Common English pronunciation mistakes of Spanish speakers and how to fix them

If you have ever been told that your Spanish accent shows when you speak English, or you said sink and people understood think, you are not alone. Almost all Spanish speakers make the same pronunciation mistakes, and the reason is simple: Spanish and English have very different sound systems. Five vowels against twelve, no «th», a «v» that sounds like «b», words that never begin with s + consonant… Every mistake has a specific cause, and that is why it can be fixed.

Don’t worry, because correcting them is not a matter of talent: it is a matter of knowing what you are doing wrong and practising it. In this guide I explain the 12 most common English pronunciation mistakes of Spanish speakers, why they happen, how to fix them, with practice words and IPA and an audio for each table. At the end there are thirty practice sentences with answers. Let’s get started! 🙂

Why your accent shows

When you learn a language, your ear and your mouth are trained on the sounds of your own. Spanish has about 24 sounds and English has 44. The sounds that exist in English and not in Spanish (th, sh, v, long and short vowels) get replaced by the closest one you have, and that is where the accent comes from. The rhythm is different too. These are the twelve mistakes, in order from most to least frequent in my experience as a teacher.

Note: every mistake comes with a table of practice words and their IPA. If you cannot read it yet, start with the guide to English phonetics and the IPA.

The 12 most common pronunciation mistakes

1. Replacing /θ/ and /ð/ with /s/, /t/ or /d/

English has two «th» sounds: /θ/, voiceless (think), and /ð/, voiced (this). If you are from Spain, they are nothing new to you: /θ/ is the «z» of «zapato» and «cielo», and /ð/ is the «d» of «nada» or «cada». You say them every day, so we have no excuse if we get them wrong. If you are from Latin America or the Canaries, you may not often pronounce /θ/, but you already have /ð/ in «nada». The typical mistake is saying «sink» or «tink» for think, and «dis» or «zis» for this.

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Do with /θ/ the same thing you do with the «z» of «zapato», and with /ð/ what you do with the «d» of «nada», but also at the start of a word: this, that, the. Put the tip of your tongue slightly between your teeth.

❌ «sink» for think → ✅ /θɪŋk/.

2. Saying /b/ instead of /v/

In Spanish v and b sound the same. In English they are two different sounds: /b/ closes the lips and /v/ rests the upper teeth on the lower lip. Saying «berry» for very changes the word.

Listen to each pair, from top to bottom:

How to fix it: For /v/, rest your upper teeth on your lower lip and let the air pass, vibrating. The lips do not touch.

❌ «berry» for very → ✅ /ˈveri/.

3. Mixing up short and long vowels

Spanish has only five vowels and no length distinction. In English, duration and quality change the word: ship and sheep, full and fool, cat and cut.

Listen to each pair, from top to bottom:

How to fix it: Lengthen and tense the long vowels (/iː/, /uː/) and shorten and relax the short ones (/ɪ/, /ʊ/). Practise with minimal pairs.

❌ ship and sheep sound the same → ✅ /ʃɪp/ and /ʃiːp/. More practice in the guide to short and long vowels.

4. Not using the schwa /ə/

In Spanish every vowel is pronounced clearly, even the unstressed ones. In English unstressed syllables are reduced to a weak, neutral vowel, the schwa /ə/, which is the most frequent sound in the language. If you pronounce about as «a-bout» with a clear «a», you sound very Spanish.

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Relax your mouth and tongue, and give less energy to unstressed syllables. Listen for where the stress falls in each word.

❌ «a-bout» with a clear «a» → ✅ /əˈbaʊt/. More practice in the guide to English phonetics and the IPA.

5. Adding an «e» before s + consonant

In Spanish there are no words that begin with s + consonant (we say «escuela», «España», «estudiante»), so when speaking English we add an «e» in front without noticing: «eschool», «espeak».

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Stretch the initial /s/ without a vowel: «ssspeak». Practise saying just «sss-k», «sss-p» before the word.

❌ «eschool», «espeak» → ✅ /skuːl/, /spiːk/.

6. Pronouncing the -ed ending the same way every time

The -ed ending has three sounds (/t/, /d/ and /ɪd/) and only /ɪd/ adds a syllable. The typical mistake is always pronouncing an «e»: «wal-ked».

How to fix it: Look at the last sound of the verb: voiceless → /t/, voiced → /d/, /t/ or /d/ → /ɪd/.

❌ «wal-ked» → ✅ /wɔːkt/. More practice in the guide to pronunciation of -ed.

7. Confusing /ʃ/ and /tʃ/

Spanish has /tʃ/ («chico») but not /ʃ/, the «sh» of she. That is why ship sounds like chip and shoes like choose.

Listen to each pair, from top to bottom:

How to fix it: For /ʃ/, round your lips slightly and let the air flow continuously, as when you ask for silence («shhh»). Do not stop the air.

❌ chip for ship → ✅ /ʃɪp/. More practice in the guide to pronunciation of CH.

