Focused learning guide
Spanish word stress and accent marks: rules that predict pronunciation
Place Spanish stress, understand written accents and distinguish words where the tilde changes meaning or grammar.
Words ending in a vowel, n or s normally stress the next-to-last syllable; other endings normally stress the final syllable. A written accent marks exceptions and other distinctions.
The default rules
Casa, examen and hablan follow penultimate stress; hotel and hablar follow final stress. Count syllables from the end, not letters.
What the written accent does
Teléfono marks stress outside the default. Accents also distinguish forms such as sí/si, tú/tu, él/el and identify interrogatives: qué, cómo, cuándo.
Stress changes verb meaning
Hablo is present; habló is preterite. Train accent marks with audio and meaning so spelling does not become a detached rule exercise.
Questions learners ask
Frequently asked questions
Do capital letters take accents?
Yes. Capitalisation does not remove required accent marks.
Is ñ an accented n?
No. Ñ is a separate letter; the tilde there is not a stress mark.
Do all stressed words carry an accent?
No. Written accents appear when orthographic rules require them.