Languages › Spanish Pronouncing the Spanish L Letter Has Single Distinct Sound, Not 2 as in English Print Spanish Pronunciation History & Culture Vocabulary Writing Skills Grammar By Gerald Erichsen Gerald Erichsen Spanish Language Expert B.A., Seattle Pacific University Gerald Erichsen is a Spanish language expert who has created Spanish lessons for ThoughtCo since 1998. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on April 26, 2017 You may not have noticed, but the "L" in English has two sounds that are quite different from each other — and if you can remember that, you can easily learn the sound of the L in Spanish. The two "L" sounds occur in the word "little" — and the sound of the Spanish L is basically the same as the first "L" but not the second (a sound, by the way, that native Spanish speakers often find quite difficult). In other words, the Spanish "L" is always pronounced with the tongue at the front of the roof of the mouth similar to the "L" in words such as "love" and "alike." It is never pronounced with the vowel-like sound found in words such as "ball" or "cell." Phrases used by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the L are "lo siento mucho," "hola, ¿qué tal?" and "igualmente, gracias." The pronunciation of the L should not be confused with that of the LL, which used to be a separate letter of the alphabet. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Erichsen, Gerald. "Pronouncing the Spanish L." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/pronouncing-the-spanish-l-3079544. Erichsen, Gerald. (2023, April 5). Pronouncing the Spanish L. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/pronouncing-the-spanish-l-3079544 Erichsen, Gerald. "Pronouncing the Spanish L." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/pronouncing-the-spanish-l-3079544 (accessed April 20, 2024). copy citation