{"id":55,"date":"2019-07-25T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/?p=55"},"modified":"2024-01-24T03:43:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T11:43:31","slug":"spanish-pronunciation-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/spanish-pronunciation-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Spanish Pronunciation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">Perhaps you&#8217;re looking to learn Spanish so that you can do some traveling, or maybe you just want to impress your new good-looking Spanish co-worker (don&#8217;t worry \u2013 we won&#8217;t tell anyone). Whatever the&nbsp; reason is, you&#8217;ve come to the right place.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Even if you&#8217;ve been binge-watching \u201cNarcos\u201d and imitating all of the Spanish that you hear, it&#8217;s likely that to a native speaker you still sound like a gringo.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For those of you who were thinking &#8220;gringo&#8221; is a character from Sesame Street, it is actually a term used&nbsp; in Spanish-speaking countries to describe English-speaking foreigners, mainly North Americans. But don&#8217;t&nbsp; worry! If you follow this simple guide, we will help you shed the gringo name.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"width: 100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Spanish pronunciation\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" title=\"Spanish pronunciation guide\" data-id=\"6596\" src=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Horizontal-Version-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio: auto 1024 \/ 512;\" data-width=\"600\" data-height=\"300\" data-init-width=\"1024\" data-init-height=\"512\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Spanish is a fairly easy language, considering that most Spanish words are pronounced exactly the way&nbsp; they are spelled. It&#8217;s not like English where we have some of the most absurd pronunciations. I mean,&nbsp; who decided that \u201cpony\u201d and \u201cbologna\u201d should rhyme?!&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">That being said, there are some tips and tricks that will have you sounding like a local in no time. So sit back,&nbsp; grab a cerveza (pronounced ser-bay-tha) and let us be your guide. We will be like Gandalf, and Spanish&nbsp; pronunciation will be your Middle Earth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"tab-con-2\"><strong>Don&#8217;t Stress About the Stress:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Something about the Spanish language that is much more important than I realized when I started&nbsp; learning, is which syllable you stress. I remember getting into a cab in Spain and getting nervous when&nbsp; the cabbie didn&#8217;t have a clue which street I was telling him to go to.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When I showed him the street name on my phone, I watched the light bulb go on above his head. He was&nbsp; quick to correct me and say that I had stressed the wrong syllable \u2013 and that small mistake had&nbsp; prevented him from understanding me at all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But don&#8217;t stress about the stress! There are some simple rules&nbsp; that you can memorize so that you always know which syllable you need to stress. So print this out,&nbsp; laminate it, bring it into the shower with you. Whatever you need to do to make sure that this is ingrained&nbsp; in your mind. We don&#8217;t judge here.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"tab-con-3\">Some general rules to follow: &nbsp;<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>&nbsp;If a word ends in a vowel, \u201cn,\u201d or \u201cs,\u201d you need to stress the syllable that is next to the last one. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Por ejemplo<\/em> (for example):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span><em>Cuenta <\/em>(the bill at a restaurant) is pronounced KWEN-tah.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><em>Examen <\/em>(test\/exam) is pronounced Ex-AH-men<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><em>Dios<\/em> (God) is pronounced DEE-ohs&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Words that end in a consonant (other than \u201cn\u201d or \u201cs\u201d of course) are stressed on the last syllable. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Por ejempl<\/em>o: Comer (to eat) is pronounced Koh-MEHR&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>When there is an accent above a letter you must stress that syllable. Imagine that the accent is like that&nbsp; one attention-seeking friend we all have, and it&#8217;s saying &#8220;Hey, stress me! I&#8217;m IMPORTANT!&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Por ejemplo: Pr\u00f3ximo <\/em>(next) is pronounced PROHK-see-moh. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>See, that was easy. Feeling a little less stressed now? Yes, as calm as a hippy in a commune. Now&nbsp; before you start growing out your hair and exclusively wearing hemp clothing, let&#8217;s move on to vowels!&nbsp;<\/p>\n<span style=\"--tl-form-height-m:709.631px;--tl-form-height-t:864.062px;--tl-form-height-d:864.062px;\" class=\"tl-placeholder-f-type-shortcode_2254 tl-preload-form\"><span><\/span><\/span>\n<h2 id=\"t-1705982054715\" style=\"\"><strong><em>You can also watch our video about the Spanish alphabet below to hear the correct pronunciation.