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Sound and Spelling: How Letters Make Sounds in French, Spanish and German

Every language links letters to sounds, but each language does it in its own way. Learn the pattern for Spanish, French and German so you can read new words aloud.

🎬 Step-by-step story

  1. A letter is a drawing. A sound is what you say. Look at "chico": 5 letters, but only 4 tiles, because "ch" is one sound.
  2. Spanish is very regular. Each letter or letter-pair gives the same sound every time. Only "h" is silent. Tap other Spanish words.
  3. French hides sounds. In "oiseau" six letters give just 3 sounds: "oi" = wah, "s" = z, "eau" = oh. Grey tiles are silent letters.
  4. German is regular too, but some letters change their sound. "z" says ts, "ei" says eye, "ie" says ee, "w" says v.
  5. The same letter can sound different in each language. See "j": breathy h in Spanish, zh in French, y in German, j in English.
  6. Your turn. Pick a language and a word. Hide the sounds, guess each tile, then show the sounds to check.

Tip: drag the 3D scene to turn it. Use two fingers to zoom.

🤔 Common doubts, cleared

Why does "chico" have five letters but four tiles?

"ch" is a team of two letters that makes ONE sound, so it is one tile. See the orange tile in the 3D.

Is Spanish h ever said?

Not by itself. In "hola" the grey tile shows it is silent. (In "ch" it joins with c to make a new sound.)

How can six letters make only three sounds?

Letter teams: "oi" is one sound and "eau" is one sound. Count the tiles in "oiseau": three.

Is the final e in German "Schule" silent?

No. In German it is a short soft "uh". It is blue, not grey, in the 3D.

Why does the same letter j sound different?

Each language chose its own sound for each symbol. Compare the four purple tiles.

How do I check that I read a new word right?

Hide the sounds, guess each tile, then show them. This is your free-play check.

What are sound-symbol links (phonics)?

Writing is a code. Letters (symbols) stand for sounds. The study of this code is called phonics. If you know the code, you can read a word you have never seen before.

A sound is not always one letter. Sometimes two or three letters work together as one sound, like "ch" or "eau". Sometimes a letter makes no sound at all. We call that a silent letter.

Spanish: one letter, one sound

Spanish is very regular. The five vowels always sound the same: a = ah, e = eh, i = ee, o = oh, u = oo.

French: groups of letters and silent endings

French spelling keeps old letters that we no longer say. So you must learn letter groups and silent endings.

German: regular, but watch the letters that change

German is regular: once you know a rule it nearly always works. But some letters sound different from English.

Same letter, different sound

Do not carry the rule of one language into another. The letter j says h in Spanish (jamón), zh in French (jour), y in German (ja) and j in English (jam). The letters v and w also change: German w = v, German v = f, Spanish v = b.

Tip: whenever you learn a new word, learn its sound at the same time.

Try it

  1. Pick a word in the 3D. Tap "Hide the sounds".
  2. Say each tile in your mind. Guess the sound under every tile.
  3. Tap "Show the sounds" and count how many you got right.
  4. At home: pick 5 words from a food menu or a song title. Split each into sound tiles on paper with 3 colours.

Key formulas and definitions

Worked examples

1. Split the Spanish word "queso" into sound tiles and say it.

qu + e + s + o. qu = k, e = eh, s = s, o = oh. It sounds like "KEH-so". There are 5 letters but only 4 sounds.

2. How do you say the French word "oiseau"?

oi + s + eau. oi = wah, s = z (between vowels), eau = oh. So it is "wah-ZOH". 6 letters, 3 sounds.

3. How do you say the German word "Wasser"?

w + a + ss + er. w = v, a = ah, ss = s, er = a soft "uh". So it is "VAH-suh".

4. Why is the final t in French "chat" not said?

French spelling keeps an old ending that is no longer pronounced. Many final consonants are silent, so "chat" is just "sha".

Common mistakes

Practice quiz

1. What is phonics?
2. In Spanish "hola", the letter h is:
3. In French, "eau" sounds like:
4. German "ei" in "Zeit" sounds like:
5. Which letter says ts in German?

Practice: answer these yourself

Type or choose your answer, then press Check. Use a hint if you are stuck; the full solution appears after you answer.

Frequently asked questions

What is phonics in language learning?

Phonics is the link between written letters and spoken sounds. If you know it, you can read a new word aloud.

Which is the easiest of French, Spanish and German to read aloud?

Spanish is the most regular, because each letter nearly always gives the same sound. German is also regular. French has the most silent letters.

Why are some French letters silent?

French spelling kept letters that were said long ago. Over time the sounds dropped out of speech but the spelling stayed.

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