Where to put the stress: Spanish accent marks explained

Have you ever wondered why Spanish puts a little line over some letters, like in cafécoffeeThe accent tells you to stress the last syllable. or teléfonophoneThe accent tells you where the stress goes., but not in others? Most learners treat accent marks as random decorations, and then lose marks on every written test.

Here's the secret: Spanish accent marks follow rules, and the rules are short. Once you know them, you can look at any Spanish word and know how to stress it, even if you've never heard it. And when you hear a new word, you'll know whether to write an accent on it. In this post I'll explain the two basic stress rules, when a word needs an accent mark, the little words that use accents to tell meanings apart, and the accent on question words. There's a quiz at the end. ¡Vamos!Let's go!Used to cheer someone on or get moving.

What is a Spanish accent mark?

Spanish has one accent mark: a small line that leans to the right, written over a vowel: á, é, í, ó, ú. In Spanish it's called la tildethe accent markThe written accent, like the one on é., and you might also hear el acentothe accent, or the stressCan mean the written mark or the stress you hear..

It has two jobs:

1. It shows where the stress goes in a word that breaks the normal rules.
2. It tells two words apart when they're spelled the same, like túyouWith an accent, the pronoun you. and tuyourWithout an accent, the possessive your..

It never changes the sound of the vowel. An é is still the same clean ए. It's just said a bit louder and longer than the vowels around it.

Two other marks look similar but do different jobs: the wave on ñ makes a different letter, and the two dots on ü (as in pingüinopenguinThe two dots mean you say the u.) tell you to say the u. I cover both in Ñ, LL, J and other tricky Spanish sounds.

Why stress matters in Spanish

Every Spanish word with more than one syllable has one syllable that's stronger than the others. That's the stressed syllable. And in Spanish, moving the stress can change the meaning completely.

• papapotato, or the PopeStress on the first syllable: PA-pa. → PA-pa
• papádadStress on the last syllable: pa-PA. → pa-PA

Or this famous trio:

• términoend, termTER-mi-no. → TÉR-mi-no
• terminoI finishter-MI-no. → ter-MI-no
• terminóhe finished, she finishedter-mi-NO. → ter-mi-NÓ

Same letters, three meanings. The accent mark is what tells you which is which.

The two basic stress rules

Here's the core of it. Learn these two rules, and the accent marks will start to make sense.

Rule 1: Words ending in a vowel, n or s

If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable. No accent needed.

• casahouseCA-sa. → CA-sa
• hablanthey speakHA-blan. → HA-blan
• zapatosshoestha-PA-tos. → za-PA-tos
• amigofrienda-MI-go. → a-MI-go
• examenexamek-SA-men. → e-XA-men

This covers most Spanish words, because most Spanish words end in a vowel, n or s.

Rule 2: Words ending in any other consonant

If a word ends in any other consonant (like l, r, d or z), the stress falls on the last syllable. No accent needed.

• hablarto speakha-BLAR. → ha-BLAR
• papelpaperpa-PEL. → pa-PEL
• ciudadcitythyu-DAD in Spain. → ciu-DAD
• felizhappyfe-LITH in Spain. → fe-LIZ
• MadridMadridma-DRID. → Ma-DRID

The accent mark breaks the rules

When a word doesn't follow those two rules, it gets an accent mark on the stressed vowel. That's it. That's the main job of the accent.

When does a Spanish word need an accent mark?

Spanish grammar sorts words by where the stress falls. You don't need the technical names to speak well, but they help when you're checking your writing, and you'll see them in textbooks and DELE preparation books.

Stress on the last syllable

These are called palabras agudaswords stressed on the last syllableThe grammar name for this group.. They take an accent mark only when they end in a vowel, n or s, because rule 1 would otherwise put the stress one syllable earlier.

• With accent: cafécoffeeca-FÉ., sofásofaso-FÁ., canciónsongcan-CIÓN., despuésafterdes-PUÉS., inglésEnglishin-GLÉS.
• Without accent: hablarto speakEnds in r, so no accent., relojwatch, clockEnds in j, so no accent., verdadtruthEnds in d, so no accent.

Stress on the second-to-last syllable

These are palabras llanaswords stressed on the second-to-last syllableThe grammar name for this group. Also called graves.. They take an accent only when they end in a consonant other than n or s.

• With accent: árboltreeÁR-bol., fácileasyFÁ-cil., lápizpencilLÁ-piz., móvilmobile phoneMÓ-vil., azúcarsugara-ZÚ-car.
• Without accent: casahouseEnds in a vowel, so no accent., jovenyoungEnds in n, so no accent., lunesMondayEnds in s, so no accent.

Stress on the third-to-last syllable

These are palabras esdrújulaswords stressed on the third-to-last syllableThe grammar name for this group., and they're the easiest of all: they always take an accent mark. No exceptions.

• teléfonophonete-LÉ-fo-no., músicamusicMÚ-si-ca., rápidofastRÁ-pi-do., sábadoSaturdaySÁ-ba-do., miércolesWednesdayMIÉR-co-les., AméricaAmericaa-MÉ-ri-ca.

The same goes for words stressed even earlier, which usually happens when you stick pronouns onto a verb: dímelotell me itDÍ-me-lo. Always an accent., explícameloexplain it to meex-PLÍ-ca-me-lo. Always an accent..

