a

like 'a' in "art": casa

e

like the first component of the diphthong 'ay' in "day" (este). Since Spanish also has a diphthong 'ay', as in rey (see "ei" below) you may consider to pronounce Spanish 'e' like the 'e' in "get"

i

like 'ee' in "see" or "deed"

o

like the first component of the diphthong 'ow' in "low". The vowel in "caught" will be equally understood, unless you pronounce it like "cot". Anyway, the full diphthong "ow" does not occur in Spanish, so you don't have to worry about pronouncing clipped enough

u

like 'oo' in "hoop"

ai, ay

like 'eye': baile

au

like 'ow' in 'cow': causa

ei, ey

like 'ay' in "say": reina, rey

eu

like 'yu' in "euro"

ia

like 'ya' in 'Kenya': piano

ie

like 'ye' in "yes": pie

io

like 'yo': dio

iu

like 'ew' in few: ciudad

oi, oy

like 'oy' in "boy": soy

ou

like 'ou' in "though" - Present only in foreign words: show

ua

like 'wa' in "wallet": cuatro

ue

like 'we' in "well": puedo

ui, uy

like 'wi' in "winter": ruido

ui

like 'ooy': cuido

uo

like "wa" in "water": averiguo

b

like 'b' in "bed": boca

c

when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'c' in "cell" (Latin America) or 'th' in "thin" (Spain): cine; otherwise like 'k' in "kid": calle, doctor

ch

like 'ch' in "touch": muchacho

d

like 'd' in "dog": dedo

f

like 'f' in "fine": faro

g

when followed by 'e' or 'i', like 'ch' in "loch" (general = hai-nai-RAHL), otherwise like "g" in "go" (gato). In the clusters "gue" and "gui", the "u" is silent (guitarra), unless it bears a diaeresis, as in "güe" and "güi" (pedigüeño)

gu, gü

like 'Gu' in McGuire or 'w' in "wire" (agua, agüita)

h

silent: hora

j

like 'ch' in "loch": jabón

k

like 'c' in "cat": kilo

l

like 'l' in "love": lápiz

ll

like 'y' in "yield" (Latin America) or the 'ly' sound in "million" (Spain): lluvia

m

like 'm' in "mother": mano

n

like 'n' in "nice", and like 'n' in "anchor": noche, ancla

ñ

like 'ny' in "canyon": cañón, piñata

p

like 'p' in "pig": perro

q

like 'q' in "quiche" (always with a silent "u"): queso, pronounced KAY-so

r, rr

Spanish has two "r" sounds which are very different form their counterparts in most languages, and certainly very different from the English. As a result most English speakers lisp their r's when they come to Spanish. However, if you use your native pronunciation it's unlikely that people understand cerro (hill) when youn meant cero (zero), and they may not understand you at all

Single flap r (ere): Always written "r", and never occurs at the beginning of the word, this sound is created by putting the tip of the tongue up against where the front of the roof of the mouth meets the upper teeth, very similar to the action English speakers make to pronounce l or t. This is not widely taught but can be practiced by anyone. Particular care should be taken when r appears after a consonant, eg in the word otro (other). tr is a particular sound in English, which if you use in Spanish will be an incomprehensible list. One must separate the two sounds out, as in wha(t) (r) rubbish, clicking the r properly

Rolled r (erre) 
Written "r" at the beginning of the word, or after "l", "n", or "s" (ropa, enredo). Written "rr" between vowels (cerro). It's a multiply vibrating sound. Whereas all English can learn to tap out a single r it seems that many adult non-Spanish speakers simply do not have the ability to vibrate the tongue in the way needed to pronounce rr

s

like 'ss' in "hiss": sopa

t

like 't' in "top": tapa

v

like 'b' in "bed": vaca, pronounced BAH-kah

w

like 'w' in "weight" in English words, whisky (pronounced WEESS-kee). Like 'b' in "bed" in Germanic words

x

like 'x' in "sex" (sexo). Like 'ss' in "hiss" at beginning of a word (xilófono). Like 'ch' in "loch" in the words México, mexicano, Oaxaca, and oaxaqueño

y

like 'y' in "yes": payaso. Like 'y' in "boy": hoy

z

like 's' in "supper" (Latin America), like 'th' in "thin" (Spain): zorro. See c above