Phonetic Pronunciations

SpanishDictionary.com shows written phonetic pronunciations in three different ways:

  1. ABC shows the word as it is actually spelled, broken out into syllables. It also indicates the stressed syllable in a word. [Example: ca-zue-la]
  2. SPA is the SpanishDictionary.com Phonetic Alphabet, a simplified phonetic alphabet created by the SpanishDictionary.com team. It utilizes letters that are naturally found in Spanish and English to represent sounds in both languages.  [Example: kah- thweh-lah]
  3. IPA is the International Phonetic Alphabet, which is a system of symbols that represent different sounds. You may recognize this style of written pronunciations from other dictionaries. [Example: ka-θwe-la]

You can find these phonetic pronunciations by clicking on the audio icon next to a word at the top of a dictionary page to open the audio/video player.


Click the first menu in the top left corner of the audio/video player to select a pronunciation from Spain or Latin America. Click the second menu to select the version of phonetic transcription that you want to see in the audio/video player.

Clicking the icon at the far right of this box (a square with an arrow) will open the pronunciation box in a new tab, allowing you to see the two regional options side-by-side. You can also arrive on that page by exiting the audio/video box and clicking on the "Pronunciation" tab.

The phonetic transcription that you see on the dictionary tab depends on the last region and written pronunciation format that you selected. If you have not recently listened to a Spanish word on the site, the pronunciations will default to a Latin American accent and the SPA written pronunciation. Once you make a change to these options, the site will remember your selections for future searches.