Spanish 1.1.1. Syllable Stress in Spanish Words

Level I 1. Alphabet & Pronunciation 1.1. Syllable Stress 2. Similarities to English 2.1. Plural 2.2. Negation 2.3. Punctuation & Written Accents 3. Cardinal Numbers 4. Subject Personal Pronouns 5. Present Indicative Tense I 6. The Articles 7. Prepositions 8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives 9. Basic Phrases Level II 1. Gender of Nouns & Adjectives 2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs 3. The Verb “To Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar” 4. Future Tense 5. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns 6. Demonstrative Adjectives & Pronouns 7. Object Personal Pronouns 7.1. Combining Direct & Indirect Object Personal Pronouns 8. Relative Pronouns 9. Ordinal Numbers I 10. Times & Seasons Level III 1. Verbs Like “Gustar” 2. “Por” vs. “Para” 3. The Verb “To Know”: “Saber” vs. “Conocer” 4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns 5. Present Progressive Tense 6. Present Perfect Tense 7. Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener” 8. Telling Time & Describing Weather 9. Adverbs 9.1. The Adverbs “Tan,” “Solo,” “También,” “Tampoco,” “Vez,” & “Veces” 9.2. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases 10. Directions Level IV 1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives 2. Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect 3. Conjunctions 4. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs 5. The Verb “Soler” 6. Time Expressions: Todavía, Aún, Ya, Hace, Acabar, & Desde 7. Present Subjunctive Tense I 8. Personal “a” 9. Future Perfect Tense Level V 1. Irregular Verbs in The Preterite 2. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands 3. Expressions of Pain & Illness 4. Simple Conditional Tense 5. Present Subjunctive Tense II 6. Perfect Subjunctive Tense 7. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense 8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses 9. Interjections Level VI 1. Ordinal Numbers II 2. “Would/Should/Could Have …” 3. Pluperfect Indicative Tense 4. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense 5. Use of “Aunque,” “Si Bien,” and “A Pesar de” 6. Verbs of Change 7. Reflexive Passive, Impersonal, & Accidental “Se” 8. Diminutives & Augmentatives 9. Use of “Vos” in Some Spanish-Speaking Countries 10. Uses of “Ojalá” in Spanish
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Syllable Stress in Spanish follows well-established rules. This eliminates the need for guessing and makes Spanish a phonetic language. If you practice enough, you should eventually be able to pronounce any Spanish word without listening to an audio transcription or referring to a dictionary.

Knowing which syllable to stress in Spanish is critical to speaking comprehensibly and achieving fluency. The good news is that, unlike in English, where syllable stress seems more arbitrary, it is much easier in Spanish. It is important to ensure that you master these rules early on as you build your vocabulary.

The three main rules are:

1. If the last syllable is a vowel (a, o, u, i), “s,” or “n,” the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable, also called the penultimate syllable. For example, “factura(invoice): fak-too-ra, “joven(young): ho-ben, and “lunes(Monday): loo-nes. The stressed syllable in the pronunciation script is in bold.

2. If the last syllable is not a vowel (a, o, u, i), “s,” or “n,” the stress falls on the last syllable. For example, “azul(blue): a-sool, “abril(April): ab-reel, “hablar(to speak): hab-lar.

3. If the word has a written accent ( ´ ), this overrides the two previous rules, and we simply stress the syllable that contains the accent. For example, the word “inglés” (English), if not marked by an accent, following the first rule, would be pronounced as “een-gles.” However, the accent on the second syllable overrides that rule and necessitates that we pronounce it correctly as “een-gles.” Other examples include “útil(useful): oo-teel, “habló”(spoke): ab-lo, and “jóvenes(youth): ho-be-nes.

The above three rules constitute the basic guidelines that should be practiced frequently as you read Spanish text. In addition to these rules, there are two less important rules to remove any confusion.

The two secondary rules are:

1. Spanish vowels are classified as strong (a, e, and o) and weak (i and u).

  • If the stressed syllable contains two vowels, one is strong and the other is weak, the stress falls on the strong vowel. For example, “reina” (queen): rrey-na, “igual(equal): ee-gwal, “cielo” (sky): cye-lo.
  • If the stressed syllable contains two weak vowels, the stress falls on the last of the two vowels. For example, “viuda” (widow): byoo-da, “ruido”(noise):rrwee-do.
  • If the stressed syllable contains two strong vowels, the two vowels are pronounced as two distinct syllables, also known as hiatus, and normal stress rules apply. For example, “europeo” (European): eyoo-ro-pe-o, “maestro”(teacher):ma-es-tro, “empleado”(employee):em-ple-a-do.

2. A word in its plural form stresses the same syllable as in its singular form. A written accent may be added or removed to enforce this rule. For example, “joven(young): ho-ben becomes “jóvenes”: ho-be-nes, “inglés(Englishman): een-gles becomes “ingleses”: een-gles-es.

Quiz: Alphabet & Pronunciation in Spanish

Spanish: Alphabet & Pronunciation

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1. How to pronounce the letter "x" in "examen" (exam) in Spanish?

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2. How to pronounce the letter "z" in "zona" (zone) in Latin American Spanish?

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3. Syllable Stress in Spanish Words

How to pronounce "factura" (invoice) in Spanish?

(The stressed syllable in the pronunciation script is preceded by '.)

 

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4. Syllable Stress in Spanish Words

How to pronounce "jugador" (player) in Spanish?

(The stressed syllable in the pronunciation script is preceded by '.)

 

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5. How to pronounce the letter "y" in "nosotros y ellos" (we and they) in Spanish?

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6. How to pronounce the letter "y" in "yo" (I) in Spanish?

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7. Syllable Stress in Spanish Words

How to pronounce "ruido" (noise) in Spanish?

(The stressed syllable in the pronunciation script is preceded by '.)

 

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8. How to pronounce the letter combination "gu" in "guerra" (war) in Spanish?

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9. How to pronounce the letter "x" in "México" (Mexico) in Spanish?

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10. How to pronounce the letter combination "gu" in "guapo" (handsome) in Spanish?

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11. Syllable Stress in Spanish Words

How to pronounce "lápiz" (pencil) in Spanish?

(The stressed syllable in the pronunciation script is preceded by '.)

 

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