you.",[793,796,800,803,806,809,812,816],{"prompt":794,"answer":164,"hint":795},"Se me olvidó el ___ubo del agua. (b or v)","the tube, not the past tense of tener",{"prompt":797,"answer":798,"hint":799},"La ___aca da leche. (b or v)","vaca","the animal, not the roof rack",{"prompt":801,"answer":251,"hint":802},"Mi ___efe llega tarde. (g or j)","boss, spelled with j",{"prompt":804,"answer":247,"hint":805},"Hay mucha ___ente en la plaza. (g or j)","people, spelled with g",{"prompt":807,"answer":366,"hint":808},"El ___ingüino vive en el hielo. (g or gü)","the u is pronounced, so it needs the two dots",{"prompt":810,"answer":389,"hint":811},"La ___ola rompe en la playa. (h or nothing)","a wave takes no h",{"prompt":813,"answer":814,"hint":815},"Encendió la ___uz de la cocina. (c, s or z)","luz","singular ends in z",{"prompt":817,"answer":644,"hint":818},"El ___erro ladra toda la noche. (r or rr)","the dog, not the word for but",{"type":820,"instructions":821,"items":822},"which-one","Choose the correctly spelled word for each sentence.",[823,826,831,836,841,845],{"prompt":824,"answer":168,"options":825},"Ayer ___ un examen difícil. (he had)",[164,168],{"prompt":827,"answer":828,"options":829},"Vamos a ___ por quién gana. (to vote)","votar",[830,828],"botar",{"prompt":832,"answer":833,"options":834},"Qué paisaje tan ___. (beautiful)","bello",[833,835],"vello",{"prompt":837,"answer":838,"options":839},"Los limones dan mucha ___. (plural of luz)","luces",[840,838],"luzes",{"prompt":842,"answer":271,"options":843},"Quiero ver la ___. (giraffe)",[844,271],"girafa",{"prompt":846,"answer":654,"options":847},"Tengo un ___ nuevo. (car, informal)",[650,654],"md",[850,853,856,859],{"q":851,"a":852},"Are b and v pronounced differently in Spanish?","No. In standard Spanish, b and v are the same sound, \u002Fb\u002F. There is no v-as-in-English 'van' anywhere in the language, which is why beginners are told the two letters 'sound the same'. This is exactly why the spelling has to be learned word by word: tubo (tube) and tuvo (a form of tener, had) are pronounced identically, as are baca (roof rack) and vaca (cow). The distinction lives only on the page. A few rules help - b before another consonant (hablar, brazo), the -aba imperfect ending (cantaba), b after m and v after n (cambio, envío) - but there is no shortcut for the rest.",{"q":854,"a":855},"How do you know when to write g or j in Spanish?","Before e or i, g and j sound the same, \u002Fx\u002F, the rasping sound in gente and jefe. So the spelling is memorised by word: gente, gigante and general take g; jefe, jirafa and mujer take j. Before a, o or u there is no overlap - ja, jo, ju are the \u002Fx\u002F sound (jamón, joven, jugar), while ga, go, gu are a hard \u002Fg\u002F (gato, gota). To get a hard \u002Fg\u002F before e or i you insert a silent u: guerra, guitarra. And when that u must actually be pronounced, it takes a dieresis: vergüenza, pingüino.",{"q":857,"a":858},"Why does the h in Spanish do nothing?","Because it is always silent - completely, in every word. Hola, hacer, hay and the exclamation ah are all pronounced as if the h were not there, which makes it a pure spelling trap: you can only know it from the written form. This creates neat homophones that trip up natives too. A (to), ha (a form of haber, has) and ah (oh) all sound the same. Haber (to have) sounds identical to a ver (let us see). The h earns its keep only on the page, marking a root you have to remember.",{"q":860,"a":861},"Do c, s and z sound the same in Spanish?","It depends where the speaker is from. In Latin America and much of southern Spain, this is seseo: c before e or i, s, and z are all \u002Fs\u002F, so casa (house) and caza (hunt) are perfect homophones. In central and northern Spain, z and c-before-e-or-i are pronounced \u002Fθ\u002F, the th of English 'think', so casa and caza are clearly different. Either way the spelling is fixed, and one rule always applies: z becomes c before e or i, which is why luz becomes luces and empezar becomes empiece.","higher","Most Spanish spelling is gloriously regular: you can read a word aloud from the page with near-total confidence. The traps are the other direction - going from sound to spelling. A handful of letters share a single sound, so your ear cannot tell you which one to write, and you simply have to know the word. B and v are both pronounced \u002Fb\u002F, so tubo (tube) and tuvo (had) are perfect homophones. G before e or i and j are both \u002Fx\u002F, so gente (people) and jefe (boss) begin with the same rasping sound. H is always silent, so hola sounds exactly like the ola of a wave. In most of the Spanish-speaking world ll and y have merged, and in Latin America and southern Spain c, s and z collapse into one \u002Fs\u002F. The single honourable exception is r versus rr, which is a genuine sound contrast: pero (but) and perro (dog) are different words because the r is different. This page sorts the writing-only traps from the one that your ear must catch, and hands you the rules that actually help.","spanish",{},true,"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fspelling-traps",{"title":46,"description":787},"spanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fspelling-traps","r34GoBs4MvBgG4rOOUGPMcc19Uh7CUqRZn9xqaAeLt0",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":873},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":875},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":877},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M20 20a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8a2 2 0 0 0-2-2h-7.9a2 2 0 0 1-1.69-.9L9.6 3.9A2 2 0 0 0 7.93 3H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v13a2 2 0 0 0 2 2Zm-8-10v6\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m15 13l-3 3l-3-3\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":879},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]