When Catalan Words Take a Written Accent | Catalan Grammar

Catalan does not write an accent on every stressed vowel. Instead, its spelling predicts a default stress from the word's ending and writes an accent when the actual stress does not match that default. Once you can find the stressed syllable and inspect the final letters, most accent decisions become mechanical.

This page answers whether a word takes an accent. The direction of è/é and ò/ó is covered separately under acute and grave accents. Pronunciation is Central unless a regional standard is explicitly labeled.

First, classify the stressed syllable

Catalan uses three traditional labels. Count from the end of the word:

Class	Where stress falls	Examples
aguda	last syllable	paper, cançó, també
plana	next-to-last syllable	casa, examen, fàcil
esdrúixola	third-to-last syllable or earlier	música, pàgina, història

The labels describe stress, not spelling: paper and cançó are both agudes, although only one has an accent. Say the word naturally, divide it into syllables, and identify the strongest one.

Demà portaré el paper a l'oficina.

Tomorrow I'll take the paper to the office.

Demà and portaré are agudes ending in a vowel, so the accents are required. Paper is also aguda, but its final -r predicts final stress, so it has no accent.

Aquesta pàgina de música és magnífica.

This music page is magnificent.

Pàgina, música, and magnífica are esdrúixoles, so they always take an accent.

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A written accent is economical information: it marks stress only when the ending would otherwise make a reader predict the wrong syllable.

The endings that predict penultimate stress

If a word ends in one of the following patterns, the default stress is on the next-to-last syllable:

a vowel: -a, -e, -i, -o, -u;
a vowel followed by -s: -as, -es, -is, -os, -us;
-en or -in.

Words that follow this default do not need an accent: casa, pare, crisi, carro, tribu, cases, homes, virus, canten, dormin. Words ending in other consonants or consonant groups normally default to final stress: animal, carrer, Ramon, doctor, profund.

Monosyllables normally take no accent because there is no possible doubt about which syllable is stressed: pa, vi, sol, mes, sis. The small current list of diacritical accents, such as més versus mes, distinguishes meanings rather than overriding the stress-ending rule.

This produces two complementary rules.

Agudes: accent the exceptional vowel-type endings

An aguda takes a written accent when it ends in a vowel, vowel + s, -en, or -in. Without the mark, those endings would tell the reader to stress the preceding syllable.

El camió arribarà després de les sis.

The truck will arrive after six.

Camió, arribarà, and després are agudes with endings from the default-penultimate set, so all three require accents. Sis is a monosyllable and does not take one.

També comprèn per què estic preocupat.

He also understands why I'm worried.

També ends in a vowel and comprèn ends in -en: both are agudes and therefore accented. Per què contains the accented interrogative què; that is a separate diacritical and grammatical use, discussed with current IEC accent practice.

There is one important phonological limit. Final written i or u does not count as a syllabic vowel ending when it is the second element of a falling diphthong or triphthong. Thus espai, servei, estiu, enrenou, and adeqüeu have no accent merely for being stressed at the end: the final glide belongs to the last syllable rather than forming a separate vowel-final syllable.

A l'estiu treballa en un espai molt tranquil.

In summer she works in a very quiet space.

Both estiu and espai are stressed on their last syllable, but neither receives an accent. By contrast, a diaeresis can tell you that i or u is syllabic in a sequence; see the diaeresis.

Planes: accent the exceptional consonant endings

A plana takes a written accent when it ends outside the vowel, vowel + s, -en, and -in set. The accent prevents the reader from applying the normal final-stress prediction for that ending.

És un problema fàcil, però l'examen serà llarg.

It's an easy problem, but the exam will be long.

Fàcil is plana and ends in -l, so it must be accented. Problema and examen are also planes, but their endings already predict penultimate stress. Serà, an aguda ending in a vowel, follows the complementary rule.

Aquells orígens encara són difícils d'explicar.

Those origins are still difficult to explain.

Orígens and difícils are planes. They end in consonant groups rather than a simple vowel + s, so both need accents. Compare singular origen, which ends in -en and needs no accent.

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Look at the exact ending. In origen, final -en predicts penultimate stress; in orígens, final -ens does not. The plural therefore gains an accent even though the stressed vowel stays the same.

Esdrúixoles: always accent them

Every esdrúixola takes an accent. No ordinary ending predicts stress three or more syllables from the right, so the spelling must show it.

La Mònica busca una farmàcia prop de l'estació.

Mònica is looking for a pharmacy near the station.

Mònica and farmàcia are esdrúixoles. In farmàcia, the ending divides into ci-a, leaving mà third from the end.

Necessito una còpia de l'última pàgina.

I need a copy of the last page.

Còpia, última, and pàgina are all esdrúixoles and therefore accented. This is the easiest class: once the syllable count is correct, there is no ending list to consult.

Word families explain apparent changes

Accents are not inherited like part of a root's permanent spelling. Inflection and derivation change the number of syllables, the location of stress, or the final letters, and the completed word is then evaluated again.

