In this lesson you will learn the correct stress (accent) of Spanish words.
• Words ending in vowels, n, or s: stress on second-to-last syllable
casa [KA-sa] – house
madre [MA-dreh] – mother
martes [MAR-tes] – Tuesday
examen [ek-SA-men] – exam
profesores [pro-fe-SO-res] – teachers
• Words ending in consonants (except n, s): stress on last syllable
comer [koh-MEHR] – to eat
trabajar [tra-ba-HAR] – to work
oficial [oh-fee-SYAHL] – official
• Written accent mark overrides these rules
árbol [AR-bol] – tree
café [ka-FE] – coffee
• -ción words: stress on -ción
educación [e-du-ka-SYON] – education
situación [si-twa-SYON] – situation
estación [es-ta-SYON] – station/season
canción [kan-SYON] – song
• -dad words: stress on last syllable
ciudad [syoo-DAD] – city
felicidad [feh-lee-see-DAD] – happiness
verdad [ber-DAD] – truth
realidad [reh-ah-lee-DAD] – reality
• -mente words
rápidamente [ra-pi-da-MEN-te] – quickly
especialmente [es-pe-syal-MEN-te] – especially
completamente [kom-ple-ta-MEN-te] – completely