Words from Spanish

Spelling Tips

1. 1 A long o sound (\ō\) at the end of a word is often a mark of Spanish origin, and it is nearly always spelled simply with o as in embargo and many other words on this list.
2. 2 A long e sound (\ē\) at the end of a word of Spanish origin is usually spelled with i as in mariachi.
3. 3 The \k\ sound is sometimes spelled with qu in words of Spanish origin. This is especially true when the vowel sound that follows is long a (\ā\), long e (\ē\), or short i (\i\). Quesadilla and conquistador (in its pronunciations with and without the \s\ sound) are examples from our list.
4. 4 It is much more common for the \k\ sound to be spelled with c in words of Spanish origin. This is almost invariable when the vowel sound that follows is a schwa \ə\ as in canasta and embarcadero; short a (\a\) as in castanets and caballero; or long o (\ō\) as in flamenco and flamenco and junco.
5. 5 A schwa at the end of a word from Spanish is very common and is usually spelled with a as in mesa, bonanza, and several other words on the list.
6. 6 The combination ll in Spanish words is traditionally treated as a single letter and is pronounced as consonant \y\ in American Spanish. When such words enter English, sometimes that sound persists. At other times it is pronounced just like ll would be in an English word: that is, as \l\. Some words—such as mantilla, tomatillo, amarillo, and caballero—even have two pronunciations in English. Quesadilla, tortilla, and novillero always have the \y\ pronunciation in English; chinchilla, flotilla, vanilla, peccadillo, cedilla, and sarsaparilla always have the \l\ pronunciation. Be on the lookout!
7. 7 Note that, except for ll, double consonants in words from Spanish are not very common. Buffalo and peccadillo represent exceptions. In Spanish, buffalo has only one f and peccadillo has only one c. English spelling rules prefer two consonants as a signal that the previous vowel is short, as is the case in these words.