If a Spanish word has a written accent, or tilde , the word stress falls on whatever syllable has the tilde.
Examples
compré (kohm-PREH)
árbol (AHR-bohl)
Diving Deeper
Knowing wher to put the stress on a word in Spanish is the difference between pronouncing a word like computadora with great Spanish pronunciation (kohm-poo-tah-DOH-rah), instead of Englishy pronunciation (kohm-POO-tah-doh-rah).
There are four main categories of words you'll come across when talking about Spanish word stress: palabras agudas , palabras llanas (also called palabras graves ), palabras esdrújulas , and palabras sobresdrújulas . Let's take a closer look at each one.
Palabras Agudas
Las palabras agudas are words that are stressed on the last syllable.
Pronunciation Tips
If a word ends in a consonant other than -s or -n and the word does not have a tilde anywher, the word is a palabra aguda.
Las palabras agudas have a written accent, or tilde , on the final syllable to mark word stress if the last letter in the word is a vowel or the consonants -s or -n.
Spanish Pronunciation
azul
ah-SOOL
avestruz
ah-be-STROOS
matador
mah-tah-DOHR
hablar
ah-BLAHR
estoy
eh-STOI
inglés
een-GLEHS
colibrí
koh-lee-BREE
balcón
bahl-KOHN
Palabras Graves (Llanas)
Las palabras graves, also called palabras llanas, are words that are stressed on the penultimate (second-to-last syllable.
Pronunciation Tip
If a word ends in a vowel, -s, or -n and does not have a tilde anywher, the word is a palabra grave.
Las palabras graves have a written accent on the second-to-last syllable to mark word stress in words that end in any consonant other than -s or -n and in groups of consonants like -ps and -cs.
Spanish Pronunciation
mono
MOH-noh
ave
AH-beh
cantan
KAHN-tahn
computadora
kohm-poo-tah-DOH-rah
árbol
AHR-bohl
álbum
AHL-boom
bíceps
BEE-sehps
Palabras Esdrújulas
Las palabras esdrújulas are words that are stressed on the antepenultimate (third-to-last) syllable.
Pronunciation Tip
These words always have a written accent on the stressed syllable.
Spanish Pronunciation
rápido
RAH-pee-doh
pájaro
PAH-hah-roh
América
ah-MEH-ree-kah
clásico
CLAH-see-koh
teléfono
teh-LEH-foh-noh
Palabras Sobresdrújulas
Las palabras sobresdrújulas are words that are stressed on the fourth-to-last, fifth-to-last, or sixth-to-last syllable.
Pronunciation Tips
These words always have a written accent on the stressed syllable.
only words that are made up of a verb form and two or more pronoun forms are palabras sobresdrújulas.
Spanish Pronunciation
cómpramelo
COHM-prah-meh-loh
préstaselo
PREHS-tah-seh-loh
enséñenoslo
ehn-SEH-nyeh-nohs-loh
devuélvemelo
deh-BWEHL-beh-meh-loh
