Spanish stress is rule-governed, predictable, and visible from the spelling. Given any written Spanish word — even one you have never seen before — you can identify the stressed syllable with certainty by applying two short rules and noticing whether a written accent is present. English has nothing comparable: knowing that photograph is stressed on the first syllable and photography on the second is a fact you simply memorise. In Spanish, you compute it.
This page covers the three stress patterns, the two default rules, and the flowchart that lets you decide — for any word — whether it needs a written accent. The written accent itself is covered in more detail on the written accent marks page; here the focus is on where stress falls, with accent marks treated as the signal that the default rules have been broken.
The three patterns
Every Spanish word has a stressed syllable. Depending on which syllable carries the stress (counting from the end of the word), the word is classified into one of three patterns. Spanish school grammar uses these terms throughout; you will hear them constantly in any language classroom.
| Pattern | Stressed syllable | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Aguda (oxytone) | last | ca-FÉ, can-CIÓN, ha-BLAR, ciu-DAD, ja-MÁS |
| Llana / grave (paroxytone) | second-to-last (penultimate) | CA-sa, ÁR-bol, MA-dre, FÁ-cil, JO-ven |
| Esdrújula (proparoxytone) | third-to-last (antepenultimate) | MÚ-si-ca, GRA-má-ti-ca, RÁ-pi-do, PÁ-ja-ro, JÓ-ve-nes |
| Sobresdrújula | before third-to-last | DÍ-ga-me-lo, ES-cri-bién-do-se-lo |
The sobresdrújula is rare and appears only in verb + clitic combinations; we cover it briefly at the end. The three central categories — aguda, llana, esdrújula — describe the vast majority of Spanish vocabulary.
el café está caliente todavía
the coffee is still hot — 'café' is aguda (stressed last), 'caliente' is llana, 'todavía' is llana with a hiatus accent.
me gusta la música clásica
I like classical music — 'música' and 'clásica' are both esdrújulas (stressed third-to-last).
hablar bien español requiere mucha práctica
speaking Spanish well takes a lot of practice — 'hablar' aguda, 'español' aguda, 'requiere' llana, 'práctica' esdrújula.
The two default rules
The default-stress rules cover every Spanish word that has no written accent. If a word has no accent, its stress is determined entirely by its final letter.
Default 1: words ending in vowel, n, or s → stress on the penultimate (llana)
casa
house — ends in vowel, llana, stress on CA-sa.
comen
they eat — ends in n, llana, stress on CO-men.
mesas
tables — ends in s, llana, stress on ME-sas.
hablan español en Madrid
they speak Spanish in Madrid — 'hablan' llana (HA-blan), 'Madrid' aguda (Ma-DRID).
Default 2: words ending in any other consonant → stress on the last (aguda)
hotel
hotel — ends in l, aguda, stress on ho-TEL.
vivir
to live — ends in r, aguda, stress on vi-VIR.
ciudad
city — ends in d, aguda, stress on ciu-DAD.
reloj
watch / clock — ends in j, aguda, stress on re-LOJ.
That is the entire default system. Vowel/n/s → second-to-last. Anything else → last.
When the word doesn't follow the default: write an accent
If a word's stress falls somewhere other than where the default rules would put it, a written accent (tilde) appears on the stressed vowel. The accent tells the reader: "the default doesn't apply here — the stress is on this syllable."
Aguda + ends in vowel/n/s → ACCENT
The default says "ends in vowel/n/s → stress on penultimate." So if the stress is actually on the last syllable in a word ending in vowel/n/s, that defies the rule and needs an accent.
canté la canción favorita de mi padre
I sang my father's favourite song — 'canté' ends in vowel but is stressed on the last (canté), needs accent; 'canción' ends in n but stressed on the last, needs accent.
hablé con el jefe ayer
I spoke with the boss yesterday — 'hablé' is aguda, ends in vowel, needs accent on é.
jamás haré eso otra vez
I'll never do that again — 'jamás' ends in s, aguda, needs accent; 'haré' ends in vowel, aguda, needs accent.
This is why all preterite yo and él/ella forms of -ar and -er verbs carry accents: hablé, hablé, comí, comió, vivió, escribí. They are all aguda forms ending in a vowel.
