Spanish accent marks and the rules for where they go
You write a Spanish accent, the tilde, for two reasons: to show the stressed syllable when the stress is not where the normal rules have it, and to separate pairs of short words such as tú (you) and tu (your). Once you know the stress rules, you can place almost every accent from the sound of the word. Below: the rules, the pairs, question words and how to type the marks.
When a word needs an accent
Spanish has one kind of written accent, the acute: á, é, í, ó, ú. It always goes on the stressed syllable. A word never has more than one.
Use an accent when the stress is not where the default rules have it. So first, learn the defaults.
The two default rules
Rule 1. If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable: CA-sa, HA-blan, LI-bros, ZA-pa-tos, e-XA-men.
Rule 2. If a word ends in any other consonant, the stress falls on the last syllable: ha-BLAR, ciu-DAD, re-LOJ, fe-LIZ, es-pa-ÑOL.
Words that follow these rules have no accent. Words that break them do.
The three accent rules
Stress on the last syllable, ending in a vowel, n or s. These break rule 1, so they have a written accent: café, sofá, canción, inglés, también, jamás, papá, habló.
Stress on the second-to-last syllable, ending in another consonant. These break rule 2, so they have a written accent: árbol, fácil, lápiz, azúcar, móvil, difícil, césped, cárcel.
Stress on the third-to-last syllable or earlier. No default rule covers these, so they always have a written accent: música, teléfono, rápido, sábado, miércoles, número, pájaro, último, dígamelo.
In Spanish, the groups are called agudas (last syllable), llanas or graves (second-to-last), esdrújulas (third-to-last) and sobresdrújulas (earlier).
| Stress falls on | Ends in vowel, n, s | Ends in another consonant |
|---|---|---|
| Last syllable | accent: café, canción | no accent: hablar, ciudad |
| Second-to-last | no accent: casa, joven | accent: árbol, fácil |
| Third-to-last or earlier | accent always: música, sábado | accent always |
Vowels that sit together
In Spanish, a, e and o are strong vowels, and i and u are weak. A weak vowel next to another vowel usually forms one syllable with it: bue-no, tie-ne, ciu-dad, rei-na.
When the stress falls on the weak i or u next to a strong vowel, the two vowels split into separate syllables, and the í or ú always has a written accent, whatever the other rules say: día, país, río, tía, frío, baúl, maíz, oír, leído.
This is why every -er and -ir imperfect has an accent: comía, vivía, tenía, había. The same goes for the conditional: hablaría, podría.
When the stress falls on the strong vowel in such a pair, apply the normal rules: también, después, adiós, acción follow the first accent rule.
Words of one syllable
Words of one syllable have no written accent, except the pairs in the next section: fue, fui, dio, vio, ti, pie, mes, bien. Fué and tí are common spelling mistakes.
Since the Real Academia Española’s 2010 spelling rules, a few words that could be said as one or two syllables are written without an accent too: guion, truhan, rio (he laughed). You will see guión in older texts.
Accents that tell words apart
Some one-syllable words have a twin with the same sound and a different meaning. The accent goes on the one that is usually stressed in a sentence.
| With accent | Meaning | Without accent | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | you | tu | your |
| él | he | el | the |
| mí | me (after a preposition) | mi | my |
| sí | yes, himself | si | if |
| té | tea | te | you, yourself (pronoun) |
| dé | give (subjunctive) | de | of, from |
| sé | I know, be | se | himself, herself (pronoun) |
| más | more | mas | but (literary) |
Tú tienes tu libro is “You have your book”. Es para mí, no para mi hermano is “It’s for me, not for my brother”. Sí, si quieres is “Yes, if you want”.
It is the same with aún and aun. Aún means “still” or “yet”, like todavía: Aún no ha llegado. Aun means “even”, like incluso: Aun así, lo haré, “Even so, I’ll do it”.
Question and exclamation words
Question words have an accent in a question or an exclamation, direct or indirect.
| Question word | Meaning | Without accent |
|---|---|---|
| qué | what | que, that, than |
| quién, quiénes | who | quien, who (in a statement) |
| cómo | how | como, as, like, I eat |
| dónde | where | donde, where (in a statement) |
| adónde | where to | adonde, where to (in a statement) |
| cuándo | when | cuando, when (in a statement) |
| cuánto | how much | cuanto, as much as |
| cuál, cuáles | which | cual, which (in el cual, lo cual) |
¿Dónde vives? is “Where do you live?” No sé dónde vive is “I don’t know where she lives”, an indirect question, so it still has the accent. La casa donde vivo is “The house where I live”, a statement, so no accent.
¡Qué bonito! is “How pretty!” Creo que viene is “I think he’s coming”.
The four forms of “why” and “because” follow the same logic:
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| por qué | why | ¿Por qué no vienes? Why aren’t you coming? |
| porque | because | Porque estoy cansado. Because I’m tired. |
| el porqué | the reason | No entiendo el porqué. I don’t understand the reason. |
| por que | for which, rare | La razón por que lo hizo. The reason for which he did it. |
Accents that come and go
A written accent can appear or disappear when a word changes, because the stress stays on the same syllable while the ending changes.