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2 id=\"tab-con-11\" style=\"\"><strong>Can I Buy a Vowel? &nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Once you know what sounds the vowels make when speaking Spanish, you&#8217;re pretty well in the clear&nbsp; because they very seldom change. That&#8217;s great for you learners out there because it means that you only&nbsp; need to memorize this guide below.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Then if you&#8217;re sounding out a word and you use these vowel pronunciations, there is about a 99.5%* chance you&#8217;ve got it right! And those are odds we&#8217;d take to Vegas, baby!&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">*Rough estimate. Very rough. But you get the point.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-982\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-982\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Vowel<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Pronunciation Guide<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Example<\/th><th class=\"column-4\">What the Example Means<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">A<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"ah\" like \u201cfather\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">abajo<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">down\/downstairs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">E<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"eh\" like \u201crent\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">antes<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">before<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">I<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"ee\" like \u201cfree\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">amigo<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">friend<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">O<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"oh\" like \u201cflow\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">beso<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">kiss<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">U<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"oo\" like \u201cloose\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">nube (noob-ay)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">cloud<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">AI\/AY<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"y\" like \u201cfly\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">bailar \/hay (eye)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">dance \/ there is<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">AU<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"ow\" like \u201chow\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">aunque<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">although<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">EI<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"ay\" like \u201cday\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">aceite<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">oil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-10\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">IE<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"yeh\" like \u201cyes\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">bien<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">fine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-11\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">UE<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced \"weh\" like \u201cwell\u201d<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">cuello<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">neck\/collar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-982 from cache -->\n<h2 id=\"tab-con-4\"><strong>The (Usually) Constant Consonants <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Most of the consonants in Spanish are pronounced the same way as English. However, there are some&nbsp; that are different, and they can seem a little intimidating at first. No worries though, we&#8217;ve gone ahead and&nbsp; listed all of the ones that vary from English below. That way, instead of having to spend the time&nbsp; looking them up elsewhere, you can focus on more important things \u2013 like baking a birthday cake for your cat.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-5\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-5\">\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Consonant<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Pronunciation Guide<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Example<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">What the Example Means<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">C (before 'e',' i')<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'th' like thanks<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Gracias\/Cena<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Thank you\/Dinner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">C (before 'a','o','u')<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'k' like corner<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Casa\/Con\/Cuando<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">House\/With\/When<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">CC<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'k' then 