Spanish Word Stress
If a Spanish word has a written accent, or tilde, the word stress falls on whatever syllable has the tilde.
For example:
Diving Deeper
Knowing where to put the stress on a word in Spanish is the difference between pronouncing a word like computadorawith 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 Tip
If a word ends in a consonant other than s or n and the word does not have a tilde anywhere, the word is a palabra aguda.
Las palabras agudas have a 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 anywhere, 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 Tip
These words always have a written accent on the stressed syllable.
For the most part, 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 |
Want to learn more about Spanish pronunciation? Check out the following articles!
