Stress mistakes are one of the biggest giveaways of a Spanish accent in English. Even when your sounds are perfect, wrong stress can make you hard to understand. Here are 50 words that Spanish speakers commonly stress incorrectly—and how to fix them.
Why Spanish Speakers Misstress English Words
Spanish has predictable stress rules based on spelling. English doesn't. Spanish speakers often:
- Stress the second-to-last syllable (like in Spanish)
- Stress syllables with "strong" vowels (a, e, o)
- Follow Spanish cognate stress patterns
Let's fix the most common mistakes.
Category 1: First Syllable Stress (Not Second)
These words have stress on the FIRST syllable. Spanish speakers often stress the second.
Category 2: Second Syllable Stress (Not First or Third)
These words have stress on the SECOND syllable.
Category 3: Hotel vs. HOtel Pattern
Words from French often have different stress in English than Spanish speakers expect.
Category 4: False Friends (Spanish Cognates with Different Stress)
These words look similar to Spanish but have different stress patterns.
| English | English Stress | Spanish | Spanish Stress |
|---|---|---|---|
| telephone | TElephone | teléfono | teLÉfono |
| comfortable | COMfortable | confortable | conforTAble |
| interesting | INteresting | interesante | intereSANte |
| vocabulary | voCAbulary | vocabulario | vocabulArio |
| necessary | NEcessary | necesario | necesArio |
Category 5: Professional and Academic Words
These words are commonly used in work and school contexts.
Category 6: Everyday Words
Common words you use every day that often get misstressed.
Complete Reference List
| Word | Correct Stress | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| comfortable | COMfortable | comFORtable |
| vegetable | VEgetable | vegeTAble |
| interesting | INteresting | interESting |
| camera | CAmera | caMEra |
| chocolate | CHOcolate | choCOlate |
| restaurant | REStaurant | restauRANT |
| calendar | CAlendar | calenDAR |
| develop | deVElop | DEvelop |
| important | imPORtant | IMportant |
| hotel | hoTEL | HOtel |
| police | poLICE | POlice |
| guitar | guiTAR | GUItar |
| definitely | DEfinitely | defiNItely |
| probably | PRObably | proBAbly |
Practice Tips
- Record yourself: Listen back and compare to native speakers
- Exaggerate the stress: Make the stressed syllable REALLY strong at first
- Learn in chunks: Practice 5 words per day until they're automatic
- Use a dictionary: Check the IPA stress mark (ˈ) before the stressed syllable
- Listen actively: Pay attention to stress in podcasts, movies, and conversations
Key Takeaways
- Spanish stress rules don't apply to English
- Many cognates have different stress in English
- First-syllable stress is very common in English
- Wrong stress can make you harder to understand than wrong sounds
- Practice the most common words first—they have the biggest impact