This chart presents a comprehensive overview of the phonemes used in Spanish, covering both Castilian Spanish (es-ES) and U.S. Spanish (es-US). Each entry includes the IPA and X-SAMPA phoneme symbols, an example word, and the full phonetic transcription of that word in both systems.

While both dialects share a core set of consonants, vowels, and diphthongs, U.S. Spanish reflects influence from American English, introducing additional phonemes such as /v/, /z/, /ʃ/, /dʒ/, /ɹ/, and /ə/. These are typically heard in borrowed words or bilingual speech contexts. This chart is ideal for learners, linguists, educators, and developers interested in pronunciation patterns across Spanish-speaking regions. A reference for stress notation and syllable boundaries is included at the end.


Spanish (Spain) – es-ES

X-SAMPAIPAExample WordX-SAMPA TranscriptionIPA Transcription
pppelo"peloˈpelo
tttela"telaˈtela
kkcasa"kasaˈkasa
bbbobo"boboˈbobo
dddedo"dedoˈdedo
gɡgagága"gagaˈga
fffoca"fokaˈfoka
Tθcielo"Tjeloˈθjelo
sssoso"sosoˈsoso
jjyo"joˈjo
xxjota"xotaˈxota
tSʧchurro"tSuroˈtʃuro
lllento"lentoˈlento
Lʎlluvia"Lubjaˈʎubja
mmmano"manoˈmano
nnmano"manoˈmano
Jɲñoño"JoJoˈɲoɲo
4ɾpero / dar"pe4o / "da4ˈpeɾo / ˈdaɾ
rrrata / perro"rata / "peroˈrata / ˈpero
aacala"kalaˈkala
eetele"teleˈtele
iipiruetapi4"wetapiɾˈweta
oocordurako4"du4akoɾˈduɾa
uudocumentardokumen"ta4dokumenˈtaɾ
aiaijamaicanosxamai"kanosxamaiˈkanos
auaurestauranterestau"4anterestauˈɾante
eieiaceitunaaTei"tunaaθeiˈtuna
eueueuro"eu4oˈeuɾo
oioihoy"oiˈoi
ououroupeirorou"pei4orouˈpeiɾo

Spanish (United States) – es-US

X-SAMPAIPAExample WordX-SAMPA TranscriptionIPA Transcription
pppelo"peloˈpelo
tttela"telaˈtela
kkcasa"kasaˈkasa
bbbobo"boboˈbobo
dddedo"dedoˈdedo
gggagága"gagaˈga
fffoca"fokaˈfoka
vvvoice"voisˈvois
sssoso / cielo"soso / "sjeloˈsoso / ˈsjelo
zzpresident / zoo"pr\ezid@ntˈpɹezidənt
Sʃshopping"SopiNˈʃopiŋ
Tθthorn"Tor\nˈθoɹn
Dðfather"faD@r\ˈfaðəɹ
xxjota"xotaˈxota
dZjennifer"dZenif@r\ˈdʒenifəɹ
tSʧchurro"tSuroˈtʃuro
lllento"lentoˈlento
mmmano"manoˈmano
nnmano"manoˈmano
Jɲñoño"JoJoˈɲoɲo
Nŋsong"soNˈsoŋ
4ɾpero / dar"pe4o / "da4ˈpeɾo / ˈdaɾ
rrrata / perro"rata / "peroˈrata / ˈpero
r\ɹcar"kar\ˈkaɹ
jjyo"joˈjo
wwwater"wot@r\ˈwotəɹ
@əgoogle"gug@lˈgugəl
aacala"kalaˈkala
eetele"teleˈtele
iipiruetapi4"wetapiɾˈweta
oocordurako4"du4akoɾˈduɾa
uudocumentardokumen"ta4dokumenˈtaɾ
aiaihayxamai"kanosxamaiˈkanos
auaupausarestau"4anterestauˈɾante
eieiaceitunaasei"tunaaθeiˈtuna
eueueuro"eu4oˈeuɾo
oioihoy"oiˈoi
ououroupeirorou"pei4orouˈpeiɾo

Stress Symbols

FunctionIPAX-SAMPA
Primary stressˈ"
Syllable boundary..