Lesson 5 — Spell Your Name and Personal Details in Spanish

Your name may be easy to say, but another person may not know how to write it. This often happens during phone calls, medical appointments, job applications or administrative procedures. In this lesson, you will learn how to ask for spelling, spell your own details and give an email address clearly in Spanish.

Basic Grammar Applied to This Lesson

Useful Phrases for Spelling Personal Details

Listen and repeat each phrase three times.

How is it written?

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe?

Use this question when you hear a name, surname or word but do not know how to write it.

You can use it at a reception desk, during a phone call or when completing a form.

It is written…

🔊 Se escribe…

Use this expression before spelling a name, surname or other word.

Example:

🔊 Se escribe A-N-A.

Say each letter separately and leave a short pause between letters.

Can you spell it?

🔊 ¿Puede deletrearlo?

Use this polite question when you need someone to say every letter separately.

It is useful when a name is unfamiliar or difficult to understand.

At sign

🔊 Arroba

Use arroba for the symbol @ in an email address.

Example:

🔊 nombre arroba correo punto com

Dot

🔊 Punto

Use punto for the symbol .

Example:

🔊 correo punto com

Hyphen

🔊 Guion

Use guion for the symbol –

Example:

🔊 nombre guion apellido

Capital letter

🔊 Mayúscula

Use mayúscula when a letter must be written as a capital letter.

Example:

🔊 La primera letra es mayúscula.

Lowercase letter

🔊 Minúscula

Use minúscula when a letter must be written as a small letter.

Example:

🔊 Todo en minúscula.

Can you write it?

🔊 ¿Puede escribirlo?

Use this question when it is difficult to understand the spelling or when you want the other person to write the information for you.

Spell Your Name and Surname

Someone may ask:

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su nombre?

You can answer:

🔊 Se escribe…

Then say every letter separately.

Example:

🔊 Se escribe A-N-A.

For a surname, you may hear:

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su apellido?

You can answer in the same way:

🔊 Se escribe M-A-R-T-I-N.

Do not say the letters too quickly. Speak slowly and pause when necessary.

For a long name or surname, divide the spelling into small groups:

🔊 M-A-R… T-I-N.

When the other person does not understand, repeat the letters:

🔊 Otra vez: M-A-R-T-I-N.

Give Your Email Address

When saying an email address, pronounce the letters and symbols in their correct order.

A simple email address may follow this pattern:

name + arroba + provider + punto + com

Example:

🔊 nombre arroba correo punto com

An email address with a hyphen may sound like this:

🔊 nombre guion apellido arroba correo punto com

You can also explain whether the letters are capital or lowercase:

🔊 La primera letra es mayúscula.

🔊 Todo en minúscula.

Pause after the username and after arroba. This makes the address easier to understand.

Example:

🔊 Nombre… arroba… correo punto com.

After giving the address, you can ask the other person to repeat it:

🔊 ¿Puede repetirlo?

This helps you check that the information has been written correctly.

The Spanish Alphabet

You do not need to memorise the entire alphabet immediately. First, practise the letters that appear in your own name, surname and email address.

Listen and repeat the names of the letters.

A–G

🔊 A — a

🔊 B — be

🔊 C — ce

🔊 D — de

🔊 E — e

🔊 F — efe

🔊 G — ge

H–N

🔊 H — hache

🔊 I — i

🔊 J — jota

🔊 K — ka

🔊 L — ele

🔊 M — eme

🔊 N — ene

🔊 Ñ — eñe

O–U

🔊 O — o

🔊 P — pe

🔊 Q — cu

🔊 R — erre

🔊 S — ese

🔊 T — te

🔊 U — u

V–Z

🔊 V — uve

🔊 W — uve doble

🔊 X — equis

🔊 Y — i griega

🔊 Z — zeta

You may also hear ye for the letter y and doble uve for the letter w.

The letters b and v often sound very similar in spoken Spanish. When spelling, say be and uve clearly.

