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Pronunciation

     Unlike English, Spanish is logical and systematic in its pronunciation. There is only one silent letter, and the other letters have only one major pronunciation.  Vowels are much more important in Spanish than English, so you should practice them often. 

Here are three rules that are very important in how  words are stressed in Spanish.
  • If a word ends in a vowel, or with the consonants "s" or  "n", then the stress is on the next-to-the-last syllable: sangre, cuerno, abeja, razas, crecen, dosis.
  • If a word ends in a consonant except "s" or "n", then the stress is on the last syllable: final, universidad, estar, rural.
  • If a word doesn't follow any of the above rules, then there's a written accent mark above the syllable to be stressed: pájaro, glándula, ácido, trébol, mamífero.

 

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    Learn the Spanish alphabet by clicking on a letter.  You will learn how to pronounce each letter correctly and will be given a few words to practice with. Click on a letter to start this exercise.