'th'<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Direccion<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">House\/With\/When<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">D (between vowels)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Is pronounced \u2018th\u2019 like the<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Cada<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Each<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">G (before 'a','o','u')<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced hard 'g' like grape<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Gris<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Grey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">G (before 'e','i')<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"> is pronounced a breathy 'h' like hi<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Gente(Hehn-tay)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">People<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">H<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is not pronounced. Always silent.<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Hay (Eye)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">There is<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">J<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced a breathy 'h' like hot<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Jam\u00f3n<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Ham<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-10\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">L<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced like \u2018l\u2019 in love<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Libre<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Free<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-11\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">LL<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'y' like yellow<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Llamar<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">To call<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-12\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">\u00d1 <\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'ny' like canyon<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Ma\u00f1ana<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Tomorrow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-13\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">QU<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'k' like keep <\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Queso(Kay-soh)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Cheese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-14\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">R<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is rolled only once<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Pero (pare-oh)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">But<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-15\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">RR<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Is rolled twice<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Perro (pare-roh)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Dog<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-16\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">V<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'b' like beer <\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Vale (Ball-ay) <\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Okay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-17\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">X<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'cs' like exit<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Extranjero<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Foreign<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-18\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Y<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"> is pronounced like English 'y' in yard, except when by itself---it is pronounced 'ee'<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Ya(Yah)\/Y(Ee)<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Already\/And<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-19\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Z<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">is pronounced 'th' like that <\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Zumo<\/td><td class=\"column-4\">Juice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-5 from cache -->\n<p dir=\"ltr\">*The letter &#8220;&#8221; is pronounced the same way as &#8220;B&#8221; in Spanish \u2013 like &#8220;B&#8221; in \u201cbad.\u201d This makes it&nbsp; difficult for my little Spanish host kids when trying to sound out words in their writing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">To further explain that tricky \u201cCC\u201d listed above, the example word \u201ddireccion\u201d is pronounced like dee-rek-thee-on. So the first \u201cC\u201d behaves just like we have come to know and love, and the second is pronounced &nbsp;like &#8220;th&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When you pronounce the letter &#8220;J&#8221; you should almost sound like someone who has smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for the past 25 years, and you&#8217;re trying to clear your throat. Like, you know that scene in \u201cTitanic\u201d where Jack is showing Rose how to &#8220;spit like a man,&#8221; and he&#8217;s hacking up something awful? Yeah, you should sound like that. If it doesn&#8217;t almost hurt your throat, you&#8217;re not doing it right.