The Spanish written accent — called the tilde in Spanish, the acute accent in English — is not decorative. It carries real information, and omitting it (or adding it where it doesn't belong) is a spelling error in Spanish exactly as ignoring an apostrophe is in English. The tilde does three distinct jobs, and once you understand which job a particular accent is doing, you can predict where it should appear.
The three jobs are:
- Mark non-default stress — when a word's stress falls somewhere the default rules don't put it (covered in detail on the stress rules page).
- Distinguish homophones — pairs of one-syllable words that would otherwise spell identically: el (the) vs él (he), tu (your) vs tú (you), si (if) vs sí (yes).
- Mark interrogative and exclamative pronouns — qué, quién, cuándo, dónde, cómo — to distinguish them from their relative-pronoun and conjunctive uses.
This page surveys all three. The complete reference, including every edge case, lives on the accent marks complete reference page.
Job 1: marking non-default stress
Recap from the stress rules page: Spanish has two default-stress rules, and any word that breaks them carries a written accent on the stressed vowel.
canción, café, jamás, también
all aguda forms ending in vowel/n/s — the default would put stress on the penultimate, but the actual stress is on the last, so the accent makes that visible.
árbol, fácil, lápiz, hábil
all llana forms ending in a non-vowel/n/s consonant — the default would put stress on the last, but it's on the penultimate.
música, gramática, esdrújula, médico
all esdrújulas — always carry an accent on the third-to-last syllable, no exceptions.
día, país, baúl, oír
all hiatus accents — the weak vowel (i or u) is stressed against a strong vowel and needs the accent to break the would-be diphthong.
We covered this completely in the previous two pages. The remaining two jobs are unique to this page.
Job 2: distinguishing homophones (diacritical accents)
Spanish has a small set of monosyllabic word pairs that are spelled the same but mean different things. The tilde on the accented member tells the reader which one is meant. This is called the acento diacrítico ("diacritical accent"), and it is the only function the accent serves on a single-syllable word. (Monosyllabic words generally don't carry accents at all — fue, vio, dio, di have no accent because there is no homophone to distinguish.)
| No accent | Function | With accent | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| el | definite article ("the") | él | subject pronoun ("he") |
| tu | possessive ("your") | tú | subject pronoun ("you") |
| mi | possessive ("my") | mí | object pronoun ("me", after prepositions) |
| si | "if"; musical "ti" | sí | "yes"; reflexive pronoun |
| se | clitic pronoun | sé | "I know"; "be!" (imperative of ser) |
| de | preposition ("of, from") | dé | present subjunctive of dar ("give") |
| te | clitic pronoun ("you") | té | "tea" |
| mas | "but" (literary, = pero) | más | "more" |
| aun | "even" (= incluso) | aún | "still, yet" (= todavía) |
Worked examples for each pair:
el coche de él está en el garaje
his car is in the garage — the first 'el' is the article, 'él' (with accent) is the pronoun.
tu hermano es más alto que tú
your brother is taller than you — 'tu' (possessive, no accent), 'tú' (pronoun, accent).
mi padre habla de mí en sus correos
my father talks about me in his emails — 'mi' (possessive), 'mí' (object pronoun after preposition).
si quieres té, dime que sí
if you want tea, tell me yes — 'si' (if), 'té' (tea), 'sí' (yes).
quiero que él se dé cuenta de la situación
I want him to realise the situation — 'él' (he), 'se' (clitic), 'dé' (subjunctive of dar, accent), 'de' (preposition).
yo sé que tú no sabes la respuesta
I know that you don't know the answer — 'sé' (I know, accent), 'tú' (subject pronoun, accent).
quiero más café, aún tengo sueño
I want more coffee, I'm still sleepy — 'más' (more), 'aún' (still, = todavía).
Special note on aun / aún
The aun / aún pair causes the most trouble of all the diacriticals, because the two meanings are semantically close.
- Aún (with accent) = todavía — "still," "yet." Refers to time.
- Aun (no accent) = incluso — "even." Refers to inclusion or surprise.
aún no ha llegado el tren de Sevilla
the Seville train still hasn't arrived — 'aún' = still, time-related.
aun los más expertos cometen errores a veces
even the most expert people make mistakes sometimes — 'aun' = even, inclusion.
A useful trick: if you can replace the word with todavía, write aún. If you can replace it with incluso, write aun. If neither substitution works cleanly, default to aún — it's the more common form.
What about fue, vio, dio, di, fui?
These monosyllabic verb forms do not carry accents because there is no homophone to distinguish them from. Until 1999 the RAE required accents on some of them (fué, vió, dió), but the modern rule is clear: monosyllabic words never carry an accent unless they are part of a diacritical pair.
fue al cine y vio una buena película
he went to the cinema and saw a good film — no accents on 'fue' or 'vio'; there's no homophone to clarify.
Job 3: marking interrogatives and exclamatives
Spanish has a set of wh-words that double as both:
- Interrogative or exclamative pronouns (in questions and exclamations) → written with an accent.
