Pronunciation Matters
Listen to the Spanish alphabet, learn the natural rhythm of words, and write names with the accents they need.
In this lesson
Hear the alphabet in Spanish
Listen to my pronunciation, then follow each letter on the chart.
Place word stress naturally
Spanish words usually follow one of two stress patterns. The ending of the word tells you where to place the natural stress.
1
Words ending in a vowel, n, or s
Stress the second-to-last syllable.
tomates · examen · triste · volumen
2
Words ending in another consonant
Stress the last syllable.
mujer · salud · doctor · papel
When a word breaks these natural patterns, a written accent mark shows which vowel carries the stress.
Write accents with care
Writing accents matters, too. Spanish words—especially people’s names—should keep their accents even when they appear in an English sentence.
The guide shows useful keyboard shortcuts for PC and Mac. The PC shortcuts shown are for Microsoft Word and may not work in search boxes or other fields.
In a pinch?
Forgot the shortcuts? Don’t just say, “Oh well!” Type the person’s name in Spanish in Google—for example, “Tomas.” If it is corrected to “Tomás,” you can copy and paste the full name or just the accented letter.
