W w — uve doble
«uve doble» is a consonant of Spanish, the “The Spanish Latin alphabet” script, read as “v or w (loanwords only)”. In German borrowings — 'v', in English ones — 'w'. For example, in the word “wifi” — wifi. The Spanish alphabet has 30 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. Not a single native word contains w. It appears, for example, in the word “el wifi” — Wi-Fi.
In short
| Character | W w |
| Name | uve doble |
| Sound | v or w (loanwords only) |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 24th of 30: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are v and x, appears in 4 words of this site.
How it sounds
In German borrowings — 'v', in English ones — 'w'
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- wifiwifi
The character in the “read exactly as they look” group
Nothing to learn here: the sound is exactly the one you expect.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «uve doble» it is “v or w (loanwords only)”, as in the word “wifi”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 30 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Spanish character w read?
As “v or w (loanwords only)” — it is a consonant of the “The Spanish Latin alphabet” script. In German borrowings — 'v', in English ones — 'w'. For example, in the word “wifi” — wifi.
What is the letter w called?
Uve doble. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Spanish script: it is called “uve doble” and reads as “v or w (loanwords only)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can w be confused with?
Not a single native word contains w. Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.