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"tab-con-9\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00bfWhat&#8217;s With the Upside Down Quotation Marks? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You know how when you&#8217;re reading something in English you generally know (I say &#8220;generally&#8221; because English is&nbsp; weird and there are always exceptions \u2013 eye roll) that it&#8217;s a question before you get to the question&nbsp; mark at the end because of the word at the beginning? Por ejemplo: &#8220;Do you want something?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I&#8217;m assuming that when reading that question, you put an upward inflection on it. That&#8217;s because the word&nbsp; &#8220;do&#8221; tipped you off that it was a question and not a statement. Well, in Spanish they don&#8217;t do that. Let me&nbsp; show you what I mean.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Tu quieres algo.&#8221; \/ &#8220;\u00bfTu quieres algo?&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The first is a statement. &#8220;You want something.&#8221; The second is a question. &#8220;Do you want something?&#8221; But&nbsp; the only way to tell the difference is by the punctuation. So if you were reading the question, and there&nbsp; was no question mark doing a handstand at the beginning of it, you wouldn&#8217;t know that it was a question&nbsp; until you got to the end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The same goes for when you&#8217;re speaking. It&#8217;s super important to make sure that when asking a question,&nbsp; the inflection of your voice goes up. It has to be clearly different than the inflection that you use when&nbsp; making a statement. If not, you could end up saying something different than what you intended, and it&nbsp; could be a little embarrassing. Yes, I did have an embarrassing experience with this. No, I&#8217;m not going to&nbsp; tell you about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Hopefully this guide has helped you navigate through all of the pronunciation confusion. If not, take &nbsp;another big swig of that cerveza we opened at the beginning and have another look. I always find my &nbsp;Spanish to be better after a few drinks.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"t-1705982054716\"><strong><em>Pin this!<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"width: 100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Spanish pronunciation guide rules in stress\" width=\"677\" height=\"1015\" title=\"Spanish-Pronunciation-Guide-Rules-in-Stress-in-Syllables\" data-id=\"6541\" src=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Spanish-Pronunciation-Guide-Rules-in-Stress-in-Syllables.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio: auto 735 \/ 1102;\" data-width=\"677\" data-height=\"1015\" data-init-width=\"735\" data-init-height=\"1102\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"t-1705982054717\">See also:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/small-talk-spanish\/\" style=\"outline: none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><strong>How to Make Small Talk in Spanish<\/strong><\/u><\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perhaps you&#8217;re looking to learn Spanish so that you can do some traveling, or maybe you just want to impress your new good-looking Spanish co-worker (don&#8217;t worry \u2013 we won&#8217;t tell anyone). Whatever the&nbsp; reason is, you&#8217;ve come to the right place.&nbsp;&nbsp; Even if you&#8217;ve been binge-watching \u201cNarcos\u201d and imitating all of the Spanish that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":93,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"<div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_contentbox_shortcode thrv-content-box tve-elem-default-pad\">\n\t<div class=\"tve-content-box-background\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"tve-cb\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><p dir=\"ltr\">Perhaps you're looking to learn Spanish so that you can do some traveling, or maybe you just want to impress your new good-looking Spanish co-worker (don't worry \u2013 we won't tell anyone). Whatever the&nbsp; reason is, you've come to the right place.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">Even if you've been binge-watching \u201cNarcos\u201d and imitating all of the Spanish that you hear, it's likely that to a native speaker you still sound like a gringo.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">For those of you who were thinking \"gringo\" is a character from Sesame Street, it is actually a term used&nbsp; in Spanish-speaking countries to describe English-speaking foreigners, mainly North Americans. But don't&nbsp; worry! If you follow this simple guide, we will help you shed the gringo name.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper tve_image_caption\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0d8\"><span class=\"tve_image_frame\" style=\"width: 100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"tve_image wp-image-6596\" alt=\"Spanish pronunciation\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" title=\"Spanish pronunciation guide\" data-id=\"6596\" src=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Horizontal-Version-1.