Spain Spanish: the 'th' sound, vosotros forms and le vs lo
October 10, 2026 · 5 min read
This guide is for the Spanish of Spain, specifically the standard of central and northern Spain that most Spain-focused courses teach. Three things mark it out for a learner: a "th" sound that Latin America does not use, the vosotros forms for "you all", and a habit with the pronoun le that is worth understanding but not worth worrying about.
Distinción: the "th" sound
In most of Spain, z, and c before e or i, are pronounced like the "th" in English "think". The letter s keeps its own s sound. Keeping the two apart is called distinción.
This is not a lisp. A lisp would turn every s into "th"; in Spain, only z and soft c change. That means pairs which sound identical in Latin America are different in Spain:
| s word | Meaning | z / c word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| casa | house | caza | hunt |
| siento | I feel | ciento | hundred |
| coser | to sew | cocer | to cook, boil |
Common words with the sound: gracias (thank you, said "GRA-thyas"), cerveza (beer), zapato (shoe), cinco (five).
Not all of Spain does this. Much of Andalusia and the Canary Islands use seseo, saying z and soft c as s, and some parts of Andalusia use "th" for both letters. If you learn Spain Spanish, use distinción, and expect to hear the other patterns in the south.
One more Spain sound worth knowing early: in central and northern Spain, j (and g before e or i) is a strong rasp in the throat, close to the "ch" in Scottish "loch", as in jamón (ham).
Vosotros: the informal "you all"
Spain has two plural forms of "you":
- vosotros (or vosotras for an all-female group) is informal: friends, family, children, colleagues you are on first-name terms with.
- ustedes is formal: a group of clients, older strangers, an audience.
In the Canary Islands and parts of western Andalusia, ustedes is also used informally, as in Latin America.
Present-tense forms follow one pattern and are stressed on the ending:
| Verb | vosotros form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hablar (to speak) | habláis | ¿Habláis alemán? (Do you speak German?) |
| comer (to eat) | coméis | |
| vivir (to live) | vivís | ¿Dónde vivís vosotros? (Where do you live?) |
| ser (to be) | sois | ¿Sois amigos? (Are you friends?) |
| estar (to be) | estáis | |
| tener (to have) | tenéis | ¿Tenéis hambre? (Are you hungry?) |
| querer (to want) | queréis | ¿Qué queréis? (What do you want?) |
| ir (to go) | vais |
Three more pieces complete the set:
- Past tense: hablasteis (you spoke), comisteis (you ate).
- Commands: replace the final r of the infinitive with d: hablad, comed, venid (come). With the reflexive os, the d drops: sentaos (sit down), as in Sentaos aquí, por favor.
- Pronouns: the object pronoun is os, and the possessive is vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras: ¿Os gusta bailar? (Do you like dancing?), Vuestra casa es grande. (Your house is big.)
Le and lo: the short version
In standard Spanish, lo is "him" or "it" (masculine) as a direct object, la is "her" or "it" (feminine), and le is "to him" or "to her".
- Lo vi el otro día. (I saw him, or I saw it, the other day.)
In much of Spain, people also use le for a male person as a direct object. This is called leísmo:
- Le vi ayer. (I saw him yesterday.)
The Royal Spanish Academy accepts this use for a male person in the singular. It does not accept le for things: for a book or a phone, say Lo compré ayer. (I bought it yesterday.) Using la for "to her" (laísmo) is also heard in parts of Spain, but it is considered incorrect.
The safe rule for a learner: use lo for "him" and for masculine things. It is correct everywhere. Recognise le vi when you hear it in Spain, and do not let it confuse you.
Words and habits that sound like Spain
| Spain | Much of Latin America | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| coche | carro | car |
| ordenador | computadora | computer |
| móvil | celular | mobile phone |
| zumo | jugo | juice |
You will also hear vale (OK) constantly. And for things that happened today, Spain usually uses the present perfect: ¿Qué has hecho hoy? (What have you done today?), where much of Latin America would use the simple past.
A ten-minute practice routine
- Two minutes: say the three distinción pairs aloud, putting your tongue between your teeth only for z and soft c.
- Four minutes: read the vosotros table aloud, then ask each example question as if to two friends.
- Two minutes: say three commands aloud, as if to a group of friends: hablad, comed, venid.
- Two minutes: say Lo vi el otro día. and Lo compré ayer. until lo feels automatic.
Tonada, a language-learning app for adults, has an English-to-Spain Spanish course (A1–B2) with audio and speaking practice.
Tonada is a language-learning app for adults, with A1–B2 courses, audio and speaking practice.