Reddit
reddit.com › r/spanish › the j in spanish sounds like an h, only until it doesn't (so it seems)
r/Spanish on Reddit: The J in Spanish sounds like an H, only until it doesn't (so it seems)
September 5, 2021 -
It has been foot-stomped repeatedly in my Spanish education that j sounds like an h. E.g. Jamas, japones, jalapeno, all start with a j that sounds like an h.
However, this rule seems to take on the typical 'j' sound as expressed in English at certain times such as when saying "Junior" and "Jacky". But what's strange about this is that some names like "Juan" pronounce the j like an h.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Edit - I appreciate the comments everyone! It looks like I have a lot more to learn on the linguistics-side of the house.
Top answer 1 of 5
151
I’m no expert in Spanish phonology, but I think the difference in pronunciation can be attributed to the fact that “Junior” and “Jacky” are not native Spanish words. Also, the J sound in Spanish is more like an English H with more friction in the throat.
2 of 5
33
I guess it's a good approximation to say that Spanish "j" /x/ is similar to English "h" /h/, but they are articulated differently and sound somewhat differently, so you might want to look into that. And yeah, the "j" retains the English sound in loanwords such as "junior"; or names, such as "John" and "Jean".
Coffee Break Languages
coffeebreaklanguages.com › home › blog › how to pronounce the letter j in spanish
How to pronounce the letter J in Spanish
May 14, 2025 - That rough, throaty sound is similar to the Spanish J. If English is not your first language, try to find a sound that is similar, and use it to make that J sound in Spanish. Start with a K sound Begin with the sound K and then add more breath to it, pushing the sound further back in your throat. Of course, Spanish is spoken in many countries, and there are some regional variations in the pronunciation of the letter J in Spanish.
Videos
ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › pronouncing-the-spanish-g-and-j-3079543
What You Should Know About Pronouncing the G and J in Spanish
May 12, 2025 - In a few cases, such as "meeting" becoming mítin or mitin, the spelling has been changed to conform with the common pronunciation. The j sound is what is known as a voiceless velar fricative, which means that it is formed by forcing air through ...
SpanishDictionary.com
spanishdict.com › spanishdictionary.com › grammar › language basics › how to pronounce the letter "j" in spanish
How to Pronounce the Letter "J" in Spanish | SpanishDictionary.com
The letter j represents the Spanish ... /x/ (in Latin America and the south of Spain) and /χ/ (in central and northern Spain). When a consonant sound is uttered, the flow of air out of the mouth is partially or completely blocked at some point. The name of this letter is pronounced jota. In Latin America and parts of Spain, j sounds like the English h in here or history...
StoryLearning
storylearning.com › learn › spanish › spanish-tips › spanish-j-sound-how-to-master-the-spanish-j-sound
Spanish J Sound: Master the Jota I I Will Teach You A Language
May 25, 2022 - Of all the Spanish pronunciation ... letter. Most Spanish textbooks and guides tell learners to pronounce the letter J like the letter H in ......
SpanishDictionary.com
spanishdict.com › spanishdictionary.com › grammar › language basics › spanish alphabet pronunciation
Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation | SpanishDictionary.com
SPA, IPA, and ABC Pronunciation · The Spanish Alphabet · Spanish Word Stress · How to Pronounce the Letter "B" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "C" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "D" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "F" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "G" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "H" in Spanish · How to Pronounce the Letter "J" in Spanish ·
Soyguiri
blog.soyguiri.com › the-j-sound-in-spanish
🎤 The J sound in Spanish: Discover it and practice! 🇪🇸
June 9, 2025 - Did you know that the J in Spanish sounds different from the one in English? 🤔 You’re not alone! The J in Spanish, known as 'jota', has a unique sound that varies by region and is crucial for authentic pronunciation.
Tell Me In Spanish
tellmeinspanish.com › home › blog › learning › how to say j in spanish: pronunciation tips + vocabulary
How to Say J in Spanish: Pronunciation Tips + Vocabulary | Tell Me In Spanish
January 28, 2025 - Young Spanish speakers use hahaha and jajaja interchangeably when texting because they both represent the same sound. The only situation where j is pronounced like the English j is with words borrowed from this language, such as jeans, jeep, and junior. Take Note: If you compare the pronunciation of ‘j’ with other Spanish sounds, this word always sounds like ‘x’ or the hard ‘g’.
Effortless Conversations
effortlessconversations.com › learn-spanish › j-in-spanish
J In Spanish: 2 Native Pronunciations Of Jota In Spanish
November 25, 2024 - J in Spanish (jota) has two main pronunciations: • The soft J (Southern Spain, the Canary Islands, and Central America) sounds like the English /h/ in “hello”: “Jaén” sounds like “ha-EN”. • The hard J (Northern Spain, Mexico, ...
SpanishDictionary.com
spanishdict.com › spanishdictionary.com › grammar › miscellaneous › how to pronounce "j" and "g" in spanish
How to Pronounce "J" and "G" in Spanish | SpanishDictionary.com
Note how the IPA transcription—the second line on the pronunciation screen—changes for each word, between the Latin American pronunciation and the Spanish one. ... When mentioning the uvular /χ/, we noted that it is used in northern and central Spain. In other parts of the country, like the southern region of Andalucia and the Canary Islands, the j and g (before i and e) tend to be pronounced as a velar /x/—more like the h in English.
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to Pronounce J in Spanish - Spanish Pronunciation Guide of the Alphabet - YouTube
In this short video, you will learn about the pronunciation in Spanish. Find a full Spanish pronunciation guide over here: http://spanishforyourjob.com/pronu...