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio: auto 1024 \/ 512;\" data-width=\"600\" data-height=\"300\" data-init-width=\"1024\" data-init-height=\"512\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><p dir=\"ltr\">Spanish is a fairly easy language, considering that most Spanish words are pronounced exactly the way&nbsp; they are spelled. It's not like English where we have some of the most absurd pronunciations. I mean,&nbsp; who decided that \u201cpony\u201d and \u201cbologna\u201d should rhyme?!&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">That being said, there are some tips and tricks that will have you sounding like a local in no time. So sit back,&nbsp; grab a cerveza (pronounced ser-bay-tha) and let us be your guide. We will be like Gandalf, and Spanish&nbsp; pronunciation will be your Middle Earth.&nbsp;<\/p><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_contents_table\" data-columns=\"1\" data-headers=\"h2,h3\" data-id=\"lrptsi21\">\n\t<div class=\"tve_contents_table\">\n\t\t<span class=\"tve_ct_title\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0d9\">Quick Navigation<\/span>\n\t\t<div class=\"tve_ct_content tve_clearfix\"><div class=\"ct_column\"><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#tab-con-2\" rel=\"nofollow\">Don't Stress About the Stress:&nbsp;<\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level1\"><a href=\"#tab-con-3\" rel=\"nofollow\">Some general rules to follow: &nbsp;<\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#t-1705982054715\" rel=\"nofollow\">You can also watch our video about the Spanish alphabet below to hear the correct pronunciation.<\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#tab-con-11\" rel=\"nofollow\">Can I Buy a Vowel? &nbsp;<\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#tab-con-4\" rel=\"nofollow\">The (Usually) Constant Consonants <\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#tab-con-9\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u00bfWhat's With the Upside Down Quotation Marks? <\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#t-1705982054716\" rel=\"nofollow\">Pin this!<\/a><\/div><div class=\"tve_ct_level0\"><a href=\"#t-1705982054717\" rel=\"nofollow\">See also:&nbsp;How to Make Small Talk in Spanish<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><h2 class=\"\" id=\"tab-con-2\"><strong>Don't Stress About the Stress:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2><p dir=\"ltr\">Something about the Spanish language that is much more important than I realized when I started&nbsp; learning, is which syllable you stress. I remember getting into a cab in Spain and getting nervous when&nbsp; the cabbie didn't have a clue which street I was telling him to go to.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">When I showed him the street name on my phone, I watched the light bulb go on above his head. He was&nbsp; quick to correct me and say that I had stressed the wrong syllable \u2013 and that small mistake had&nbsp; prevented him from understanding me at all.&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">But don't stress about the stress! There are some simple rules&nbsp; that you can memorize so that you always know which syllable you need to stress. So print this out,&nbsp; laminate it, bring it into the shower with you. Whatever you need to do to make sure that this is ingrained&nbsp; in your mind. We don't judge here.<\/p><h3 class=\"\" id=\"tab-con-3\">Some general rules to follow: &nbsp;<\/h3><ol class=\"\"><li><strong>&nbsp;If a word ends in a vowel, \u201cn,\u201d or \u201cs,\u201d you need to stress the syllable that is next to the last one. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p><em>Por ejemplo<\/em> (for example):<\/p><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv-styled_list\" data-icon-code=\"icon-check\"><ul class=\"tcb-styled-list\"><li class=\"thrv-styled-list-item\"><div class=\"tcb-styled-list-icon\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_icon tve_no_drag tcb-no-delete tcb-no-clone tcb-no-save tcb-icon-inherit-style\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0db\"><svg class=\"tcb-icon\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" data-id=\"icon-check\" data-name=\"\"><path d=\"M29.333 10.267c0 0.4-0.133 0.8-0.533 1.2l-14.8 14.8c-0.267 0.267-0.667 0.4-1.067 0.4s-0.933-0.133-1.2-0.533l-2.4-2.267-6.267-6.267c-0.267-0.267-0.4-0.667-0.4-1.2s0.133-0.8 0.533-1.2l2.4-2.4c0.267-0.133 0.667-0.4 1.067-0.4s0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l5.067 5.067 11.2-11.333c0.267-0.267 0.667-0.533 1.2-0.533 0.4 0 0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l2.4 2.4c0.267 0.267 0.4 0.667 0.4 1.2z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><span class=\"thrv-advanced-inline-text tve_editable tcb-styled-list-icon-text tcb-no-delete tcb-no-save\" data-css=\"tve-u-65af34c6747484\"><em>Cuenta <\/em>(the bill at a restaurant) is pronounced KWEN-tah.