THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT SPELLING RULES FOR THE LETTER C - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The spelling rules for the letter "C" in Spanish are designed to indicate when it should be used and how it should be pronounced. In Spanish these rules are proposed by the Royal Spanish Academy, through its foundations and regulations.

The letter "C" is the third letter of the Spanish alphabet and shares origin with the letter "G". In fact, for a long time they were the same letter.

In the third century the separation of these two letters was noted, and thus they became different letters.

In Spanish the "C" is pronounced as soft or strong in different cases. When followed by "A", "O" or "U" the pronunciation must be strong; if followed by "E" or "I" the pronunciation should be smooth.

The 10 rules for using the letter "C"

1- The words of the group of words containing "CT" are written with «C»

It refers to the case of words that contain the combination "CT". If these words are modified, the T is replaced with C.

Examples

• Act - action.
• Abstract - abstraction.
• Injector - injection.
• Driver - driving.
• Direct - direction.
• Copywriter - writing.

2- Verbs ending in "cir" and "ducir" are written with "C"

The exception to this rule is the verb asir.

Examples

• Compensate.
• Say.
• Darn.
• Drive.
• Deduct.
• Produce.
• Translate.

3- Words ending in "old", "ancio", "encia" are written with "C"

The exception to this rule are the verb craving and the noun Hortensia.

Examples

• Extravagance.
• Fragrance.
• Constancy.
• Distance.
• Indulgence.
• Awareness.
• Influence.
• Decline.
• Escancio.
• Fatigue.

4- Words in which the sound / K / is followed by the vowels "A", "O" or "U" are written with «C»

The exceptions to this rule with proper names and foreign words, such as kamikaze or Kafka.

Examples

• House.
• Hair.
• Academic.
• Acoustics.
• Cook.
• Accommodate.
• Copy.
• Hand fan.
• Spoon.
• Articulate.
• Notebook.
• Quality.

5- They are written with «C», the words that end in «tion» that have the combinations «to», «tor» or «dor».

In this case there are no exceptions to the rule.

Example

• Composer - composition.
• Blessed - blessing.
• Distributor - distribution.

6- The diminutives "cito", "ecillo", "ecito" are written with "C"

The exception to this rule are words that end with an "s".

Examples

• Piecito.
• Copse
• Little fish.

7- Words with the / K / sound at the end of the syllable are written with «C»

Exceptions to this rule are words of foreign origin, such as kayak, punk, and look.

Example

• TIC Tac.
• Cognac.
• Steak.
• Click.

8- Words with the sound / K / are written with «C» in combination with the consonants «L» and «R»

There are no exceptions to this rule either.

Examples

• Acclamation.
• To declare.
• Exclaim.
• Recruit.
• Eclipse.
• Crime.
• Believe.
• Macro.
• Breeding.
• Aristocrat.

9- Verbs ending in "cer" are written with «C»

The three exceptions to this rule are the verbs ser, cough, and sew.

Examples

• Grow up.
• Be born.
• Lie.
• To suffer.

10- The plural of words containing "Z" is written with "C"

This rule does not have exceptional cases.

Examples

• Fish fishes.
• Peace - peace.
• Time - times.
• Root - roots.
• Corn - corn.

References

1. When to pronounce the letter «C». (2017) speakspeak.com
2. The sounds of letter «C». (2017) ontrackreading.com
3. Spanish spelling. (2010) mailxmail.com
4. Spelling and grammar. (2017) gramatica.celeberrima.com
5. Rules for the use of the "C", "S", "Z" and "X". (2016) spanishged365.com