Language
Spanish
Unit
Consonantes
IPA
/ʎ/
Practice words
5

Sample pronunciation audio — Open the full phoneme overview

Start with one sample audio file for laterales - /ʎ/.

Quick tip

Let air flow along the sides of your tongue.

Letters and IPA

Letters

ll (in dialects without yeísmo, e.g. llave, calle) — merged with /ʝ/ in most modern Spanish

/ʎ/

Practice words

  • llave

  • calle

  • lleno

  • llorar

  • lluvia

Minimal pairs

How to produce this sound

Put the middle of your tongue against the hard palate and let the air flow along the sides, like a soft palatal l.

Common mix-ups

Closest comparison

Este sonido es nuevo para la mayoría de hablantes de inglés; el más cercano es /lj/ como en million en algunas pronunciaciones.

Hear "llave" pronounced by Spanish natives

Listen to native speakers and see real-world usage on these reference sites. Each link opens in a new tab.

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