Syllabification

Silabeo

Spanish words are divided into syllables according to fairly simple rules.

Number of syllables

Spanish words have the same number of syllables as they have diphthongs + vowels, with the exception of the silent U. Here are some examples:

1 syllable
    1 vowel él tres sur
  1 diphthong diez soy pie
 
2 syllables
  2 vowels frí·o pla·to es·tar
1 vowel + 1 diphthong bai·le fuer·te es·toy
 
3 syllables
  3 vowels de·re·cha e·xac·to fe·bre·ro
  2 vowels + 1 diphthong cui·da·do a·bier·to in·ge·nuo
  1 vowel + 2 diphthongs au·xi·liar   die·ci·seis
 
4 syllables
  4 vowels car·ni·ce·ro es·té·re·o em·ple·a·do
  3 vowels + 1 diphthong es·tu·dio·so eur·o·p·eo te·le·vi·sión
  2 vowels + 2 diphthongs aus·tra·lia·no    
etc.

Spanish Word Division

Spanish syllables are divided as follows:

1. Between two consecutive strong vowels: fe·o

2. Between two consecutive vowels when one is accented: dí·a

3. Between vowel and single consonant: bai·le

4. Between two consecutive consonants: es·tar

 a) except when the second one is L or R, in which case the syllable breaks before them: a·trás

5. When there are three consecutive consonants, the syllable usually breaks between the first and second: in·glés

 
Please note that this lesson is only a guideline for the Spanish that I know, which is Castilian Spanish. There are many regional variations in Spanish pronunciation.

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Spanish syllabification

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