Learn Spanish Stress and Written Accent

Every word has a stressed syllable (sílaba tónica). For example, the word español stresses the last syllable. Word endings and written accents (tildes) provide a predictable guide to stress syllables in Spanish, allowing you to read any word correctly.

1. Words that end in a vowel, n or s stress the next-to-last syllable: clase, examen, mesas

2. Words that end in a consonant other than n or s, stress the last syllable: bondad, papel, cantar

Words that do not follow the above rules carry a written accent to show which syllable should be stressed:

• café (last syllable stressed, though it ends with a vowel)
• exámenes (neither the last nor the penultimate syllable is stressed)
• árbol (penultimate syllable stressed, though it ends in a consonant other than n or s)

Therefore, you need two criteria to decide whether a word needs an accent or not:

1) its ending
2) which syllable is stressed

Ex. The word región needs an accent because

a) it ends with "n"
b) the penultimate syllable is not stressed

Ex. The word regiones does not need an accent because

a) it ends with "s"
b) the penultimate syllable is stressed

1. The written accent also indicates stress on a weak vowel (i, u) that is followed or preceded by a strong vowel (a, e, o):

dí·a             ra·íz         a·hí
Ma·rí·a          mí·o          o·í·do 
Ra·úl            dú·o          ge·o·gra·fí·a 

2. A written accent is not used for one-syllable words (fe, ti, tres, Dios), except to distinguish between certain words that are otherwise spelled identically, such as:

• si quiero, puedo (if I want, I can) vs. sí, claro(yes, of course);
• el problema (the problem) vs. él cree (he believes);
• tu país (your country) vs. tú creas (you create);
• mi lectura (my reading) vs. detrás de mí (behind me);
• se ven (they see themselves) vs. lo sé (I know that).

Another common group of such pairs are question words, which do not have written accents when not used as a part of a direct or indirect question:

• ¿cómo estás?
  how

• como quieras
  as you wish

• Sabe dónde está
  He knows where it is

• está donde te dije
  it is where I told you