Published December 29, 2015
Quora
quora.com › How-do-you-pronounce-a-Spanish-J-similar-to-the-Hebrew-ch-or-the-English-h-Where-is-your-Spanish-accent-from
How to pronounce a Spanish J, similar to the Hebrew “ch” or the English “h”? Where is your Spanish accent from - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): All of the Spaniards with whom I've ever spoken have pronounced “ge, gi, j” as [x] or even [χ] . The latter IPA symbol is commonly used for the German “ch” before back vowels, so I hope it's close to the Hebrew “ch.” ...
Lawless Spanish
lawlessspanish.com › lawless spanish › pronunciation guides
J - Spanish Consonant - Lawless Spanish Pronunciation
May 31, 2023 - The Spanish letter J has a single pronunciation: a harsh, throaty sound, somewhat similar to the Parisian R or the CH in the Scottish word loch.
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to pronounce the letter J in Spanish | CBS Show 2.05 - YouTube
🚨 This week only: save 50% on all our courses and Coffee Break TV subscriptions in the Black Friday Sale. https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/bf2025-spanish 🚨...
Published June 27, 2024
Deunaspanishschool
deunaspanishschool.com › home › de una blog › how to pronounce the letter “j” in spanish
How To Pronounce The Letter “J” In Spanish - De-Una Spanish School
August 29, 2024 - Unlike its counterparts in English, the Colombian “J” sounds like the English pronunciation of the letter “H”. In this post, we’ll explore the nuances of pronouncing the letter “J” in Colombian Spanish.
Quora
quora.com › In-Spanish-the-letter-“J”-is-pronounced-as-“H”-how-is-the-sound-“J”-written-in-Spanish
In Spanish, the letter “J” is pronounced as “H”, how is ...
Answer (1 of 15): > If the Spanish "H" is an English "J", what is a Spanish "J"? All languages use their letters somewhat differently, or even very differently, like in this case. What sound the letter J represents varies a lot between languages, for example: * /j/, like in Swedish ja (“yes”)...
Blancaquintero
blancaquintero.com › home › blog › consonants › letter j in spanish – how to pronounce it like a native
How to Pronounce the LETTER J in Spanish Like a Native
October 6, 2023 - ja: jara, jamón, teja, aguja. je: jefe, jersey, lenguaje, viaje. ji: jirafa, Jiménez, ajillo, bajito. jo: jota, joven, trajo, cojonudo. ju: juntos, judías, adjunto, brújula. Click to see how to pronounce other Spanish consonants.
StoryLearning
storylearning.com › learn › spanish › spanish-tips › spanish-ll-pronunciation
The Spanish LL Pronunciation: Is It A 'Y' Or A 'J' Sound?
When you first started to learn Spanish, you were probably taught that the Spanish LL pronunciation was the same as the letter ‘y’ in English. And that is true… sometimes. But, if you've already been learning Spanish for a little while, I bet you’ve discovered that’s not always the case. Maybe you're wondering why ll sometimes sounds like ‘y’, but other times seems to sound like an English ‘j’ instead.
Published August 20, 2024
Top answer 1 of 2
14
When the words are foreign words and adopt the original phonetics.
Banjo comes from English, in Spanish there are both Banjo and Banyo, as it is pronounced.
Ninja comes from the Japanese and is pronounced with its original phonetics.
I didn't find any another word with "nj" from 2900 pronounced as the English "j".
But, sometimes the "j" is pronounced as in English in some words, especially anglicisms. For example:
- Jean is never pronounced j.e.a.n but as "dʒin" (Spanish pronuntiation)
- The same with Jogging, Jet, Jet set, Jet lag, Jumbo, Jazz, Junior, words all accepted in the RAE.
Sometimes it depends on the meaning or use:
Jaguar the animal is pronounced like the Spanish "j"
Jaguar the car, like the "j" in English
Ginebra is pronounced with the Spanish "g", similar to the Spanish "j" sound
Gin is pronounced with the original English phonetics
The same happens with some Gallicisms, where the j or g are not (or rarely are) pronounced with the Spanish sound but with the French one:
- Beige, Collage, Déjà vu,
- Garaje, with the original phonetics in Latin America, not in Spain.
And of course all personal names: John Travolta, Michael Jackson, Norma Jean, Jean Luc Godard, Jessica Rabbit.
2 of 2
3
@Danielillo's answer is mostly correct, but the sound isn't exactly like English ⟨j⟩ [d͡ʒ]. Rather, it's somewhere in between English ⟨j⟩ and English ⟨y⟩, a sound which doesn't exist in English — [ʝ] or [ɟ͡ʝ]. This sound is the same as the ⟨y⟩ in “yo” or the ⟨ll⟩ in “llamar”.
However, note that there's a wide variation in how this sound is pronounced in different regions, speakers, and contexts — [ʝ], [ɟ͡ʝ], [ʒ], even [ʃ]. And in some places, the pronunciation of ⟨ll⟩ is different from that of ⟨y⟩ (see yeísmo).
So, the more accurate answer to "When would Spanish speakers pronounce ⟨j⟩ like English ⟨j⟩ [d͡ʒ]?" is "never". But they pronounce it similarly ([ʝ~ɟ͡ʝ]) in loanwords from other languages, such as "banjo" and "ninja".
Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-pronunciation-of-j-in-Spanish
What is the pronunciation of 'j' in Spanish? - Quora
Answer (1 of 11): The “j” in “jueves” and “reloj” are exactly the same. At least in my dialect of European Spanish. That said, it is pronounced similarly to the French “r”, but it’s still a different sound. This is my me saying “jueves” and “reloj”: Vocaroo | Voice message Also, the following w...