Related forms	Why the accent changes
origen → orígens	Both are planes, but only the plural has an ending that would otherwise predict final stress.
examen → exàmens	The plural consonant group makes the accent necessary.
fàcil → facilitat	The suffix receives final stress; the derived word follows the normal consonant-ending pattern.
telèfon → telefonar	Stress moves to the final syllable in the verb, where final -r already predicts it.
cançó → cançoner	The accented final vowel is no longer stressed after derivation.

L'examen és demà, però els exàmens orals són divendres.

The exam is tomorrow, but the oral exams are on Friday.

The singular-plural pair is not irregular. The same penultimate stress meets two different endings, so the written accent appears only in exàmens.

Aquest telèfon serveix per telefonar per internet.

This phone can be used to make calls over the internet.

The noun telèfon is plana and ends in -on, outside the endings that predict penultimate stress, so it must be accented. The verb telefonar is aguda ending in -r, so its stress is predictable without an accent.

This is where morphology helps more than sound alone. In Central Catalan, unstressed a/e and o/u may merge in pronunciation. A related stressed form often reveals the underlying vowel, while the suffix tells you which complete word must be tested against the accent rule.

The morphological exception: adverbs in -ment

Adverbs in -ment preserve the written accent of the feminine adjective they contain: fàcil → fàcilment, ràpida → ràpidament, but clara → clarament. These forms are pronounced with two stresses—a secondary stress in the adjective base and the main stress on -ment—so they are not respelled as though the whole form had only predictable final stress.

Ho ha resolt fàcilment i ràpidament.

She solved it easily and quickly.

This is a genuine morphological limit on the simple ending rule. Preserve the base accent first; then add -ment. Do not remove the accent merely because the finished adverb ends in a consonant group.

Accent direction and regional standards

The vowels a, i, and u have only one accent direction in Catalan: à, í, ú. The letters e and o can carry an acute or grave accent because Catalan distinguishes close and open stressed vowels: é/è, ó/ò. You must learn that quality with the word and region; do not import Spanish acute accents automatically.

Some codified regional spellings reflect systematic vowel-quality differences. General IEC usage writes cafè, francès, and comprèn. (formal, regional: Valencian; AVL) writes café, francés, and comprén. The position of stress and the need for an accent are identical; only the accent direction records the regional close vowel.

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Decide in two passes: first ask whether the word needs an accent from stress class and ending; then choose acute or grave from the stressed vowel quality and the appropriate standard.

Editing a natural sentence

Try correcting this message before reading the answer:

❌ Dema visitarem l'exposicio de musica al col.legi amb la veina.

Incorrect draft — several required marks are missing or replaced.

✅ Demà visitarem l'exposició de música al col·legi amb la veïna.

Tomorrow we'll visit the music exhibition at the school with the neighbor.

The corrections have four causes:

Demà and exposició are agudes ending in a vowel.
Música is esdrúixola.
Col·legi needs a middle dot, not a period; this is not an accent.
Veïna needs a diaeresis to show that e and i belong to separate syllables; this is also not an accent.

Common Mistakes

Omitting an accent because stress feels obvious

❌ La reunio comença dema al mati.

Incorrect — the required accents have been omitted.

✅ La reunió comença demà al matí.

The meeting starts tomorrow morning.

Importing Spanish accent marks

❌ És una decisió fácil.

Incorrect — Spanish «fácil» uses an acute accent, but Catalan has «fàcil».

✅ És una decisió fàcil.

It's an easy decision.

Treating a diaeresis as optional decoration

❌ La meva veina parla quatre llengues.

Incorrect — the diaereses are required to mark the vowel sequences in «veïna» and «llengües».

✅ La meva veïna parla quatre llengües.

My neighbor speaks four languages.

Substituting a period for the middle dot

❌ La pel.lícula parla d'un col.legi antic.

Incorrect — a keyboard period is not the Catalan middle dot.

✅ La pel·lícula parla d'un col·legi antic.

The film is about an old school.

Adding spaces around an apostrophe

❌ L' alumna arriba d' hora.

Incorrect — an apostrophe attaches directly to both neighboring letters.

✅ L'alumna arriba d'hora.

The student arrives early.

Key Takeaways

Agudes are stressed last, planes next to last, and esdrúixoles third to last or earlier.
A vowel, vowel + s, -en, or -in predicts penultimate stress; other endings normally predict final stress.
Monosyllables normally remain unaccented; the limited diacritical list distinguishes meanings.
Accent an aguda with a penultimate-stress ending, or a plana with a final-stress ending. Accent every esdrúixola.
Final glide i/u in a falling diphthong does not behave like a separate syllabic vowel ending.
Reapply the rule after every inflection or derivation; related forms need not keep the same accent mark.
Adverbs in -ment preserve any written accent required by the feminine adjective base.
Accents, diaereses, middle dots, and apostrophes are different signs with different jobs.

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