Llana + ends in non-vowel/n/s → ACCENT
The default says "ends in a consonant other than n/s → stress on the last." So if the stress is actually on the penultimate in a word ending in such a consonant, it needs an accent.
el árbol de mi jardín es muy fácil de cuidar
the tree in my garden is very easy to look after — 'árbol' ends in l but is stressed on the penultimate, needs accent; 'fácil' same pattern.
se me cayó el lápiz al suelo
my pencil fell on the floor — 'lápiz' ends in z, stressed on the penultimate, needs accent.
ese coche tiene un motor débil
that car has a weak engine — 'débil' ends in l, llana, needs accent.
Esdrújula → ALWAYS accent
Words stressed on the third-to-last syllable always carry a written accent, no matter what they end in. This is an unconditional rule: every esdrújula has an accent on the stressed vowel.
la música clásica me ayuda a concentrarme
classical music helps me concentrate — 'música' and 'clásica' both esdrújulas with mandatory accents.
prefiero el método más rápido
I prefer the fastest method — 'método' and 'rápido' both esdrújulas.
el pájaro salió volando por la ventana
the bird flew out through the window — 'pájaro' is esdrújula.
acabo de leer un libro sobre la gramática del japonés
I've just read a book about Japanese grammar — 'gramática' esdrújula; 'japonés' aguda + ends in s = accent.
The decision flowchart
Combining the rules into a single procedure for "does this word need a written accent?":
- Find the stressed syllable (by ear, by knowing the word, or by inspection).
- Count from the end: last (aguda), second-to-last (llana), third-to-last (esdrújula).
- Apply the appropriate rule:
| Stress position | Word ends in... | Accent? | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last (aguda) | vowel, n, or s | YES | café, canción, jamás |
| Last (aguda) | any other consonant | NO | hotel, vivir, ciudad |
| Penultimate (llana) | vowel, n, or s | NO | casa, comen, mesas |
| Penultimate (llana) | any other consonant | YES | árbol, fácil, lápiz |
| Third-to-last (esdrújula) | anything | YES (always) | música, sábado, gramática |
| Before third-to-last | anything | YES (always) | dígamelo |
That single table is the complete stress-accent system. There are no other rules to learn — only refinements (hiatus accents, diacritical accents, interrogative accents) that are covered on the written accent marks and complete accent reference pages.
Worked examples
Let's run several common words through the procedure to make the system concrete.
Profesor
- Stress: pro-fe-SOR (last syllable).
- Ends in: r (not vowel/n/s).
- Rule: aguda + ends in consonant other than n/s → no accent needed.
- Result: profesor (no accent).
Lápiz
- Stress: LÁ-piz (penultimate).
- Ends in: z (not vowel/n/s).
- Rule: llana + ends in consonant other than n/s → accent needed.
- Result: lápiz (accent on á).
Lápices (plural)
- Stress: LÁ-pi-ces (third-to-last — note the stress stays where it was, but adding -es shifted what counts as third-to-last).
- Rule: esdrújula → always accent.
- Result: lápices (accent stays on á).
Camión
- Stress: ca-MIÓN (last).
- Ends in: n.
- Rule: aguda + ends in n → accent needed.
- Result: camión (accent on ó).
Camiones (plural)
- Stress: ca-MIO-nes (penultimate — adding -es added a syllable, so the stress is now penultimate).
- Ends in: s.
- Rule: llana + ends in s → no accent needed.
- Result: camiones (no accent).
This example pair — camión / camiones — is a classic. The plural ending changes the stress position relative to the end of the word, which changes whether an accent is needed. Many Spanish nouns lose their accent in the plural (canción / canciones, avión / aviones) for exactly this reason.
los camiones bloquean la carretera
the lorries are blocking the road — 'camiones' has no accent because the plural shifted stress relative to the end.
he comprado un nuevo camión
I've bought a new lorry — 'camión' has an accent because it's aguda + ends in n.
Vosotros endings: a peninsular special case
In peninsular Spanish, the vosotros verb forms in the present indicative end in -áis or -éis (and sometimes -ís). All three are aguda forms that end in s, so by the standard rules they all require a written accent on the stressed vowel.
¿habláis español en casa?
do you all speak Spanish at home? (vosotros) — 'habláis' aguda + ends in s + diphthong /aj/ before s → accent on á.
vosotros coméis demasiado rápido
you all eat too fast — 'coméis' aguda + s → accent on é.
¿no vivís cerca de aquí?
don't you all live near here? — 'vivís' aguda + s → accent on í (no diphthong, just a stressed i).