<\/span><\/li><li class=\"thrv-styled-list-item\"><div class=\"tcb-styled-list-icon\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_icon tve_no_drag tcb-no-delete tcb-no-clone tcb-no-save tcb-icon-inherit-style\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0db\"><svg class=\"tcb-icon\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" data-id=\"icon-check\" data-name=\"\"><path d=\"M29.333 10.267c0 0.4-0.133 0.8-0.533 1.2l-14.8 14.8c-0.267 0.267-0.667 0.4-1.067 0.4s-0.933-0.133-1.2-0.533l-2.4-2.267-6.267-6.267c-0.267-0.267-0.4-0.667-0.4-1.2s0.133-0.8 0.533-1.2l2.4-2.4c0.267-0.133 0.667-0.4 1.067-0.4s0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l5.067 5.067 11.2-11.333c0.267-0.267 0.667-0.533 1.2-0.533 0.4 0 0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l2.4 2.4c0.267 0.267 0.4 0.667 0.4 1.2z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><span class=\"thrv-advanced-inline-text tve_editable tcb-styled-list-icon-text tcb-no-delete tcb-no-save\" data-css=\"tve-u-65af34c6747484\"><em>Examen <\/em>(test\/exam) is pronounced Ex-AH-men<\/span><\/li><li class=\"thrv-styled-list-item\"><div class=\"tcb-styled-list-icon\"><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_icon tve_no_drag tcb-no-delete tcb-no-clone tcb-no-save tcb-icon-inherit-style\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0db\"><svg class=\"tcb-icon\" viewBox=\"0 0 32 32\" data-id=\"icon-check\" data-name=\"\"><path d=\"M29.333 10.267c0 0.4-0.133 0.8-0.533 1.2l-14.8 14.8c-0.267 0.267-0.667 0.4-1.067 0.4s-0.933-0.133-1.2-0.533l-2.4-2.267-6.267-6.267c-0.267-0.267-0.4-0.667-0.4-1.2s0.133-0.8 0.533-1.2l2.4-2.4c0.267-0.133 0.667-0.4 1.067-0.4s0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l5.067 5.067 11.2-11.333c0.267-0.267 0.667-0.533 1.2-0.533 0.4 0 0.8 0.133 1.2 0.533l2.4 2.4c0.267 0.267 0.4 0.667 0.4 1.2z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><span class=\"thrv-advanced-inline-text tve_editable tcb-styled-list-icon-text tcb-no-delete tcb-no-save\" data-css=\"tve-u-65af34c6747484\"><em>Dios<\/em> (God) is pronounced DEE-ohs&nbsp;<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><ol class=\"\" start=\"2\"><li><strong>Words that end in a consonant (other than \u201cn\u201d or \u201cs\u201d of course) are stressed on the last syllable. <\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p><em>Por ejempl<\/em>o: Comer (to eat) is pronounced Koh-MEHR&nbsp;<\/p><ol class=\"\" start=\"3\"><li><strong>When there is an accent above a letter you must stress that syllable. Imagine that the accent is like that&nbsp; one attention-seeking friend we all have, and it's saying \"Hey, stress me! I'm IMPORTANT!\"<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p><em>Por ejemplo: Pr\u00f3ximo <\/em>(next) is pronounced PROHK-see-moh. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>See, that was easy. Feeling a little less stressed now? Yes, as calm as a hippy in a commune. Now&nbsp; before you start growing out your hair and exclusively wearing hemp clothing, let's move on to vowels!&nbsp;<\/p><p>[thrive_leads id='2254']<\/p><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><h2 class=\"\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0dd\" id=\"t-1705982054715\" style=\"\"><strong><em>You can also watch our video about the Spanish alphabet below to hear the correct pronunciation.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"thrv_responsive_video thrv_wrapper tcb-lazy-load tcb-lazy-load-youtube\" data-type=\"youtube\" data-rel=\"0\" data-modestbranding=\"1\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16:9\" data-aspect-ratio-default=\"0\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KwpdV3aLddw\">\n\t\n\n\t<div class=\"tve_responsive_video_container\" style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"video_overlay\"><\/div>\n\t<iframe title=\"Responsive Video\" class=\"tcb-responsive-video\" data-code=\"KwpdV3aLddw\" data-hash=\"undefined\" data-provider=\"youtube\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KwpdV3aLddw?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;controls=1&amp;showinfo=1&amp;fs=1&amp;wmode=transparent&amp;enablejsapi=1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><h2 class=\"\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0de\" id=\"tab-con-11\" style=\"\"><strong>Can I Buy a Vowel? &nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2><p dir=\"ltr\">Once you know what sounds the vowels make when speaking Spanish, you're pretty well in the clear&nbsp; because they very seldom change. That's great for you learners out there because it means that you only&nbsp; need to memorize this guide below.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">Then if you're sounding out a word and you use these vowel pronunciations, there is about a 99.5%* chance you've got it right! And those are odds we'd take to Vegas, baby!&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">*Rough estimate. Very rough. But you get the point.<\/p><p>[table id=982 \/]<\/p><h2 class=\"\" id=\"tab-con-4\"><strong>The (Usually) Constant Consonants <\/strong><\/h2><p>Most of the consonants in Spanish are pronounced the same way as English. However, there are some&nbsp; that are different, and they can seem a little intimidating at first. No worries though, we've gone ahead and&nbsp; listed all of the ones that vary from English below. That way, instead of having to spend the time&nbsp; looking them up elsewhere, you can focus on more important things \u2013 like baking a birthday cake for your cat.<\/p><p>[table id=5 \/]<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">*The letter \"\" is pronounced the same way as \"B\" in Spanish \u2013 like \"B\" in \u201cbad.\u201d This makes it&nbsp; difficult for my little Spanish host kids when trying to sound out words in their writing.