Accents that split vowel pairs

In Spanish, i and u usually blend with the vowel next to them into one syllable, like bienwellOne syllable. or buenogoodTwo syllables: bue-no.. But sometimes the i or u is the stressed one, and then it needs an accent to break the pair apart:

• díadayDÍ-a, two syllables. → DÍ-a, not "dya"
• paíscountrypa-ÍS, two syllables. → pa-ÍS
• ríoriverRÍ-o, two syllables. → RÍ-o
• RaúlRaúl, a namera-ÚL, two syllables. → Ra-ÚL
• tíaauntTÍ-a, two syllables. → TÍ-a

This is where the accent mark goes against the normal rules on purpose. DíadayEnds in a vowel, but still has an accent. ends in a vowel and is stressed on the second-to-last syllable, which looks like rule 1, but without the accent it would be read as one syllable. So the accent stays.

You'll see this a lot in verb forms, too: sabíaI knewsa-BÍ-a., teníaI hadte-NÍ-a., comíaI ate, I used to eatco-MÍ-a.. Every one of those imperfect forms keeps its accent.

Little words with big differences: tú and tu

Most one-syllable words don't take an accent: fuewas, wentNo accent., diogaveNo accent., tiyou, after a prepositionNo accent, even though mí has one., viosawNo accent.. But some short words come in pairs, and the accent tells them apart. This is called the tilde diacríticathe distinguishing accentAn accent that separates two words spelled the same way..

These matter in writing. Tú tienes tu libro.You have your book.Tú is you, tu is your. Él compra el pan.He buys the bread.Él is he, el is the. Sí, si quieres.Yes, if you want.Sí is yes, si is if.

And my favourite, for chai lovers: ¿Te gusta el té?Do you like tea?Te is a pronoun, té is the drink.

Accents on question words

Question words always take an accent when they ask a question, directly or indirectly:

• ¿Qué?What?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Cómo?How?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Dónde?Where?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Cuándo?When?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Quién?Who?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Cuál?Which?With an accent when it asks.
• ¿Cuánto?How much?With an accent when it asks.

When the same words just connect two parts of a sentence, they lose the accent:

• ¿Dónde vives?Where do you live?A question, so dónde. but La casa donde vivo.The house where I live.Not a question, so donde.
• ¿Cuándo llegas?When are you arriving?A question, so cuándo. but Te llamo cuando llegue.I'll call you when I arrive.Not a question, so cuando.
• ¿Qué quieres?What do you want?A question, so qué. but Creo que sí.I think so.Que here just means that.

The accent stays in indirect questions, too: No sé dónde está.I don't know where it is.An indirect question, so dónde keeps its accent. The same goes for exclamations: ¡Qué bonito!How beautiful!Exclamations keep the accent on qué.

Do capital letters need accents?

Yes. The RAE is very clear on this: capital letters keep their accents. So it's ÁngelÁngel, a nameCapital letters keep the accent., ÁfricaAfricaCapital letters keep the accent. and ÉlHeAt the start of a sentence, still with an accent.. Older printed signs sometimes left them out because of the technology of the time, but today you should always write them.

How to type Spanish accents

On a phone, press and hold the vowel and choose the accented letter. Same for ñ. On a laptop, the easiest way is to add a Spanish keyboard in your settings, or use your system's accent shortcut. It's worth setting up in your first week. In Spanish, cafecafé, written without the accentMissing its accent. without its accent is simply misspelt, and in written exams like the DELE, correct spelling is part of what's assessed.

Common accent mistakes learners make

1. Putting accents on every word. Most words follow rules 1 and 2 and need no accent at all. CasahouseNo accent., hablarto speakNo accent. and examenexamNo accent. are already correct.
2. Writing tí. It's tiyou, after a prepositionNever with an accent., even though mímeWith an accent, to tell it apart from mi. has one: para tifor youNo accent on ti., para mífor meAccent on mí..
3. Forgetting the accent in the plural or singular. JovenyoungNo accent. → jóvenesyoung peopleAccent needed in the plural.. CanciónsongAccent. → cancionessongsNo accent..
4. Leaving out the accent on question words. ¿Cómo estás?How are you?Two accents: cómo and estás. has two accents, and both matter.
5. Mixing up esta and está. estathisNo accent: esta casa, this house. means "this", estáisWith an accent: from estar. means "is". Esta casa está aquí.This house is here.Both in one sentence.
6. Stressing words the English way. Say hotelhotelo-TEL, stress at the end. as "o-TEL" and chocolatechocolatecho-co-LA-te. as "cho-co-LA-te". Let the Spanish rules decide.

Test yourself: Spanish accent marks quiz

Keep going

Accent marks look fussy at first, but they're actually there to help you. They're a little map on every word, telling you exactly where to put your voice. Learn the two rules, check your writing for a few weeks, and soon you'll put them in without thinking. Poco a pocoLittle by littleProgress comes step by step..

If you haven't read it yet, start with the 5 Spanish vowels, because a stressed vowel is still the same clean vowel. If you're working towards the exam, have a look at what the DELE exam is. And if you'd like to practise reading and writing with someone checking every accent, my live A2 batches on Google Meet are small, up to 5 students. ¡Venga!Come on!A friendly push to get going.