Rules of Stress
To help in the pronunciation of the Spanish language, it is important to be familiar with the rules
of stress.
 If a word ends in a vowel, n, or s, stress the next to the last syllable.
 If a word ends in anything else, stress the last syllable.
 If the stress of the word breaks either rule, then a written accent mark is used to indicate
the correct syllable of stress.
tarea
libro
indivisible
cartel
teléfono
mamá
biblioteca
ayer
Diphthongs and Hiatus
Within Spanish words, you may find there are vowels side by side rather than separated by a
consonant in between. The same thing occurs in English. If those vowels include a strong and a
weak vowel, it is called a diphthong. If the two vowels positioned together are both strong
vowels, it is called a hiatus. Each creates its own pronunciation and stress rule. The strong
vowels in Spanish are a, e, and o. The weak vowels in Spanish are i and u.
Diphthong
When encountering a diphthong within a Spanish word, you pronounce the two vowels together,
sliding into the second to combine them into one syllable. The sound heard most would be the
second vowel as our pronunciation of the syllable finishes here. This occurs in words like:
guapo
Uruguay
baile
fuerte
English: mouse
If both vowels are weak vowels, the same rule applies by focusing on the second vowel sound.
cuidado
suizo
Hiatus
When approaching a hiatus within a Spanish word, you pronounce both of the strong vowels as
separate syllables.
Europeo
Europ-e-o
pelea
pel-e-a
empleado
empl-e-a-do
impermeable
imperm-e-a-ble