In this article, we will examine the common mistakes that People frequently make while learning Spanish and how to avoid them. You will find tips on pronunciation, misleading words, and other challenges. By being aware of these mistakes, you can improve your Spanish more quickly. The two main topics covered in this article are pronunciation errors and “false friends” — words that look similar but have different meanings
1. Pronunciation Mistakes
Spanish pronunciation mistakes are some of the most common errors plaguing foreign learners. There are words and letters that require more forceful vocalization than English speakers are used to, and other words that contain silent letters that Spanish-learners don’t know what to do with. In this section, we’ll show you some typical Spanish pronunciation mistakes and how to avoid them!
→ We recommend that you review the Spanish alphabet before jumping into this section.
1 – Use of R, Ñ, J, and H
In Spanish, the sounds for letters like R, Ñ, J, and H have very special characteristics.
For example, a big mistake that many Spanish students make is to not trill the R. When native speakers hear this incorrect pronunciation, it may confuse them.
Note that we trill the R at the beginning of a word, or the RR when it’s between two vowels. Otherwise, the sound needs to be weak.
Examples:
| RR | One R at the beginning of a word(Strong sound) | One R(Weak sound) |
| Carro (“Trolley”) | Río (“River”) | Barato (“Cheap”) |
| Borrar (“Delete”) | Rodilla (“Knee”) | Parada (“Stop”) |
| Perro (“Dog”) | Roca (“Rock”) | Pera (“Pear”) |
| Tierra (“Earth”) | Remo (“Rowing”) | Caricia (“Caress”) |
And now a quick note on the other letters:
- H
The H in Spanish is usually silent. We’ll talk more about this soon! - Ñ
This letter has a very particular sound that many English-speakers struggle with. It sounds similar to the underlined sound in the words “canyon” and “onion.” - J
The sound of the J is the same as that of the letter G, when the latter is followed by the letters e or i. In Latin American countries, the sound is the same and is very similar to the sound of H in English. But in countries like Spain, there’s a marked difference; for them, the sound of the G tends to occur in the back of the throat.
Words with similar sounds:
| Words with G | Words with J |
| Geografía (“Geography”) | Cerrajería (“Locksmith”) |
| Religión (“Religion”) | Jarra (“Jug”) |
| Origen (“Origin”) | Jirafa (“Giraffe”) |
| Genio (“Genius”) | Caja (“Box”) |
2 – How to Pronounce H
You should know that the H in Spanish never makes the English H sound. Here are the basics:
- If you see an H accompanied by a C (CH), it will have a sound similar to the CH in “church,” “chocolate,” or “change.”
- If you see an H without a C, then it’s silent.
Examples:
| CH | H |
| Cuchillo (“Knife”) | Helado (“Ice cream”) |
| Chino (“Chinese”) | Hamburguesa (“Burger”) |
| Coche (“Car”) | Hielo (“Ice”) |
| Mucho (“A lot”) | Cohete (“Rocket”) |
| Chocolate (“Chocolate”) | Cacahuete (“Peanut”) |
3 – Pronouncing S and Z in Spain vs. Latin America
The S, C, and Z
In Spanish from Spain, the C and Z sometimes have the same sound. The rule is simple: when C is accompanied by the letters e or i, and Z with a, o, or u, the pronunciation is done with the tongue in front of the teeth. That is, it emits a slightly more marked sound than that of the S.
Let’s see some examples:
- Cena (“Dinner”)
- Zorro (“Fox”)
- Cielo (“Sky”)
On the other hand, in Latin American Spanish, S, C, and Z have identical pronunciations.
The best way to prevent making a mistake in Spanish here is to familiarize yourself with words that are spelled similarly but have different meanings. In addition, we recommend that you listen to the pronunciation of Spanish from Spain, so that you’ll avoid falling into translation and context errors.
| Similar words | English translation |
| Casa / Caza | “House” / “Hunting” |
| Basar / Bazar | “Base on” / “Bazaar” |
| Abrasar / Abrazar | “Burn” / “Hug” |
2. False Friends and Similar-Sounding Words
Several of the common mistakes Spanish-learners make have to do with writing, spelling, and pronunciation. False friends, intonation, and homonymous words frequently trip up new learners, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with these mistakes and their solutions!
1 – False Friends
The word “Anglicism” may sound familiar to you. This basically refers to the influence that English has had on other languages, including Spanish.
Although this can be a great help to English-speakers, you must be careful! If not, you’ll fall into the trap of false friends.
These are words that look or sound similar to words in English, but have different meanings. Believe it or not, some of the most common mistakes in Spanish are the result of taking false friends at face value.
For example, did you know that the word recordar in Spanish means “remember,” not “record?” Here are some more false friends to look out for:
- Enviar
- “Envy” X
- “Send” O
- Éxito
- “Exit” X
- “Success” O
- Parada
- “Parade” X
- “Bus stop” O
- Vaso
- “Vase” X
- “Glass” O
- Suceso
- “Success” X
- “Event” O
2 – Accent and Tones
Accents in Spanish are graphic signs that are written over a letter to indicate the intensity with which that letter should be stressed. During your Spanish studies, you’ll find that several words—even if they’re spelled the same otherwise—take on different meanings depending on whether the accent mark is present or not.
That said, it’s best to learn how to recognize them in order to avoid embarrassing situations like calling your father “potato” instead of “dad.”
Let’s look at some of the most common Spanish words, with accents and without, with their respective meanings:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Él / El | “He” / “The” |
| Papá / Papa | “Father” / “Potato” |
| ¿Por qué? / Porque | “Why?” / “Because” |
| Práctico / Practico | “Practical” / “I practice” |
| Bebé / Bebe | “Baby” / “(S)he drinks” |
| De / Dé | “Of” / “Give” |
| Sí / Si | “Yes” / “If” |
| Esté / Este | “Is” / “This” |
| Está / Esta | “I am” (present subjunctive) / “This” |
| Bañó / Baño | “(S)he bathed” / “Bathroom” |
3 – Spanish Homonymous Words
More typical Spanish mistakes have to do with homonymous words. The name may sound very technical, but these are simply words that have identical or similar pronunciations, but different meanings. In this case, there are no accent marks to distinguish between them.
In this category, there are homographs and homophones.
Example:
- María buscó diferentes citas de autor para su tesis doctoral.
“María looked for different authors’ quotes for her doctoral thesis.” - Tengo una cita romántica esta noche.
“I have a romantic date tonight.”
Both Spanish sentences use the word cita, but the context is completely different. This can also happen with the following words:
- Alce
“Moose”
OR
Conjugation of the verb “to pick up” - Capital
The capital of a city
OR
Money one has collected over the years
4 – Homophones
These are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. You can usually determine which spelling is appropriate based on the context.
Examples:
- asta (“stick”) vs. hasta (“still”)
- grabe (“record”) vs. grave (“serious”)
As we explained previously, Latin Americans and some Spaniards pronounce the letters Z, C, and S exactly the same way. For this reason, the following words are also homophones in those particular regions. In standard Iberian Spanish, however, these words are not homophones.
- abrasar (“burn”) vs. abrazar (“hug”)
- Asia (“Asia”) vs. hacia (“towards”)
Do you think you’ve made one of these mistakes?
