Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "bajo" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce bajo in Spanish?

bajo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈba.xo/. It means “short (in height) / low.” BAH-hoh — the j is a throaty h, so it sounds nothing like the English "banjo".

BAH-hoh — the j is a throaty h, so it sounds nothing like the English "banjo".

bajo /ˈba.xo/

BA-jo: two syllables, and the first carries the beat, which is where the default rule puts it for a vowel-final word. All four forms keep the same placement. The word doubles as a preposition meaning under — "bajo la mesa" — and as a noun for the bass in music, with no change in stress or sound.

Listen: bajo

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Sound it out

ba A b with the lips meeting gently, then a wide-open "ah" carrying the stress.

jo The j is a raspy sound made at the back of the mouth, like the ch in Scottish "loch". Then a pure "oh". The letter j never makes the English j sound anywhere in Spanish.

Hear it in a sentence

La mesa es muy baja.

The table is very low.

Listen: La mesa es muy baja.

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"La mesa es muy baja" uses the feminine form to agree with "mesa", and picks ser because the table's height is a fixed property. Note that "bajo" covers both short in height and low in position, which is why the English gloss needs two words. "Mesa" is stressed ME-sa with a hissing s.

Where English speakers slip

The j is the whole problem: saying "BAH-joe" with an English j produces a sound Spanish does not contain, and it is the single most recognisable beginner error. Pull it back to the throat and let it rasp. Beyond that, remember the word does not describe a person's stature the way "corto" describes an object — a short person is "bajo", a short dress is "corto".