- Relative pronouns or conjunctions (in statements) → written without an accent.
The accent is the only spelling difference. Same word, same pronunciation; the accent tells the reader which function is at play.
| Accented (interrogative/exclamative) | Unaccented (relative/conjunctive) |
|---|---|
| qué — what | que — that, which |
| quién(es) — who(m) | quien(es) — who, whoever |
| cuál(es) — which (one) | cual(es) — which (as relative) |
| cuándo — when | cuando — when (conjunction) |
| dónde — where | donde — where (relative) |
| cómo — how | como — like, as; "I eat" |
| cuánto(s)/(as) — how much/many | cuanto(s)/(as) — as much as |
| adónde — where to | adonde — to where (relative) |
| por qué — why (two words) | porque — because (one word, no accent) |
Direct questions
¿qué quieres tomar?
what do you want to drink? — 'qué' interrogative, accent.
¿quién es esa chica del fondo?
who is that girl at the back? — 'quién' interrogative.
¿dónde has aparcado el coche?
where did you park the car? — 'dónde' interrogative.
¿por qué no me has llamado?
why didn't you call me? — 'por qué' two words, accent on é.
Indirect (embedded) questions
The accent stays in indirect questions — sentences where a wh-word is embedded inside a larger statement. This is the rule most often forgotten by learners.
me preguntó qué quería tomar
he asked me what I wanted to drink — 'qué' keeps the accent in the indirect question.
no sé dónde he dejado las llaves
I don't know where I've left my keys — 'dónde' keeps the accent.
dime cuándo puedes quedar conmigo
tell me when you can meet up — 'cuándo' keeps the accent.
no entiendo por qué se enfadó tanto
I don't understand why he got so angry — 'por qué' keeps the accent (two words).
The test: if the wh-word is asking a question — even an indirect one, even a question that is being reported rather than uttered — it carries the accent.
Exclamatives
The same accent appears on wh-words in exclamations (sentences enclosed in ¡ ... !).
¡qué buena idea!
what a good idea! — 'qué' exclamative, accent.
¡cuánto me alegro de verte!
how glad I am to see you! — 'cuánto' exclamative.
¡cómo ha llovido esta noche!
how it's rained tonight! — 'cómo' exclamative.
Relative and conjunctive uses (no accent)
When the same words function as relatives or conjunctions — connecting clauses without asking anything — they have no accent.
la casa que compré el año pasado es pequeña
the house I bought last year is small — 'que' relative pronoun, no accent.
vivo donde nací
I live where I was born — 'donde' relative, no accent.
no salgo porque está lloviendo
I'm not going out because it's raining — 'porque' conjunction, one word, no accent.
cuando llegues, llámame
when you arrive, call me — 'cuando' conjunction, no accent.
lo hago como me dijiste
I'm doing it the way you told me — 'como' as 'in the way that,' no accent.
Peninsular flag: don't forget the vosotros endings
We covered this on the stress rules page, but it deserves repetition because it is the single most common peninsular-specific orthographic error. The vosotros forms -áis, -éis are aguda + s, so the stress-rule accent is obligatory.
¿qué pensáis vosotros del asunto?
what do you all think about the matter? — 'pensáis' obligatory accent.
si queréis venir, sois bienvenidos
if you all want to come, you're welcome — 'queréis' obligatory accent.
cuando lleguéis, esperadme en la entrada
when you all arrive, wait for me at the entrance — 'lleguéis' obligatory accent.
Learners coming from a Latin American Spanish background often skip these because they never used vosotros in school. In peninsular Spanish, the omission is as wrong as missing the accent on café.
Two RAE reforms you need to know about
The Real Academia Española has made two important changes to accentuation rules in the past two decades. Both removed accents that used to be required. Spanish written before these reforms (pre-2010 books, older websites) will still show the old forms.
Reform 1: demonstratives no longer take an accent
Until 2010, demonstrative pronouns (éste, ése, aquél and their feminine/plural variants) carried an accent to distinguish them from the corresponding demonstrative adjectives (este, ese, aquel). The 2010 Ortografía de la lengua española abolished this distinction: write no accent on either, whether the word is a pronoun or an adjective.
este libro es mío, ese es tuyo
this book is mine, that one is yours — neither 'este' nor 'ese' takes an accent under current rules, even though the second is a pronoun.
aquella casa de allá la diseñó mi abuelo
that house over there was designed by my grandfather — 'aquella' adjective, no accent.
aquellos son los mejores
those (people/things) are the best — 'aquellos' is a pronoun, but still no accent under the 2010 rules.
If you see éste, ése, aquél in modern writing, the writer is using the pre-2010 spelling. It is no longer recommended.
