【英文版西语语法】Spanish Vowels

 Spanish Vowel Pronunciation

 

Spanish has the same five vowels as English, but Spanish vowels are generally shorter (in duration) than their English counterparts.

 

Take the letter o. When you say the letter o in English, you tend to stretch it out and add a bit of of an uh sound at the end. In Spanish, o is much shorter and is pronounced with rounded lips from start to finish (sort of like the vowels you would use in English choral music).

 

Here are the five Spanish vowels and their pronunciations.

 

Spanish Vowel Sounds

 

Spanish Vowel Pronunciation Example Words

a

 

ah papa , agua  

e

 

eh esperanza , bebe  

i

 

ee sí , chica  

o

 

oh loco , bonito  

u

 

oo grupo , futuro  

Spanish Diphthongs

 

A diphthong is a sound formed by two vowels in a single syllable. In Spanish, diphthongs can be formed by combining a strong vowel (a, e, or o) and a weak vowel (i or u), or by combining two weak vowels. When a diphthong is made up a strong vowel and a weak vowel, the strong vowel is stressed a bit more than the weak vowel.

 

Spanish Diphthong Pronunciation

 

Below are examples of Spanish diphthongs and their pronunciation.

 

Diphthong Pronunciation Examples

au

 

ow aula , aunque  

ai , ay ay aire , hay  

eu

 

ehoo Europa , neutro  

ei , ey ey reina , rey  

ia

 

yah piano , hacia  

ie

 

yeh tierra , serpiente  

io

 

yoh

radio

 

iu

 

yoo viuda , ciudad  

oi , oy oy boina , hoy  

ua

 

wah agua , cuadro  

ue

 

weh fuego , trueno  

ui

 

wee fuimos , fuiste  

uo

 

woh cuota , individuo  

Spanish Vowel Hiatus

 

When a strong vowel and a weak vowel appear together and the weak vowel is accented, the vowels belong to two separate syllables. This is called a hiatus. Two strong vowels together also form a hiatus.

 

Hiatus Pronunciation

 

Hiatus Pronunciation Example

aí

 

ah - EE

país

 

aú

 

ah - OO

Raúl

 

oí

 

oh - EE

oír

 

eí

 

eh - EE

reír

 

eú

 

eh - OO

transeúnte

 

ía

 

EE - ah

día

 

íe

 

EE - eh

ríe

 

ío

 

EE - oh

río

 

úa

 

OO - ah

cacatúa

 

úe

 

OO - eh

acentúe

 

úo

 

OO - oh

continúo

 

ae

 

ah - eh

caer

 

ao

 

ah - oh

aorta

 

aa

 

ah - ah

azahar

 

ea

 

eh - ah

leal

 

eo

 

eh - oh

leo

 

ee

 

eh - eh

poseer

 

oa

 

oh - ah

coágulo

 

oe

 

oh - eh

poetisa

 

oo

 

oh - oh

alcohol