Updated on November 4, 2022
Spanish pronunciation: Getting your diphthongs right
Spanish diphthongs are two-vowel combinations that have special pronunciation. To say them correctly according to Spanish pronunciation rules, you need to blend the sounds together into a single syllable. We’ve already discussed how to master the 5 vowel sounds in Spanish. Now here is a Spanish pronunciation guide to getting your diphthongs right.
According to Wikiversity, the word diphthong comes from the Greek language meaning “two voices” or “two sounds”. Two vowel sounds are converted into a single syllable. Let’s look at examples of English diphthongs first.
To avoid common errors in Spanish pronunciation for dipthongs in Spanish, it helps to classify vowel sounds into two groups.
Strong vowels are dominant in a Spanish dipthong. They decide the main sound of the syllable. Weak vowels compliment the strong vowel sound. Two weak vowels together also make a dipthong. Two strong vowels together do not combine into a dipthong. They maintain a two-syllable pronunciation.
The Spanish dipthong AI says (AY) as in the word ‘I’ referring to myself. It sounds the same as the English word ‘Thai’ or ‘bi-weekly’. Here are examples in Spanish.
The Spanish dipthong EI says (EY) as in English words ‘great’ and ‘waist’ and the Spanish word ‘ley’ (law).
The Spanish dipthong OI says (OY) as in ‘boy’, ‘coin’, and ‘exploit’.
The Spanish dipthong UI says (WUY) as in the Spanish word ‘muy’. English doesn’t have an equivalent sound. Try saying ‘gooey’ or ‘buoy’ and shorten it to one syllable as in the English word ‘we’.
The Spanish dipthong AU says (OW) as in ‘ouch’ and ‘flounder’.
The Spanish dipthong EU says (EOW). There is no equivalent in English but try saying the first half of ‘Beowulf’ in one short syllable.
The Spanish dipthong IA says (YA) as in ‘yarn’ or saying the first part of ‘Myanmar’ in one short syllable.
Note: A weak vowel is made stronger by adding a tilde or written accent mark in Spanish. The word below has the same ending as above except you can see a tilde on the weak vowel “i” making it stronger. Two strong vowels together are pronounced as two syllables instead of one.
The Spanish dipthong IE says (YE) as in ‘Yemen’ and ‘yell’.
The Spanish dipthong IO says (YO) as in ‘fjord’ or the English pronunciation of the name ‘Bjorn’.
The Spanish dipthong IU says (YU) as in the English word ‘you’ and ‘beautiful’.
The Spanish dipthong UA says (WA) as in ‘Washington’ or ‘wallet’.
The Spanish dipthong UE says (WEH) as in ‘wet’ or ‘twelve’.
The Spanish dipthong UO says (WOH) as in ‘awoke’ and ‘quote’.
As you read today’s blog post, we encourage you to read aloud. Focus on your Spanish pronunciation rules and use your best Spanish accent. Be sure to bookmark this Spanish vowels list to check on your pronunciation in the future.
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