Word stress, written accents, ¿ and ¡
Which syllable to stress, what the accent mark tells you, and the upside-down marks
Part of the free A0 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
A syllable is one beat of a word: ca-sa has two, te-lé-fo-no has four. In every Spanish word with more than one syllable, one beat is stressed: said a little louder and longer. Stress matters: put it in the wrong place and people may not understand you.
Spanish spelling always tells you where the stress goes. You only need two rules and one mark.
Rule 1: words ending in a vowel, n or s
Stress the second-to-last syllable: CA-sa (house), HA-blan (they speak), LI-bros (books), a-MI-go (friend).
Rule 2: words ending in any other consonant
Stress the last syllable: ha-BLAR (to speak), es-pa-ÑOL (Spanish), ciu-DAD (city), re-LOJ (watch).
The written accent breaks the rules
When a word doesn't follow those two rules, it carries a written accent (´, called tilde) on the stressed vowel:
- ca-FÉ, can-CIÓN (song), in-GLÉS: they end in a vowel, n or s, but the stress is on the last syllable;
- ÁR-bol (tree), LÁ-piz (pencil): they end in another consonant, but the stress is not on the last syllable;
- MÚ-si-ca, te-LÉ-fo-no: stressed three beats from the end, which always needs an accent.
The accent only shows stress. It never changes the sound of the vowel: é is the same "eh" as e.
- El café está muy caliente.The coffee is very hot.
- Mi hermano habla inglés.My brother speaks English.
- ¿Dónde está el teléfono?Where is the phone?
- Hablo español.I speak Spanish.
A written accent always leans to the right (á, é, í, ó, ú). Capital letters keep it too: Ángel, Él.
Accents that change the meaning
Some short words are spelled the same apart from the accent, and the accent tells you which word it is:
| With accent | Without accent |
|---|---|
| tú = you | tu = your |
| él = he | el = the |
| sí = yes | si = if |
| qué = what? | que = that |
The accent can even change the tense of a verb: hablo (I speak) but habló (he or she spoke).
- Tú eres mi amigo.You are my friend.
- Tu amigo es simpático.Your friend is nice.
- Él es el profesor.He is the teacher.
- Sí, me gusta la música.Yes, I like music.
¿ and ¡: marks at both ends
Spanish questions and exclamations are framed by two marks: an upside-down one at the start and a normal one at the end. They show you from the first word that you should use a question or exclamation tone.
- ¿Dónde vives?Where do you live?
- ¡Qué bonito!How pretty!
- ¡Feliz cumpleaños!Happy birthday!
The opening mark goes where the question itself starts, which isn't always the start of the sentence:
- Hola, ¿qué tal?Hi, how are things?
Question words always take an accent: ¿qué?, ¿cómo?, ¿dónde? (¿Qué?, ¿Dónde?, ¿Cómo?; yes/no questions). Plurals sometimes gain or lose an accent (canción, canciones) because of these same rules: see Making plurals: -s, -es, z → ces.
Common mistakes
- Stressing the first syllable as in English:
HO-telfor hotel. It ends in l, so it is ho-TEL. - Leaving out meaning-changing accents: tu means "your", but "you" is tú; el is "the", but "he" is él.
- Forgetting the opening mark: write ¿Cómo estás?, not
Cómo estás?. - Thinking the accent changes the vowel sound: é in café is the same "eh" as in mesa, only stressed.
Practice
- Where is the stress in 'casa' (house)?Options: On the first syllable: CA-sa · On the last syllable: ca-SA · On both syllables equally
Show the answer
On the first syllable: CA-sa — It ends in a vowel, so the second-to-last syllable is stressed.
- Where is the stress in 'hablar' (to speak)?Options: On the last syllable: ha-BLAR · On the first syllable: HA-blar · On both syllables equally
Show the answer
On the last syllable: ha-BLAR — It ends in r, a consonant other than n or s, so the last syllable is stressed.
- Where is the stress in 'teléfono'?Options: On the second syllable: te-LÉ-fo-no · On the third syllable: te-le-FO-no · On the first syllable: TE-le-fo-no · On the last syllable: te-le-fo-NO
Show the answer
On the second syllable: te-LÉ-fo-no — The written accent always marks the stressed syllable.
- Why does 'café' have a written accent?Options: It ends in a vowel but is stressed on the last syllable, which breaks Rule 1 · The accent makes the e sound like 'ay' · All words borrowed from other languages need an accent
Show the answer
It ends in a vowel but is stressed on the last syllable, which breaks Rule 1