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Word stress: termino and terminó

CEFR A2

termino

/teɾˈmino/

I finish

terminó

/teɾmiˈno/

he or she finished

What tells the two sounds apart

  • ˈThe IPA stress mark goes immediately before the stressed syllable: ter-MI-no and ter-mi-NÓ.

Why it is hard

A written accent can signal a different stress and meaning. Say “termino” with stress on mi and “terminó” with stress on nó. A Spanish written accent is not the IPA stress mark. Without an accent mark, words ending in a vowel, n or s normally stress the penultimate syllable; most other endings stress the last. Keep the other vowels clear. “Vídeo” is usual in Spain; “video”, with different stress, is usual in much of the Americas.

Hoy termino a las cinco; ayer Elena terminó a las seis.

To practise

  1. casa/ˈkasa/house
  2. papel/paˈpel/paper
  3. música/ˈmusika/music
  4. café/kaˈfe/coffee