l
/l/from spelling rules
The twelfth letter of the English alphabet, l, is used in Spanish.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Caribbean and coastal regions of Latin America, the L sound at the end of a word may be softened or omitted, such as sol sounding like so or sow.
How do you pronounce it?
/l/
Did you know?
- The Spanish alphabet historically treated ll as a separate letter entirely, and it appeared in dictionaries under its own section until 1994.
- Spanish has a distinct 'double L' digraph, ll, which is written as two l letters but is pronounced as a palatal lateral or a 'y' sound in most dialects.
- While English speakers use a 'dark l' by pulling the tongue back, Spanish speakers use a 'clear l' where the tip of the tongue touches the back of the upper teeth. This makes the Spanish 'l' sound much sharper and lighter than the English version.
Examples in context
- López tiene cuatro hermanos.López has four brothers.This sentence shows the use of l in a name.Tatoeba #1507506 by marcelostockle, translation #773488 by marloncori
- Pensé que eras criado en Los Ángeles.I thought you were raised in L.A.Tatoeba #1702612 by marcelostockle, translation #29360 by CN
- Debo cancelar mi viaje a Los Ángeles.I should cancel my L.A. trip.Tatoeba #1948093 by teskmon, translation #29361 by bmorsello
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A student is asking a teacher about spelling a name.
- Sofía¿Cómo se escribe esa letra, la l?How do you write that letter, the l?
- MateoEs la l, minúscula.It is the l, lowercase.
- SofíaGracias por la aclaración.Thank you for the clarification.
- MateoDe nada, Sofía.You're welcome, Sofía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