This is one of the most consistently forgotten accents by learners. Latin American Spanish does not use vosotros (it uses ustedes + third-person plural), so learners who started with a Latin American textbook often see -ais/-eis spellings without accents in unguarded writing. In peninsular Spanish, those accents are obligatory. A peninsular Spaniard reading hablais without the accent will perceive it as wrong, the same way an English speaker perceives teh as a typo for the.
Adverbs in -mente
Adverbs formed by attaching -mente to an adjective are a special case. The -mente suffix carries its own stress, but the original adjective's stress (and accent) is preserved.
ella habla rápidamente, pero entiendo casi todo
she speaks quickly, but I understand almost everything — 'rápidamente' keeps the accent from 'rápido'.
es fácilmente reconocible
it's easily recognisable — 'fácilmente' keeps the accent from 'fácil'.
lo hizo cortésmente
he did it courteously — 'cortésmente' keeps the accent from 'cortés'.
The rule: if the base adjective carries a written accent, the -mente adverb keeps it. If the base adjective doesn't carry an accent, the adverb doesn't either (lentamente from lenta, amablemente from amable).
Phonetically, these adverbs have two stresses — one on the original adjective's stressed syllable, and one on the -men- of -mente. This is unique in Spanish; almost every other word has exactly one stress.
The sobresdrújula: verb + clitics
When a verb takes one or more clitic pronouns attached to it (dame, dígamelo, escríbeselo), the stress can land further back than the third-to-last syllable. These forms always carry a written accent on the original stressed vowel.
dímelo otra vez, por favor
tell me again, please — 'dímelo' is sobresdrújula (DÍ-me-lo, stress on the fourth-to-last, accent obligatory).
escríbeselo antes de que se le olvide
write it down for him before he forgets — 'escríbeselo' is sobresdrújula.
cómpramelo si lo encuentras
buy it for me if you find it — 'cómpramelo' sobresdrújula.
The rule is: when adding clitics shifts the stress to a position before the third-to-last syllable, the original verb's accent stays put. Da + me + lo becomes dámelo, with the accent that was implicit in da now made explicit.
What stress doesn't do
A reminder of what was covered on the vowels page: in Spanish, stress is realised through loudness, slight lengthening, and a tiny pitch rise — but not through any change in vowel quality. The /a/ in cama is the same /a/ whether it is stressed or not. English speakers' instinct to lengthen, lower, and brighten stressed vowels (and to flatten unstressed ones into schwa) is wrong for Spanish.
Common Mistakes
❌ cante
Wrong — preterite yo form of 'cantar' is canté, aguda + vowel = accent needed.
✅ canté
I sang — accent on é.
❌ musica
Wrong — esdrújulas always carry an accent. Without one, this spelling would be read as a llana (mu-SI-ca), which is not the word.
✅ música
music — esdrújula, accent on ú.
❌ hablais
Wrong (peninsular) — vosotros endings -áis/-éis always require a written accent. The aguda + s = accent rule applies.
✅ habláis
you all speak — peninsular vosotros form.
❌ árbolés
Wrong — over-accenting. Spanish words carry at most one written accent, on the stressed syllable. 'Árboles' is esdrújula (ÁR-bo-les, stress on the third-to-last), so the accent goes on á — and only on á.
✅ árboles
trees — esdrújula, single accent on á.
❌ hotél
Wrong — 'hotel' is aguda but ends in l (a consonant other than n/s), so by the default rule it carries no accent.
✅ hotel
hotel — aguda ending in l, no accent.
Key takeaways
- Three patterns: aguda (stress on last), llana (penultimate), esdrújula (third-to-last). Plus sobresdrújula (before third-to-last) for verb+clitics.
- Two defaults: words ending in vowel, n, or s → penultimate stress (llana). Words ending in any other consonant → last syllable (aguda).
- A written accent appears whenever the actual stress defies the default — and always on esdrújulas and sobresdrújulas.
- Vosotros endings -áis, -éis, -ís are aguda + s → mandatory accent. A core peninsular feature; do not omit it.
- -mente adverbs keep the accent of the base adjective. They carry two stresses.
- Plural endings can shift stress relative to the end of the word, removing or adding the need for an accent (camión → camiones).
- The full system fits on a single seven-row decision table. Memorise it once.
Now practice Spanish
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
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