8. Swapping /j/ and /dʒ/

Spanish speakers often confuse /j/ (yes) with /dʒ/ (jet), because in many varieties of Spanish the «y» is pronounced strongly, almost like /dʒ/. The result: yes sounds like «jes» and year like «jear».

Listen to each pair, from top to bottom:

How to fix it: For /j/, the tongue gets close to the roof of the mouth without touching it, like a quick «i». For /dʒ/ there is a tongue stop.

❌ «jes» for yes → ✅ /jes/.

9. Pronouncing the English «r» like the Spanish one

The English «r» /r/ is not trilled: the tongue curls back without touching the palate. And in British English the «r» at the end of a syllable is not pronounced (car, bird). Spanish speakers trill the «r» or pronounce it at the end.

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Curl the tip of your tongue back without touching the roof of the mouth and round your lips slightly. And do not pronounce a syllable-final «r» in British English.

❌ «berrd» with a strong «r» → ✅ /bɜːd/. More practice in the guide to sounds air, ear and er.

10. Not pronouncing /h/ (or pronouncing it like a Spanish «j»)

The Spanish h is silent, but the English one is pronounced: /h/ is a soft breath of air. The mistake is not pronouncing it («ouse») or pronouncing it like a strong Spanish «j» («jot»). And there are a few words with a silent h (hour, honest).

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Do it as if you were fogging up a window: a soft breath from the throat, with no strong friction.

❌ «ouse» for house → ✅ /haʊs/.

11. Neglecting final consonants

In Spanish few consonants end words, and the ones that do not contrast in voicing. In English, the difference between final /d/ and /t/ (bed/bet), /g/ and /k/ (bag/back) or /z/ and /s/ (rise/rice) changes the word. Final /m/ and /n/ also get mixed up (swim).

Listen to each pair, from top to bottom:

How to fix it: Say the last sound of every word and lengthen the vowel before a voiced consonant (bed sounds longer than bet).

❌ bet for bed → ✅ /bed/.

12. Stressing words and sentences wrongly

Spanish is a syllable-timed language (every syllable lasts almost the same). English is stress-timed: stressed syllables are long and strong and unstressed ones are reduced. If you stress a word wrongly («IMportant»), the listener has a lot of trouble understanding you.

Listen to the words, one after another:

How to fix it: Learn each word with its stress (the dictionary marks it with the symbol ˈ) and mark the stressed syllables clearly.

❌ «IMportant» with stress on the first syllable → ✅ /ɪmˈpɔːtnt/.

Other habits of Spanish speakers

There are two more habits that do not fit in a table, but you hear them all the time:

• Pronouncing every letter as it is written. English has silent letters (knife, write, island) and combinations that do not sound as they look (night, enough). It is explained in my guide to spelling and pronunciation and in the one on GH pronunciation.
• Reading cognates with a Spanish pronunciation. message is not «mensaje» and garage is not «garaje»: see the words ending in -age and the words in -ture.

How to correct your pronunciation: a four-step plan

1. Spot your mistakes. Record yourself reading a short text and compare it with the audio of a dictionary.
2. Pick one or two mistakes (not all twelve at once). The th, v and vowel ones usually give the best results.
3. Practise with minimal pairs (ship/sheep, very/berry) aloud, exaggerating.
4. Repeat a few minutes every day. Ten minutes a day is more effective than an hour a week.

Frequently asked questions about pronunciation mistakes

What is the most common pronunciation mistake of Spanish speakers?

The th (/θ/ and /ð/), which gets replaced by /s/, /t/ or /d/, along with the confusion between /v/ and /b/ and between short and long vowels (ship and sheep).

Can you lose a Spanish accent?

You can improve a lot. You do not need to eliminate it: it is enough to be understood without effort, and you get that by correcting the mistakes that change the meaning of words.

How long does it take to correct your pronunciation?

It depends on practice. With ten minutes a day and a couple of mistakes at a time, you notice improvements in a few weeks.

What is the schwa and why is it so important?

It is the weak vowel /ə/ of unstressed syllables (about, teacher). It is the most frequent sound in English and using it is key to rhythm.

Is British or American English better?

Either works. On this blog I use British (RP) because it is the one in the Cambridge exams, but what matters is to be consistent.

Pronunciation mistakes exercises

Thirty sentences to check you have it clear. The answers are below each exercise.

Exercise 1: choose the correct transcription

Choose the correct transcription for each word.

Exercise 2: name the mistake

Choose the type of mistake in each case.

Exercise 3: find the sound

Choose the word that contains the given sound.

Conclusion

To sum up in three ideas: almost all pronunciation mistakes of Spanish speakers have a specific cause, a sound that Spanish does not have or pronounces differently; you do not have to correct them all at once, start with th, v and the vowels; and daily practice with minimal pairs is what works.

If you want to keep going, my next suggestion is to start with the guide to spelling and pronunciation, which is the entry point to the whole series.

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See you in the next post. Until then, don’t forget to keep smiling! 🙂