Pay particular attention to these letters:

🔊 B — be

🔊 V — uve

🔊 G — ge

🔊 J — jota

🔊 H — hache

🔊 Y — i griega

🔊 N — ene

🔊 Ñ — eñe

Now spell your first name using the Spanish names of the letters.

Then spell your surname.

Finally, spell the part of your email address that appears before arroba.

Short Practice

(H5P — Quiz aquí)

Recommended activity: Question Set.

The activity should allow the student to retry and should show the correct answer.

Questions

1. You hear a surname but do not know how to write it. What do you ask?

a. ¿Cuál es su número?
b. ¿Cómo se escribe?
c. ¿Dónde vive?

Correct answer: b. ¿Cómo se escribe?

2. Complete the answer:

_____ escribe A-N-A.

Correct answer: Se

3. Which word represents @?

a. Punto
b. Arroba
c. Guion

Correct answer: b. Arroba

4. Which word represents a dot in an email address?

a. Punto
b. Minúscula
c. Mayúscula

Correct answer: a. Punto

5. Which word represents -?

a. Guion
b. Arroba
c. Punto

Correct answer: a. Guion

6. Complete the polite question:

¿Puede __________?

a. deletrearlo
b. punto
c. mayúscula

Correct answer: a. deletrearlo

7. Which expression means “The first letter is a capital letter”?

a. Todo en minúscula.
b. La primera letra es mayúscula.
c. Se escribe punto.

Correct answer: b. La primera letra es mayúscula.

8. Match each word with its meaning:

• Arroba → @
• Punto → .
• Guion → –
• Mayúscula → Capital letter
• Minúscula → Lowercase letter

9. Put the parts in the correct order:

correo — nombre — punto com — arroba

Correct answer:

nombre — arroba — correo — punto com

10. Answer the question using your own name:

¿Cómo se escribe su nombre?

Possible answer:

Se escribe…

Listen to the Dialogue

First Listening

Listen without reading.

Try to identify:

• The question asking how the surname is written.
• The letters of the surname.
• The email address.
• Whether the email uses capital or lowercase letters.

Dialogue

— Buenos días. ¿Cómo se escribe su apellido?

— Se escribe M-A-R-T-I-N.

— Perdón, ¿puede deletrearlo otra vez?

— Sí. M-A-R-T-I-N.

— Gracias. ¿Y su correo electrónico?

— Nombre arroba correo punto com.

— ¿La primera letra es mayúscula?

— No, todo en minúscula.

— Perfecto, gracias.

— De nada.

Listen Again

Listen while reading the dialogue.

Then repeat both parts aloud.

When spelling, pause slightly between each letter.

Comprehension Questions

1. What information does the first person ask for?

The person asks how the surname is written.

2. Why is the surname repeated?

Because the first person needs to confirm the letters.

3. Does the email address begin with a capital letter?

No. It is all in lowercase.

Real-Life Situation

You are giving your personal details at a medical centre, an employment office or a reception desk.

The person asks:

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su nombre?

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su apellido?

🔊 ¿Cuál es su correo electrónico?

Answer aloud before looking at the possible response.

Spell your real name and surname slowly.

Then say your email address using:

• Arroba
• Punto
• Guion, if necessary
• Mayúscula or minúscula, if necessary

Possible Response

🔊 Mi nombre se escribe…

Spell your name.

🔊 Mi apellido se escribe…

Spell your surname.

🔊 Mi correo electrónico es… arroba… punto com.

If the other person says a letter that you do not understand, ask:

🔊 ¿Puede repetir?

or:

🔊 ¿Puede escribirlo?

Short Writing Activity

Write the following information in your notebook:

1. Your first name.
2. Your surname.
3. Your email address.
4. The spelling of your name using the Spanish alphabet.
5. The spelling of your surname using the Spanish alphabet.

Then complete these sentences:

Mi nombre se escribe…

Mi apellido se escribe…

Mi correo electrónico es…

Underline arroba, punto and guion if they appear in your email address.

Final Challenge

Answer without looking at the phrases above.

Situation 1

You do not know how to write a name.

What do you ask?

Situation 2

Someone asks you to spell your surname.

How do you begin your answer?

