Pronunciation and stress
Spanish is written almost exactly as it is spoken. Once you know a handful of rules, you can read any word aloud correctly.
| letter | sound | example |
|---|---|---|
| c + e, i / z | th (Spain) or s (Latin America) | cena, zapato |
| c + a, o, u / qu + e, i | k | casa, queso |
| g + e, i / j | throaty h, like Scottish loch | gente, jamón |
| h | always silent | hola, ahora |
| ll / y | like y in yes | llamar, yo |
| ñ | ny, as in canyon | año, español |
| r / rr | single tap / rolled | pero / perro |
Where is the stress?
- Words ending in a vowel, n or s: stress on the second-to-last syllable: casa, hablan.
- Words ending in another consonant: stress on the last syllable: hablar, ciudad.
- An accent mark overrides both rules: café, música, azúcar.
Examples
- Hola, ¿qué tal?Hi, how are you?
- Me llamo Jorge.My name is Jorge.
- El perro come pero no bebe.The dog eats but doesn’t drink.
- ¿Dónde está la estación?Where is the station?
- Me gusta la canción y el café.I like the song and the coffee.
Common mistakes
- ✗ la differencia✓ la diferenciaSpanish almost never doubles consonants (only cc, ll, rr, nn), so English “difference” loses one f.
- ✗ veinte anos✓ veinte añosThe ñ is a separate letter: ano without the tilde means “anus”, a classic slip for English speakers.
- ✗ el telefono✓ el teléfonoStress falls on the third syllable from the end, so the written accent is required, unlike English “telephone”.
- ✗ la estacion✓ la estaciónEnglish -tion becomes -ción in Spanish, and the final stress needs a written accent on the o.
- ✗ los examenes✓ los exámenesThe accent keeps the stress on the same vowel as in singular examen; English never marks stress in writing.