Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "alguien" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce alguien in Spanish?

alguien is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈal.ɣjen/. It means “someone.” AHL-gyen, two beats — the ie glides into one sound, so it is not three.

AHL-gyen, two beats — the ie glides into one sound, so it is not three.

alguien /ˈal.ɣjen/

Two syllables: AL-guien, stressed on the first. The word ends in n, so the default rule points at the second-to-last syllable and no accent is needed. Like "nadie", it is invariable and always singular, so the verb after it stays singular even when several people are meant.

Listen: alguien

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Sound it out

al A wide-open "ah" and a bright forward l, carrying the stress. Keep the l light rather than darkening it before the g.

guie A softened g, then the u silent — as it always is between g and a following e or i — and the i gliding into the e as a y. One beat, "gyen".

n A fully released n at the upper teeth to close the word.

Hear it in a sentence

Alguien toca la puerta.

Someone is knocking at the door.

Listen: Alguien toca la puerta.

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"Alguien toca la puerta" uses a singular verb after "alguien", which is compulsory. Spanish says someone touches the door where English says knocks. "Puerta" glides its ue into one beat and contains a single tapped r: PWEHR-ta.

Where English speakers slip

Read every letter and you get "al-GOO-yen": a voiced u that should be silent, and an ie broken into two beats. The u after g before e or i is silent exactly as it is after q — it only speaks up when written with a diaeresis, as in "pingüino". Keep the word to two compact beats.