Situation 3

You need the other person to spell a word.

What polite question do you use?

Situation 4

How do you say @ in Spanish?

Situation 5

How do you say . in an email address?

Situation 6

How do you explain that all the letters are lowercase?

Possible Answers

1. ¿Cómo se escribe?
2. Se escribe…
3. ¿Puede deletrearlo?
4. Arroba.
5. Punto.
6. Todo en minúscula.

Basic Grammar — Applied to This Lesson

The expressions in this lesson are short, but understanding their structure will help you use them with different names, surnames, words and personal details.

1. “¿Cómo se escribe?” and “Se escribe…”

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe?

This question can be translated literally as “How is it written?”, but in natural English it normally means:

How do you spell it?

The answer uses almost the same structure:

🔊 Se escribe…

It is written…

This creates a practical question-and-answer pair:

— ¿Cómo se escribe?
— Se escribe…

You can add the information you are asking about:

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su nombre?

How do you spell your name?

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe su apellido?

How do you spell your surname?

The word su means “your” when speaking politely to someone using usted.

In a real conversation, you can also use the shorter question when it is already clear what you are asking about:

🔊 ¿Cómo se escribe?

The accent in “cómo”

In a direct question, cómo has a written accent.

Correct:

¿Cómo se escribe?

Spanish questions use an opening and a closing question mark:

¿ … ?

2. Polite Requests with “¿Puede…?”

🔊 ¿Puede deletrearlo?

The structure:

¿Puede + infinitive?

is a useful and polite way to ask someone to do something.

Examples:

🔊 ¿Puede deletrearlo?

Can you spell it?

🔊 ¿Puede escribirlo?

Can you write it?

🔊 ¿Puede repetirlo?

Can you repeat it?

After puede, the following verb remains in its infinitive form:

• puede deletrear
• puede escribir
• puede repetir

Do not change the second verb.

Correct:

¿Puede escribirlo?

Incorrect:

¿Puede escribe?

This structure uses the polite usted form. It is appropriate when speaking to:

• A receptionist.
• An employer.
• A healthcare worker.
• An administrative worker.
• Someone you do not know.
• A person during a formal telephone call.

The ending “-lo”

In these expressions, lo means “it”.

• deletrear + lo → deletrearlo
• escribir + lo → escribirlo
• repetir + lo → repetirlo

The lo can refer to a name, surname, email address or word.

Compare:

🔊 ¿Puede deletrear el apellido?

Can you spell the surname?

🔊 ¿Puede deletrearlo?

Can you spell it?

The second sentence avoids repeating el apellido.

For practical use, learn these as complete expressions:

• ¿Puede deletrearlo?
• ¿Puede escribirlo?
• ¿Puede repetirlo?

3. Talking About Capital and Lowercase Letters

The Spanish word for “letter” is:

🔊 La letra

Letra is feminine. For this reason, the words that describe it also use the feminine ending -a:

🔊 Una letra mayúscula

A capital letter.

🔊 Una letra minúscula

A lowercase letter.

Useful sentences:

🔊 La primera letra es mayúscula.

The first letter is a capital letter.

🔊 La primera letra es minúscula.

The first letter is lowercase.

When talking about several letters, you can use the plural:

🔊 Todo en mayúsculas.

Everything in capital letters.

🔊 Todo en minúsculas.

Everything in lowercase letters.

Notice the difference:

• Una letra mayúscula — one capital letter.
• Todo en mayúsculas — all the letters are capitals.
• Una letra minúscula — one lowercase letter.
• Todo en minúsculas — all the letters are lowercase.

Names and surnames normally begin with a capital letter:

🔊 La primera letra es mayúscula.

Email addresses are normally given in lowercase:

🔊 Todo en minúsculas.

Use the Grammar in a Real Conversation

You can combine the three patterns from this lesson:

— ¿Cómo se escribe su apellido?

— Se escribe…

— ¿Puede deletrearlo?

— Sí. La primera letra es mayúscula.

These short structures are enough to ask for spelling, give written information and correct personal details in many everyday situations.