Herramientas de la lengua
Ortografía: Las letras S, C y Z
Why do you want to know this?
Why do you want to know this?
The sound <S> in Spanish can be represented by these three different letters and this increases our chances of having spelling mistakes when trying to write the sound. While for the most part it does not not hinder comprehension, that his not always the case as there are words where the meaning varies along with the spelling:
CASA = 🏡
CAZA = 🦌🔫
CACA = 💩
In the first example the sound for the letter /S/ is <S>
In the second example the sound for the letter /Z/ is also <S> in Latin America
In the third example the sound for the letter C in that position is the sound <K>
We want to know the rules and practice our spelling so people can understand what we write.
How to become better at spelling
There are many spelling rules, sometimes too many! While it is good to know them, the best way to become a better speller is by doing the following:
Lee mucho
Aprende a usar el diccionario
Lleva cuenta de tus errores más comunes
Vuelve a escribir las palabras erradas
Haz dictados para practicar
Escribe mucho y revisa cada borrador
Usa recursos tecnológicos como “spell check”
Estudia las reglas básicas
¿Cuáles de estas actividades ya haces?
Some rules for the use of S in Spanish
Here are some spelling rules for the letter S:
We use S on words that end on [sivo] or [siva]
Masivo, explosivo, expresiva
We use S with superlatives like [ísimo, ísiima]
Buenísimo, lindísimo, hermosísimo
We use S with words that end with [osa, oso, aso, eso, uso]
Precioso, hermoso, famosa, difuso, escaso, travieso
We use S with words that refer to nationalities
Estadounidense, nicarguense, costarricense
We use S en words that end in [sión] when the original word ended in [sor], [so], [sivo], [sible], [eso]
Preciso = precisión, Compresor = compresión, Expresivo= expresión
We use S in words that end in [ismo]
Paludismo, espiritismo, atletismo
We use S in words that en in [esca], [esco]
Grotesco, gigantesco, pintoresco
We use S in words that end in [esta], [esto], [ista]
Modista, fiesta, modesto
We use S in words that end in [ersa] [erse] [erso]
Perverso, inversa, atreverse
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
Más ejercicios AQUÍ
Some rules for the use o C in Spanish
Here are some spelling rules for the letter C:
We use C on verbs that end in [cir] and [ducir]
Traducir, conducir, producir
We use C on words that end in [ancio], [ancia], [encía] (with the exception of Hortensia and ansia)
Fragancia, vencía, cansancio
We use C on words that end in [ción] that derive from words that end in [to], [tor], [dar]
Bendito = bendición, Compositor = composición, Atributo = atribución
We use C on diminutive words that don’t proceed from words that end in S
Pez= pececito/pececillo, Pie= piececito, mamá= mamacita
We use C on suifxes like [cida], [cido], [cidio]
Homicidio, homicida, aparecido
We use C on words that tend on [cimiento]
Nacimiento, establecimiento, agradecimiento
We use C in verbs that end in [cer] (excepto toser, coser, ser)
Nacer, crecer, padecer, agradecer
We use C on verbs that en in [ciar] (excepto lisiar, ansiar, anestesiar)
Apreciar, acariciar, negociar
We use C on words that end in [acia, icia, icie, icio] (excepto gimnasio, Asia, eutanasia)
Codicia, malicia, bullicio
We use C on words that en in [ces] as plural of words that end in Z
Maiz= maices, Pez= peces, Atroz = atroces, Lápiz= lapices
We use C on the forms of verbs that en in [ceder, cender, cibir, citar] if the word does not come from a word that has an S.
Conceder, encender, recibir
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
Más ejercicios AQUÍ
Some rules for the use o Z in Spanish
Here are some spelling rules for the letter Z:
We use Z on words that end in [anza/o] and [azgo]
Labranza, hallazgo, adivinanza
We use Z on words that end in [azo] or [aza] denoting large size or strike
Ojazos, codazo, puertazo
We use Z on words that end in [ez, eza, za, oz] and are abstract
Pereza, fugaz, paz
We use Z on words that end in [iz, ez, oz, az] on last names
Rodríguez, González, Ramírez, Ruiz
We use Z on words that end in [zuelo, zuela] that denote diminutives or dislike
Ladronzuelo, mujerzuela, jovenzuelo
We use Z on word that end in [izo] and [iza]
Mestizo, primeriza, enfermizo
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
Más ejercicios AQUÍ
Some homonyms we should be aware of:
Asar (to roast)
Azar (luck)
Casa (House)
Caza (Hunt)
Casar (To marry)
Cazar (To hunt)
Caso (A case – like a court case)
Cazo (A pot)
Losa (Tombstone)
Loza (dish ware or tile)
Poso (To pose)
Pozo (a water well)
Risa (laughter)
Riza (to curl hair)
Rosado (pink)
Rosado (scratched as in a car scratch)
Sumo (supreme)
Zumo (juice)
Tasa (a rate as in interest “Tasa de interés”)
Taza (a cup)
Ves (You see – ¿Ves la luna?)
Vez (time – érase una vez)
Verás (you will see)
Veraz (truthful)
¡Practiquemos!
¡Hola! A continuación tienes algo para practicar. Debes lograr al menos 80% ¡Suerte!
Pensamientos finales
Paying attention to spelling helps us communicate better in written form, avoid confusions and project a professional image. Poor spelling can affect people’s career prospects and leave a bad impression. It is important to make an effort to spell well!
There are lots of spelling rules and they can be hard to memorize. A better approach is to read a lot while paying attention to how things are spelled, that way, when you are writing, your brain knows something doesn’t look right. Still, it is good to know some rules or where to find the rules for when you have a doubt. Using a dictionary can also be a great strategy. Finally, while spellcheckers catch many spelling errors, sometimes they miss the context and don’t alert us to words that may sound the same but need to be spelled differently, so we still need to use our brains.
This unit “Ortografía: Las letras S, C y Z” was created by Alegría Ribadeneira and is licensed CC BY-NC-SA