Plurals. Canción loses its accent in canciones, because the stress is now on the second-to-last syllable of a word ending in s. Joven gains one in jóvenes, and examen in exámenes, because the stress is now third-to-last. A few words move the stress itself: carácter becomes caracteres.
Attached pronouns. Da becomes dámelo. Comprando becomes comprándolo. Decir becomes decírselo. See object pronouns.
Adverbs in -mente. They have the adjective’s accent: rápido, rápidamente; fácil, fácilmente. From an adjective without an accent you get an adverb without one: lentamente.
Demonstratives and solo. Since 2010, the RAE recommends writing este, ese, aquel and solo without an accent, whatever they mean. You will still see éste and sólo in older books and from some writers.
O between numbers. 1 o 2 is now written without an accent. You will see 1 ó 2 in older texts.
When the accent changes the meaning
| Without | Meaning | With | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablo | I speak | habló | he spoke |
| esta | this | está | is |
| papa | potato (Latin America), pope | papá | dad |
| sabana | savannah | sábana | sheet |
| secretaria | secretary | secretaría | secretary’s office |
| continuo | continuous | continúo / continuó | I continue / he continued |
| termino | I finish | término / terminó | term / he finished |
Capital letters
Capitals have their accents too: Álvaro, Ángela, ÉXITO. Older signs and newspapers often left them off, but under the rules you write them.
Worked examples
- Mi café está frío. My coffee is cold.
- ¿Tú eres el hermano de Ana? Are you Ana’s brother?
- Él vive en una ciudad pequeña. He lives in a small town.
- ¿Qué quieres tomar? What would you like to drink?
- No sé qué hora es. I don’t know what time it is.
- Sí, lo compré el sábado. Yes, I bought it on Saturday.
- Si llueve, nos quedamos en casa. If it rains, we’ll stay at home.
- ¿Por qué no me llamaste? Why didn’t you call me?
- Llegué tarde porque perdí el autobús. I was late because I missed the bus.
- Aún no he terminado el examen. I still haven’t finished the exam.
- Este regalo es para ti. This present is for you.
- Cuando era niña, tenía un pájaro que se llamaba Tomás. When I was a girl, I had a bird called Tomás.
Common mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tu eres muy amable. | Tú eres muy amable. | Tú is the pronoun. |
| El es mi amigo. | Él es mi amigo. | Él is the pronoun. |
| Si, claro. | Sí, claro. | “Yes” has an accent. |
| ¿Que hora es? | ¿Qué hora es? | Question words in a question have an accent. |
| Esta en casa. | Está en casa. | Está is the verb. |
| ¿Porque no vienes? | ¿Por qué no vienes? | “Why” is two words with an accent. |
| Canciónes. | Canciones. | Stressed second-to-last and ending in s, so no accent. |
| Fué. | Fue. | One syllable, no accent. |
| Para tí. | Para ti. | Ti has no twin, so no accent. |
| Comia. | Comía. | Write an accent on a stressed í next to a. |
Regional notes
The spelling rules are the same in every Spanish-speaking country. The Real Academia Española and the other national academies publish them together.
The vos present and command forms are stressed on the last syllable and follow the first accent rule: tenés, sabés, querés, hablá, vení.
A few words are said and written differently. In Spain people say and write vídeo, stressed on ví. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina people say video, stressed on de. In Spain it is chófer, and in Latin America chofer. Both spellings are correct in each case.
How to type accents
Phone. Hold down the letter and pick the accented version. Hold n for ñ.
Mac. Hold down the letter, or press Option and e, then the vowel. Option and n, then n, gives ñ. On a US keyboard, Option and 1 gives ¡, and Option, Shift and ? gives ¿.
Windows. Add the “United States-International” keyboard. Type an apostrophe, then the vowel, for á. Type ~ then n for ñ.
Practise it
The Vozelu grammar course has no separate lesson on accents. You practise them in lessons such as “Forming questions”, where you write the accent on every question word, and “Giving commands”, where you add one when you attach a pronoun. To take them, create an account. In each lesson you read how the form works, then you type it in full sentences and are told what you got wrong, including a missing accent.
Questions people ask
Do Spanish speakers use accents when texting? Many drop them in quick informal messages, the way English speakers drop apostrophes. In emails, forms, school and work, a missing accent is a spelling mistake.
Is a missing accent a spelling mistake? Yes, in any formal writing. In some words it also changes the meaning: papa and papá.
Why does “examen” have no accent but “exámenes” does? Examen ends in n and is stressed on the second-to-last syllable, which is the default. Exámenes is stressed on the third-to-last syllable, and such words always have an accent.
Is it “solo” or “sólo”? The RAE recommends solo without an accent in every meaning. Sólo for “only” is still seen and is not a serious error.
What is the difference between “por qué” and “porque”? Por qué is “why”, in a question. Porque is “because”, in an answer.
Do capital letters need accents in Spanish? Yes. Álvaro and ÁFRICA have their accents.
Why does “día” have an accent? The stress falls on the i, next to a. A stressed i or u beside a, e or o always has an accent to show the two vowels are separate syllables.
What is the tilde on the ñ? It is part of a separate letter, ñ, and has nothing to do with stress. Año (year) and ano (anus) are different words, so type it.