At some point during your Spanish language learning, you’ve probably asked yourself “what’s the point of having two letters which sound exactly the same?”.

We get it, it may seem a bit pointless (not forgetting however that English language learners have roughly the same problem with C and K).

But the truth is that having a B and a V in the Spanish alphabet is useful, even if they’re completely indistinguishable in sound (both of them sound more like B, although some Spanish speakers claim there is a very subtle difference).

Here are some homophone words which sound the same but have a different meaning, and can be told apart thanks to having either a B or a V in writing.

Baca: roof rack or luggage rack
Vaca: cow

Barón: baron/magnate
Varón: son, boy

Bello: beautiful
Vello: bodily hair

Basto: rude
Vasto: vast

Tubo: tube or pipe
Tuvo: had (he had/she had)

Hierba: grass
Hierva: boil (subjunctive or formal imperative)

This of course only solves the issue of a few words in Spanish, which by the way according to Spain’s leading language institution RAE has 88,000 words.

Unfortunately, when it comes to knowing if a word is spelt with a B or a V in Spanish, it’s often a case of just having to learn it off by heart.

But there are some rules which can help you with the B vs V conundrum.

Recognising words written with a B:

Words in which the “b” precedes a consonant.
Examples: “bravo”(fierce), “brazo”(arm) or “blanco” (white)

Past perfect verb tenses that end in “aba”, “abas”, “abais”, “aban” and “ábanos”
Examples: “Cocinaba” (cooked), “bailabais” (you danced), “cantaban” (they sang/they used to sing).

Words that include the prefix “bi”, “bis” or “biz”
Examples: “bicampeon” (two-time champion), “bisnieto” (greatgrandson), “bizcocho” (sponge cake).

Verbs that end in “bir”, except for “vivir” (to live), “hervir” (to boil) and “servir” (to serve).
Example: “recibir! (receive), “describir” (to describe), “escribir” (to write).

Words that include the prefix “biblio”, from the Greek work for “book”
Examples: “biblioteca”(library) or “bibliotecario/a” (librarian).

Words that indicate direction
Examples: “arriba” (up), “abajo” (down), “subir” (to go up) and “bajar” (to go down).

The months of the year that include the B/V sound, except for November which like in English has both letters – “noviembre” .
Examples: “diciembre” (December), “febrero” (February)

Words which have the syllable “bra”, “bre”, “bri”, “bro”, “bru”
Examples: “bruja” (witch), “brazalete” (armband), “bronca” (scolding)

Recognising words written with a V:

Words where the B/V sound is preceded by a “b”, “d” or an “n”.
Examples: “obvio” (obvious), “advertir” (to warn) and “envolver” (to wrap)

Words that begin with the prefix “eva”, “eve”, “evi” or “evo”, except for “ébano” (ebony)
Examples: “event” (evento), “evitar” (to avoid), “evolucionar” (evolve).

Numbers that include the B/V sound
Examples: veinte (twenty), noventa (ninety)

Words ending in “viro”, “vira”, “voro” and “vora”, except “víbora” (viper).
Examples: carnívoro (carnivorous), “devorar” (to devour)

Adjectives ending in “ava”, “ave”, “avo”, “eva”, “eve”, “evo” and “iva”, except “árabe” (Arabic/Arab) and its derivatives.
Examples: “octavo” (eighth), “suave” (soft), “adictivo” (addictive)

Words that begin with the prefix “vice” or “villa”
Examples: “vicepresidente” (vice-president), “villancico”(Christmas carol)

Hopefully that makes things a bit clearer and remember you can always blame any typos on the fact that B and V are next to each other on the keyboard.

And as a final consolation, if you are stuck and want to ask a Spanish friend if a word is spelled with a B and V, at least the words to refer to these consonants are clearly different: B is pronounced “b-e” and V is pronounced “u-ve”.

READ MORE: Five fascinating facts you didn’t know about the letter Ñ in Spanish