Jan
26
Telephone ABCs in Spanish
During a recent business phone call, I had to spell my full name. I have a rather unusual last name so I’m used to having to spell it. In English, we have our own particular system of spelling out words over the phone. Some people use names (”M as in Mary”), others use common words (”B as in boy”) while there are a select few that use more esoteric terms (”Z as in Zulu”).
But when somebody uses a word that you’re not expecting, it can be distracting. Such was the case recently when I started spelling my name and I said “D como David” and the woman on the other end got confused. She thought I was saying my last name was “David.”
Turns out that Spanish has its own particular guide to spelling out names and other words over the telephone. So before you go around saying “E como elefante,” check out the list below. (P.S. This list will be most useful for Spain since many of the words are cities in that country. If you are in another Spanish-speaking country, use names of cities, provinces or states that are well-known where you are. You can use common first names (José, María, etc.) as well.)
Time to learn our telephone ABCs in Spanish…
A Antonio
B Barcelona
C Carmen
D Domingo
E España
F Francia
G Gerado
H Historia
I Inés
J José
K Kilo
L Lorenzo
M Madrid
N Navarra
Ñ Ñoño
O Oviedo
P Paris
Q Queso
R Roma
S Sevilla
T Toledo
U Úrsula
V Valencia
W Washington
X Xilofón
Y Yegua
Z Zaragoza
So, do you say “D como Domingo”? Or do you just say D - Domingo?
I hate talking on the phone in Spain to Telefonica people and so forth - it stresses me out.
Even worse, Carl, I think it’s said, “D de Domingo”.
I’ve been wondering if this list was at all standardized. I’ve most often heard these used between Spaniards for the letters at the end of the DNI numbers, since most non-foreign names in Spain don’t have to be spelled out.
I’ll definitely be memorizing the words for my surname. Thanks.
Hey guys!
) and they told me that we don’t have to use these exact words. So to answer your question Erik, it’s not a standardized list. The trick is to use a place name that is well known (like the name of a city, province or country), a common noun (days of the week, for example) or an extremely common first name. Turns out that the name “David” isn’t as common a name in Spain as José or María, so that is probably why the lady over the phone got confused.
You can say “D como Domingo.” But I just checked with my Spanish focus group (i.e. a friend and a neighbor
http://www.proz.com/topic/42462
Graham,
Thanks for the link. I like the idea of having a list with all names on it because it would make it easier to remember. But G for Guillermina?? I think I’ll stick with a simple “g como gato.”