Stress and accent marks
Papa with no accent mark means potato in Latin America; papá with one means dad.
Every Spanish word of two or more syllables has one syllable said louder and a little longer than the others. Spanish spelling tells you which one, with two default rules and a written accent mark, the tilde, for the exceptions. Once you know the rules you can stress any written word correctly, and you can also tell from hearing a word whether it needs a mark.
Rule 1: words ending in a vowel, n or s
If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, stress the next-to-last syllable: casa (CA-sa), hablan (HA-blan), libros (LI-bros), joven (JO-ven). These words are called llanas. Most Spanish words belong here.
Rule 2: any other final consonant
If a word ends in a consonant other than n or s, stress the last syllable: hablar (ha-BLAR), Madrid (ma-DRID), español (es-pa-ÑOL), reloj (re-LOJ). These words are called agudas.
The tilde marks the exceptions
When a word breaks those rules, the stressed vowel gets an accent mark. Café, canción (song) and compás end in a vowel, n or s but are stressed on the last syllable, so they need one. Lápiz (pencil), árbol (tree) and fácil (easy) end in other consonants but are stressed on the next-to-last, so they need one too. Words stressed on the third syllable from the end, the esdrújulas, always carry it: música, teléfono, sábado. The mark always leans up to the right: á, é, í, ó, ú. Capital letters keep it as well: Ángel.
The tilde also splits a weak vowel from its neighbour, as in día and país. And it tells apart short words that are otherwise spelled alike: tú (you) and tu (your), él (he) and el (the), sí (yes) and si (if), más (more) and mas (but, mostly literary), té (tea) and te (you, as an object). Question and exclamation words carry it too: qué, cómo, dónde, cuándo, quién.
Upside-down marks
Spanish also opens questions and exclamations with an upside-down mark: ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bien! The RAE says both marks are required, and leaving out the opening one in imitation of other languages is an error.
- casa, hablan, libros · house, they speak, books
- hablar, Madrid, español · to speak, Madrid, Spanish
- café, canción · coffee, song
- lápiz, árbol, fácil · pencil, tree, easy
- música, teléfono, sábado · music, telephone, Saturday
- ¿Tú tienes tu libro? · Do you have your book?
- ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bien! · How are you? Great!
- Papá come papas. · Dad eats potatoes.
| papá | dad |
| papa | potato (Latin America) |
| tú | you |
| tu | your |
| él | he |
| sí | yes |
| si | if |
| más | more |
| té | tea |
| canción | song |
| árbol | tree |
| música | music |
| sábado | Saturday |
¿Quieres té o café? Un café, por favor. ¿Con leche? Sí, con un poco de leche. ¡Qué rico!
- Which syllable is stressed in casa?
- CA
- SA
- Which syllable is stressed in hablar?
- HA
- BLAR
- Why does café need an accent mark?
- It ends in a vowel but is stressed on the last syllable
- All borrowed words have one
- It is a drink
- Why does lápiz need an accent mark?
- It ends in z but is stressed on the next-to-last syllable
- It ends in a vowel
- It has three syllables
- Words stressed on the third syllable from the end…
- always have an accent mark
- never have one
- have one only in Spain
- What does tú (with an accent) mean?
- you
- your
- two
- What does sí (with an accent) mean?
- yes
- if
- six
- In which year did the Academy first recommend the opening ¿?
- 1492
- 1754
- 2010
- Is “Cómo estás?” (no opening mark) correct?
- No, the opening ¿ is required
- Yes, it is optional
- Yes, in short questions
- Type the Spanish word for song (with its accent mark).
- Spelled correctly, which word needs an accent mark?
- arbol (tree)
- casa (house)
- reloj (watch)
- What does papá mean?
- dad
- potato
- pope
- Ends in vowel, n, s: stress next-to-last.
- Other endings: stress last.
- Exceptions and esdrújulas get á, é, í, ó, ú. Questions open with ¿.