Leí el albarán.

Leí is the first-person singular preterite form of leer (to read).

So it means:

• I read / I did read in a completed past sense

It refers to a finished action in the past, not something ongoing or habitual.

The accent in leí shows that the stress falls on the í:

• le-Í

It also tells you that the vowels are pronounced in two separate syllables, not merged together. So:

• leí = le-í
• not one syllable like lei

This is a common pattern with forms of leer in the preterite.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

• leh-EE el al-bah-RAN

A few notes:

• Leí is stressed on the last syllable.
• albarán is stressed on the last syllable too because of the accent: al-ba-RÁN
• In natural speech, leí el may sound a bit connected together.

Spanish often omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

Since leí already means I read, you do not need yo.

So both are possible:

• Leí el albarán.
• Yo leí el albarán.

Adding yo usually gives extra emphasis or contrast, such as:

• Yo leí el albarán, pero tú no.
  I read the delivery note, but you didn’t.

El is the definite article (the), while un is the indefinite article (a/an).

So:

• el albarán = the delivery note
• un albarán = a delivery note

Using el suggests a specific document that the speaker and listener can identify, or one already known from the context.

Albarán is a business or commercial term used especially in Spain. It usually refers to a:

• delivery note
• dispatch note
• sometimes packing slip

It is the document that lists goods delivered.

It is not exactly the same as:

• factura = invoice
• recibo = receipt

This is a very useful Spain-specific word, especially in work, shipping, sales, or administration contexts.

Because leí presents the action as a completed event in the past.

Compare:

• Leí el albarán.
  I read the delivery note.
  → a finished action

• Leía el albarán.
  I was reading / I used to read the delivery note.
  → ongoing or habitual in the past

• He leído el albarán.
  I have read the delivery note.
  → past action with present relevance

In Spain, he leído is often used for recent past events, but leí is the normal simple past for a completed action.

Yes, albarán is masculine singular, which is why it takes el:

• el albarán

You usually learn a noun’s gender together with the article. A good habit is to memorize them as a pair:

• el albarán
• plural: los albaranes

Leer is not completely regular in all tenses, but this form follows an important pattern.

In the preterite, the singular and nosotros/vosotros forms keep the written í:

• leí
• leíste
• leyó
• leímos
• leísteis
• leyeron

Notice that some forms use y:

• leyó
• leyeron

This happens because of the vowel combination. So leí is the correct preterite form for I read.

Yes. Since albarán is masculine singular, you can replace it with lo:

• Leí el albarán.
• Lo leí. = I read it.

You would not normally say Leí lo. The object pronoun goes before the conjugated verb in a normal sentence:

• Lo leí.

No. This is the most normal Spanish word order:

• Leí = verb
• el albarán = direct object

Spanish often uses verb + object in simple statements like this.

You could also say:

• Yo leí el albarán.

But the version without yo is more natural unless you want emphasis.