【英文版西语语法】Spanish Word Stress

 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