Reform 2: sólo no longer takes an accent
Until 2010, the word solo meaning "only" (as an adverb, e.g. solo quiero un café = "I only want a coffee") was written sólo to distinguish it from solo meaning "alone" (as an adjective, e.g. estoy solo = "I'm alone"). The 2010 reform abolished this distinction too: write no accent on solo in either meaning.
solo quiero un café, gracias
I only want a coffee, thanks — 'solo' as adverb, no accent under current rules.
me siento solo en esta ciudad
I feel alone in this city — 'solo' as adjective, no accent.
The RAE's reasoning is that context makes the meaning clear in almost every case, and the few genuinely ambiguous sentences can be rewritten with solamente (adverb form) or en soledad (alone). Many older Spaniards still write sólo out of habit, and it is tolerated, but no longer required or recommended.
The porqué / porque / por qué / por que family
One source of confusion deserves a brief mention here (the full treatment is on the complete accent reference page). Spanish has four forms involving porque, and each is spelled differently:
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| por qué (two words, accent) | "why" (question) | ¿Por qué lo hiciste? |
| porque (one word, no accent) | "because" | Lo hice porque quería. |
| porqué (one word, accent) | "the reason" (noun) | No entiendo el porqué de su decisión. |
| por que (two words, no accent) | "for which" (rare, formal) | La razón por que actuó así. |
¿por qué estás enfadado? — porque no me escuchas
why are you angry? — because you don't listen to me — interrogative 'por qué' answered by conjunctive 'porque'.
me explicó el porqué de su renuncia
he explained the reason for his resignation — 'porqué' as a noun, one word with accent.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tu eres muy alto.
Wrong — 'tú' as subject pronoun ('you are') needs the accent. Without it, 'tu' is the possessive 'your', not the pronoun.
✅ Tú eres muy alto.
You are very tall — 'tú' (subject pronoun) carries the accent.
❌ Me pregunto donde estará Juan.
Wrong — 'dónde' in an indirect question keeps the accent.
✅ Me pregunto dónde estará Juan.
I wonder where Juan is — indirect question, accent stays.
❌ Éste es mi coche.
No longer recommended — the 2010 RAE reform abolished the accent on demonstrative pronouns. Write 'este'.
✅ Este es mi coche.
This is my car — no accent under current rules, whether pronoun or adjective.
❌ Sólo quiero ayudar.
No longer recommended — the 2010 RAE reform abolished the accent on adverbial 'solo'. Write 'solo' in all uses.
✅ Solo quiero ayudar.
I only want to help — no accent under current rules.
❌ ¿Que quieres hacer hoy?
Wrong — 'qué' in a direct question must carry the accent. Without it, 'que' would be the relative pronoun.
✅ ¿Qué quieres hacer hoy?
What do you want to do today? — interrogative qué, accent.
Key takeaways
- The Spanish tilde does three jobs: mark non-default stress, distinguish monosyllabic homophones, mark interrogative/exclamative pronouns.
- The diacritical accents on monosyllables — el/él, tu/tú, mi/mí, si/sí, se/sé, de/dé, te/té, mas/más, aun/aún — must be memorised. They are the only function the accent serves on a single-syllable word.
- Interrogative wh-words keep their accent in both direct and indirect questions: ¿qué? and me preguntó qué.
- Relative and conjunctive uses of the same words have no accent: la casa que compré, porque tengo prisa, cuando llegue.
- The 2010 RAE reforms abolished the accent on demonstrative pronouns (este, ese, aquel) and on adverbial solo. Pre-2010 spellings are tolerated but no longer recommended.
- The peninsular vosotros endings -áis, -éis always carry an accent. Forgetting them is the most common peninsular-specific error.
- The four porque/por qué/porqué/por que forms each have a specific meaning and spelling — learn them as a set.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Reglas de acentuaciónA1 — Spanish stress is predictable from spelling: words ending in a vowel, n, or s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable; words ending in any other consonant are stressed on the last. Exceptions are marked with a written accent. Three pattern names cover every word: aguda, llana, esdrújula.
- Diptongos e hiatosA2 — Spanish groups vowel sequences either into a single syllable (diphthong) or splits them across two syllables (hiatus). The rule depends on which vowels are involved — strong (a, e, o) or weak (i, u) — and on where the stress falls. Written accents on weak vowels mark hiatus that would otherwise default to diphthong.
- Tildes: referencia completaB1 — A comprehensive reference for every use of the Spanish written accent — stress-rule accents, hiatus accents, diacritical monosyllables, interrogatives, the porque/por qué/porqué family, plurals that change accent, -mente adverbs, compound words, foreign words, and post-2010 RAE reforms.
- Las cinco vocalesA1 — Spanish has exactly five vowel sounds — /a, e, i, o, u/ — pure, short, and unreduced in every position. The single biggest pronunciation habit for English speakers to break is the schwa: Spanish vowels never weaken in unstressed syllables.
- Pronunciación del español peninsular: visión generalA1 — A high-level map of peninsular Spanish pronunciation — five pure vowels, the distinción of /θ/ vs /s/, the apical /s̺/, the guttural jota /x/, the trilled rr, the b/v merger, the silent h, and the stress system that lets you read aloud almost any word from spelling alone.