{"id":145241,"date":"2015-07-22T06:04:14","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T10:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/learn-spanish-pronunciation\/"},"modified":"2025-01-25T04:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T09:36:34","slug":"learn-spanish-pronunciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/learn-spanish-pronunciation\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Spanish Pronunciation Tips You Can Use Immediately (with Audio)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want strangers to think you’re from a Spanish-speaking country? Or at least compliment you on how good your Spanish is? Well, you can’t get there without good pronunciation, no matter how fluently you can string together Spanish sentences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are 12 Spanish pronunciation tips you can start practicing right now to sound more fluent.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Avoid over-enunciating consonants<\/h2>\n

All Spanish consonants follow strict rules for the sounds they make, and there are few exceptions. While many consonants are pronounced the same in Spanish as they are in English, consonants in Spanish are pronounced more softly, so try not to put too much emphasis on them when speaking.<\/p>\n

Listen to these words in Spanish, then listen to their English translations:<\/p>\n

V<\/strong>iv<\/strong>ir <\/em>\u2014 T<\/strong>o l<\/strong>iv<\/strong>e<\/p>\n

D<\/strong>orm<\/strong>ir<\/strong> <\/em>\u2014 T<\/strong>o sl<\/strong>eep<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ag<\/strong>ua<\/em> \u2014 W<\/strong>at<\/strong>er<\/strong><\/p>\n

P<\/strong>err<\/strong>o<\/em> \u2014 D<\/strong>og<\/strong><\/p>\n

C<\/strong>as<\/strong>a <\/em>\u2014 H<\/strong>ous<\/strong>e<\/p>\n

L<\/strong>\u00e1mp<\/strong>ar<\/strong>a<\/em> \u2014 L<\/strong>amp<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Spanish vowels are always pronounced the same<\/h2>\n

Spanish vowels<\/a> always make the same sound, unlike English vowels where a,<\/em> for example, can be pronounced several ways. Watch the video below several times and practice those vowel sounds until you get them down perfectly:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

Once you know what those vowels sound like, you’re set. Just keep in mind that Spanish vowels are pronounced shorter and more clearly than in English.<\/p>\n

3. Stress is placed on the last syllable, second-to-last syllable or the accent mark<\/h2>\n

In Spanish, the second-to-last syllable of a word ending in a vowel, “n” or “s” is the one that’s stressed. For example:<\/p>\n

Cami<\/strong>no<\/em><\/p>\n

Fre<\/strong>sa<\/em><\/p>\n

Mira<\/strong>ban<\/em><\/p>\n

In all words that end in consonants other than “n” or “s,” the final syllable is stressed. For example:<\/p>\n

Azul<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hablar<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Celular<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But of course, this changes when there are accent marks<\/a>. If the word has an accent mark\u2014called a\u00a0tilde<\/em>\u2014the stress is placed over the vowel with the tilde.<\/p>\n

Accent marks are extremely important to Spanish pronunciation. Misplacing or forgetting an accent can make a big difference in the meaning of your Spanish sentences. For example,\u00a0esta<\/em><\/strong> and est\u00e1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0have different meanings and the emphasis is on a different letter in each word.<\/p>\n

Pay attention to accent marks and be sure that you place emphasis where it’s needed when you speak, not just when you write.<\/p>\n

4. B<\/em> and V<\/em> sound the same in Spanish<\/h2>\n

The difference between b\u00a0<\/em>and v\u00a0<\/em>in English is obvious, but in spoken Spanish, b <\/em><\/strong>and\u00a0v\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>both sound like b.<\/em><\/p>\n

I remember the first time I told my Peruvian boyfriend that in English, they make two different sounds. I pronounced\u00a0B<\/em> and V<\/em> over and over again in English and he swore I was saying the same thing because he couldn’t hear the difference!<\/p>\n

Take a look at some examples:<\/p>\n

B<\/strong>eb<\/strong>er<\/em> (to drink)<\/p>\n

V<\/strong>iv<\/strong>ir<\/em> (to live)<\/p>\n

Hab<\/strong>er<\/em> (to be)<\/p>\n

A v<\/strong>er<\/em> (to see, let’s see)<\/p>\n

Hab<\/strong>ilidad <\/em>(ability)<\/p>\n

Av<\/strong>ergonzar<\/em> (to embarrass)<\/p>\n

This might sound confusing at first, but I promise it gets so much easier with time. The best thing you can do is talk to native speakers and listen to native, authentic content to train your ears to hear the subtle differences. Eventually, your mouth will pick up too.<\/p>\n

For this, I recommend using an online program like FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p> \r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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