Spanish pronunciation follows consistent rules. Once you learn the sounds, you can read almost anything aloud correctly.
Stress Rules
- Words ending in a vowel, N, or S: stress the second-to-last syllable — casa = CA-sa
- Words ending in any other consonant: stress the last syllable — hablar = ha-BLAR
- Words with an accent mark ´: stress falls on the marked syllable — café = ca-FEH
Tricky Consonants
- C before E or I = S sound: ciudad = see-u-DAD
- G before E or I = H sound: gente = HEN-teh
- QU = K sound: que = keh
- Z in Latin America = S: zapato = sa-PA-to
Useful Phrases
- ¿Cómo se pronuncia esto? — How do you pronounce this?
- Más despacio, por favor. — More slowly, please.