Do you know how is LL pronounced in Spanish?

When it comes to Spanish letter combinations, the pronunciation of ll varies depending on region and country. The most common sound you’ll probably hear for ll is similar to the “y” from “yellow.” Think about pollo, which means “chicken” in Spanish. When you pronounce the letter combination ll in pollo, you hear the “y” sound instead: poh-yoh. In much of the Spanish-speaking countries, there’s no difference between the sound of ll and y in Spanish. Listen to me pronouncing ll in Spanish to get a proper feeling for how it sounds:

Different ways to pronounce LL in Spanish

Let’s see how to pronounce ll in Spanish. There’s a high chance that if you pronounce ll as “y,” you’ll be understood in most Spanish-speaking countries. Depending on the region though, the sound of ll can be similar to the letter “j” as well. This can apply to regular words that have the letter combination ll (for example, llamar). Because there are so many different Spanish accents, in some countries the “y” will turn into (and sound like) a “j.” Read more here about the proper way to pronounce ll in Spanish. But don’t worry! As I said before, Spanish people will easily understand you if you pronounce ll as a “y”—and it’s the most widely used sound for ll.

Let’s see a few word examples that contain the letter combination ll. I added in the parentheses how to pronounce them (basically how they sound so that you’ll what sound does ll make in Spanish):

• Llamar (yah-mahr) – to call
• Llave (yah-beh) – key
• Bella (beh-yah) (feminine) – beautiful
• Amarillo (ah-mah-ree-yoh) – yellow
• Llegar (yeh-gahr) – to arrive (Keep in mind that there’s a difference between llegar and venir, even though sometimes both mean “to arrive.”)
• Llenar (yeh-nahr) – to fill
• Cuchillo (koo-chee-yoh) – knife
• Ella (eh-yah) – she/her
• Lluvia (yoo-byah) – rain

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Hope you enjoyed today’s lesson! If you’d like to learn Spanish and you’re not sure where to start or whether it’s a good fit, you can always book a free consultation with me. All my 1:1 classes are tailored based on my student’s needs and desires—maybe you have a specific goal in mind, be it Spanish for business, Spanish for travel, and so on.