In Spanish how does one pronounce words that start with the leter 'X'?

Question

I met a woman with 'Xiomara' on her name tag. She said that the letter X is used in place of any sound that is not covered by the other letters of the Spanish alphabet. Is that true? What are typical sounds that 'X' is used for?

Answer 1

The letter "x" can be used for a number of different sounds in Spanish. Sometimes it is used as a "sh" sound, sometimes as a "j" (as it's pronounced in Spanish" sound, sometimes as a "zh" sound, I believe. It might also be used as a "ks" sound, as it is in English. You just have to ask.

The X is not used for arbitrary sounds. As I recall, it is used because the letter X was used to represent certain sounds from Indian languages when the conquistadores first came to the Americas. Although the pronunciation of these words was transformed into sounding more like Spanish, the letter still remains as a possible letter in Spanish.

The classic example is Mexico, whose "x" is pronounced like "j" would be. But you will also see other words where the "x" is pronounced different ways. I believe the previous answerer who said that this is used in words that came from Nahuatl (an indigenous language of Mexico) is correct, although I have also seen this letter in names of people from other parts of the Americas.

And, by the way, the sound that's often represented by the letter "h" in English is not the same sound that's often represented by the letter "j" in Spanish. The people who said that above just can't hear the difference.

Answer 2

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RE:
In Spanish how does one pronounce words that start with the leter 'X'?
I met a woman with 'Xiomara' on her name tag. She said that the letter X is used in place of any sound that is not covered by the other letters of the Spanish alphabet. Is that true? What are typical sounds that 'X' is used for?

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
In Spanish how does one pronounce words that start with the leter 'X'?
I met a woman with 'Xiomara' on her name tag. She said that the letter X is used in place of any sound that is not covered by the other letters of the Spanish alphabet. Is that true? What are typical sounds that 'X' is used for?

Answer 4

Nope, any word that starts with an X in Spanish is like pronounced H as in English. Help, How, Here, Hell.

Xalapa would sound as if it were writtten Halapa.
Xavier would sound like Havier
Ximena would sound like Himena (Heemena)
Xiomara is Hiomara (Heeomara)

Unlike English, Spanish is pronounced as written.

That girl has has her facts wrong because the Spanish J is also pronounced as the English H.
Jamón
Jarra
Jugo

Hope it helps

Answer 5

I had a student named Xiomara this year. She pronounced it "See-oh-MAH-da" (the R being a slightly trilled sound).

My understanding is that X is not commonly used in the Spanish alphabet, and that words with the X in them are usually from other languages. As someone above said, the ecological park Xel-ha is pronounced shell-ha, but I believe that comes from Mayan and not Spanish.

Answer 6

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In Old Spanish, X was pronounced like [ʃ] as it is still currently in other Iberian languages. Later, the sound evolved to a hard [x] sound. In modern Spanish, the hard [x] sound is spelled with a j, or with a g before e and i, though x is still retained for some names (notably México, which alternates with Méjico). Now, X represents the sound [s] (word-initially), or the consonat clusters [ks] and [gs] (e.g. oxígeno, examen). Even rarer; like in Old Spanish, the x can be pronounced as [ʃ] in modern day in some proper nouns such as Raxel (a variant of Rachel) and Xelajú. In American and seseo Spanish, the xc in excelente is pronounced as [ks] but in Spain, this combination is pronounced [ks-θ].

Answer 7

I speak Spanish from Mexico, and the way how I pronunciate the X in Xiomara is "cs" as in Texas. I've also heard people pronunciating the X in Xiomara as an "S". That would also be ok.

Answer 8

The letter X is sometimes pronounced like H, as in Xavier (also spelled "Javier"). However, a name starting with "Xi" is probably Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. (I'm guessing this woman was Mexican?) In that case, the X is pronounced like SH.

Answer 9

Here's the correct way:

The Spanish pronunciation of Xiomara is SeeOmara. {Repeat it as you read it.}

Xylophone is another similar word to the name Xiomara. in Spanish will be Xilifono or Ceelophono {Again, repeat it as you read it.}

Hope that helps!

Answer 10

X In Spanish