J is the tenth letter of the alphabet and the seventh consonant. It is always followed by a vowel.
Pongamos estas flores en un jarrón.
Let's put these flowers in a vase.Juan es demasiado joven para ir a la universidad.
Juan is too young to go to college.
The letter J may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with J: jardín (garden), jirafa (giraffe), juego (game).
- Words with J in them: ojo (eye), ajo (garlic), trabajar (to work).
- Words ending in J. They are extremely infrequent: reloj (clock), cambuj (mask), boj (boxwood).
Pronunciation tip: The pronunciation of the Spanish J is similar to the /h/ sound in “hope”, though stronger and more guttural in nature. It is a velar fricative, that is, to articulate it, the back of the tongue is high, touching the soft palate and the back of the palate, constricting airflow. It is also a voiceless sound, meaning that the vocal cords do not vibrate to produce it:
Exception: In words of foreign origin, the letter J is pronounced /ʃ/ (as in “sheep”) or /dʒ/ (as in “John”), depending on the region our country:
Important: When g goes before e or i, it has the same sound as J. Therefore, attention should be paid to spelling rules when writing.
- See also: Words with G
Spanish nouns that start with J
| juguete toy | jarabe syrup | jubilación retirement |
| jabón soap | juventud youth | jersey sweater |
| jardín garden | jeringa syringe | juramento oath |
| joya jewel | jaqueca headache | jauría pack |
| juego game | Japón Japan | junta board |
| jueves Thursday | jerarquía hierarchy | jeque sheikh |
| jaula cage | jeroglífico hieroglyph | jadeo panting |
| jazmín jasmine | jerga jargon | justificación justification |
| jungla jungle | jerez sherry | jirón shred |
| jalea jelly | juicio trial | jabalina javelin |
Animals starting with J: jirafa (giraffe), jaguar (jaguar), jabalí (wild boar), jilguero (goldfinch), jején (midge).
Foods starting with J: jengibre (ginger), jalapeño (jalapeño pepper), jitomate (tomato), jamón (ham).
Jobs starting with j: juez (judge), joyero (jeweler), jugador de fútbol (soccer player), jefe (boss), jardinero (gardener).
Names starting with J: Juana, Jimena, Josefina, Julieta, José, Julio, Javier, Jesús.
Marcos juega al fútbol todos los jueves.
Marcos plays soccer every Thursday.La abuela ha plantado muchas flores en su jardín.
Grandma has planted many flowers in her garden.El jarabe de arce es muy popular en Canadá.
Maple syrup is very popular in Canada.Las joyas de la Corona británica se exhiben en la Torre de Londres.
The British Crown Jewels are on display in the Tower of London.
Spanish nouns with J in them: trabajo (work), cajón (drawer), pareja (couple), coraje (courage), queja (complaint), viaje (trip), ejemplo (example), reflejo (reflection), mejilla (cheek), objeto (object), tarjeta (card) caja (box), ceja (eyebrow), traje (suit).
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with J
| joven young | jaspeado marbled | judicativo judicative |
| justo fair, just | jurídico legal | jesuítico Jesuitical |
| japonés Japanese | jamaiquino Jamaican | jujeño of Jujuy |
| juguetón playful | jurásico Jurassic | judío Jewish |
| jugoso juicy | jesuita Jesuit | jocundo jocund |
| jerárquico hierarchical | jabonoso soapy | jalapeño of Jalapa |
| junto together | jurado sworn | jerarquizador hierarchizing |
| jeroglífico hieroglyphic | jónico Ionic | jonio Ioanian |
| justificable justifiable | jadeante panting | jíbaro Jivaro |
| judicial judicial | jordano Jordanian | jabalinero concerning wild boars |
María es una mujer joven con un futuro prometedor.
María is a young woman with a promising future.La decisión del magistrado no fue justa.
The magistrate’s decision was not fair.El período Jurásico comenzó hace más de 200 millones de años.
The Jurassic Period began more than 200 million years ago.Este limón está bien jugoso.
This lemon is very juicy.