&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">To further explain that tricky \u201cCC\u201d listed above, the example word \u201ddireccion\u201d is pronounced like dee-rek-thee-on. So the first \u201cC\u201d behaves just like we have come to know and love, and the second is pronounced &nbsp;like \"th\".<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">When you pronounce the letter \"J\" you should almost sound like someone who has smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for the past 25 years, and you're trying to clear your throat. Like, you know that scene in \u201cTitanic\u201d where Jack is showing Rose how to \"spit like a man,\" and he's hacking up something awful? Yeah, you should sound like that. If it doesn't almost hurt your throat, you're not doing it right.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><h2 class=\"\" id=\"tab-con-9\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00bfWhat's With the Upside Down Quotation Marks? <\/strong><\/h2><p dir=\"ltr\">You know how when you're reading something in English you generally know (I say \"generally\" because English is&nbsp; weird and there are always exceptions \u2013 eye roll) that it's a question before you get to the question&nbsp; mark at the end because of the word at the beginning? Por ejemplo: \"Do you want something?\"<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">I'm assuming that when reading that question, you put an upward inflection on it. That's because the word&nbsp; \"do\" tipped you off that it was a question and not a statement. Well, in Spanish they don't do that. Let me&nbsp; show you what I mean.&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">\"Tu quieres algo.\" \/ \"\u00bfTu quieres algo?\"&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">The first is a statement. \"You want something.\" The second is a question. \"Do you want something?\" But&nbsp; the only way to tell the difference is by the punctuation. So if you were reading the question, and there&nbsp; was no question mark doing a handstand at the beginning of it, you wouldn't know that it was a question&nbsp; until you got to the end.&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">The same goes for when you're speaking. It's super important to make sure that when asking a question,&nbsp; the inflection of your voice goes up. It has to be clearly different than the inflection that you use when&nbsp; making a statement. If not, you could end up saying something different than what you intended, and it&nbsp; could be a little embarrassing. Yes, I did have an embarrassing experience with this. No, I'm not going to&nbsp; tell you about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">Hopefully this guide has helped you navigate through all of the pronunciation confusion. If not, take &nbsp;another big swig of that cerveza we opened at the beginning and have another look. I always find my &nbsp;Spanish to be better after a few drinks.<\/p><h2 class=\"\" id=\"t-1705982054716\"><strong><em>Pin this!<\/em><\/strong><\/h2><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper tve_image_caption\" data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0dc\"><span class=\"tve_image_frame\" style=\"width: 100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"tve_image wp-image-6541\" alt=\"Spanish pronunciation guide rules in stress\" width=\"677\" height=\"1015\" title=\"Spanish-Pronunciation-Guide-Rules-in-Stress-in-Syllables\" data-id=\"6541\" src=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Spanish-Pronunciation-Guide-Rules-in-Stress-in-Syllables.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio: auto 735 \/ 1102;\" data-width=\"677\" data-height=\"1015\" data-init-width=\"735\" data-init-height=\"1102\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"thrv_wrapper thrv_text_element\"><h2 class=\"\" id=\"t-1705982054717\">See also:&nbsp;<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/small-talk-spanish\/\" style=\"outline: none;\" target=\"_blank\"><u><strong>How to Make Small Talk in Spanish<\/strong><\/u><\/a><\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","tve_custom_css":"@media (min-width: 300px){[data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0d8\"] { width: 600px; float: none; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }[data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0d9\"] { background-color: var(--tcb-color-0); color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; }:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0db\"] > :first-child { color: var(--tcb-color-0); }[data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0dc\"] { width: 735px; }:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0dd\"] { padding-bottom: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; padding-top: 26px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; }:not(#tve) [data-css=\"tve-u-18d3b3fe0de\"] { padding-top: 13px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; }}","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{"e":"1","font_cls":[]},"tcb2_ready":1,"tcb_editor_enabled":1,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"0","_tve_footer":"0"},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[13,12],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spanish-grammar","category-learning-method","tag-pronunciation","tag-speaking","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":59,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17186,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions\/17186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}