Adjectives starting with J to describe a person
| juvenil youthful | jocoso jocund | juzgador judgmental |
| justo just, fair | jubiloso jubilant | jurador swearing |
| juicioso sensible | jaranero fond of partying | jugador gambling |
| jovial jovial | justiciero righteous | jubilado retired |
| juerguista pleasure-seeking | jactancioso boastful | jorobado hunchbacked |
Él es sumamente jactancioso; le gusta mucho presumir.
He is extremely boastful; he really likes to show off.Deberías ser más compasivo con los demás y no tan juzgador.
You should be more compassionate with others and not so judgmental.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs that start with J
| jugar to play | jactarse to boast | judicializar to file charges |
| jurar to swear | jaquear to checkmate | justiciar to execute |
| juzgar to judge | juguetear to fiddle with | jalear to cheer on |
| juntar to collect | jerarquizar to hierarchize | jardinear to garden |
| jabonar to soap | jalar to pull | jeringar to squirt |
| justificar to justify | jalonar to mark | jeringuear to pester |
| jadear to pant | jinetear to break in (a horse) | jorobar to bug |
| jubilar to retire | juerguear to live it up | jipiar to moan |
Verbs with J in them: viajar (to travel), trabajar (to work), dibujar (to draw), dejar (to leave), mejorar (to improve), tejer (to knit), quejarse (to complain), bajar (to go down), sujetar (to hold), ejercitar (to practice), reflejar (to reflect), objetar (to object).
¿Quieres jugar a las escondidas?
Do you want to play hide-and-seek?Mañana iremos a juntar fresas al bosque.
Tomorrow we’ll go pick strawberries in the forest.¡Te juro que no estoy mintiendo!
I swear I'm not lying!Cada equipo debe jalar fuerte de esta soga.
Each team must pull hard on this rope.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish adverbs that start with J
| jamás never | juntamente together | justificadamente justifiably |
| junto together | jactanciosamente boastfully | jovialmente jovially |
| justo just, exactly | juiciosamente sensibly | juvenilmente youthfully |
| justamente precisely | jocosamente humorously | judicativamente judgmentally |
| jurídicamente legally | jubilosamente jubilantly | justicieramente justly |
| judicialmente judicially | jerárquicamente hierarchically | juguetonamente playfully |
Adverbs with J in them: subjetivamente (subjectively), lejos (far), mejor (better), bajo (low), trabajosamente (laboriously), objetivamente (objectively), conjuntamente (jointly).
Justo te estaba por llamar.
I was just about to call you.Jamás haría trampa en un examen.
I would never cheat on an exam.Esta fue una decisión tomada juiciosamente.
This decision was taken wisely.Justamente es eso lo que quiero decir.
That’s exactly what I mean.
- See also: Spanish adverbs
More everyday Spanish words with J
Some more everyday Spanish words with J in them include:
jota
name of the letter J
ja, ja, ja
ha ha
abajo
below
lujo
luxury
brújula
compass
mensaje
message
espejo
mirror
oveja
sheep
esponja / sponge
rojo
red
Este es un hotel de lujo.
This is a luxury hotel.
Necesitamos llevar una brújula para el campamento.
We need to bring a compass for the camp.
¿Recibiste mi mensaje?
Did you get my message?
“El espejo se rajó de lado a lado” es una novela de Agatha Christie.
“The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side” is a novel by Agatha Christie.
J or G? Spelling tips
- Verbs ending in -jear: hojear (to leaf through), canjear (to exchange).
- Words deriving from other words with J in them: caja → cajita (diminutive of “box”), hijo → hijito (diminutive of “son”).
- Words ending in -jería: brujería (witchcraft), conserjería (hotel reception).
- Most words starting or ending with the sequence aje and eje: ajedrez (chess), maquillaje (makeup).
- Some forms of the verbs decir (to say), traer (to bring), and all verbs ending in -ducir: dije (I said), trajo (he brought), conduje (I drove).
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with J
References
- Wordreference.com, “boj,” accessed October 30, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 30, 2024, under “sheik,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española, under “cambuj,” accessed October 30, 2024, https://dle.rae.es/
Was this information useful to you?
Yes NoGreat!, thank you for visiting us :)