Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "beber" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce beber in Spanish?

beber is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /beˈβeɾ/. It means “to drink.” beh-BEHR — the first b is firm, the second is soft, and the stress is at the end.

beh-BEHR — the first b is firm, the second is soft, and the stress is at the end.

beber /beˈβeɾ/

Two syllables, be-BER, beat on the second thanks to the r ending. The verb is fully regular, so its conjugation is a clean demonstration of the default rule at work: BE-bo, BE-bes, BE-be, be-BE-mos — every form stressed on the second-to-last syllable, and not a single accent needed.

Listen: beber

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Sound it out

be At the start of a phrase the b closes fully, though still more gently than the English one, and the e is a short "eh" as in "bed".

be The second b sits between vowels and behaves quite differently: the lips come close but never meet, and the voice hums through the gap. Same letter, softer sound. The e is stressed.

r A single tap of the tongue tip to close the word.

Hear it in a sentence

Bebo mucha agua en verano.

I drink a lot of water in summer.

Listen: Bebo mucha agua en verano.

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"Bebo mucha agua en verano" shows a quirk of Spanish gender: "agua" is feminine, which is why the adjective is "mucha", but it takes "el" in the singular to avoid two a sounds colliding. Here the adjective reveals the true gender that the article hides. "Verano" starts with a v pronounced as a b: beh-RA-no.

Where English speakers slip

The two b's should not sound the same, and English speakers make both of them hard plosives, producing a stiff "beh-BEHR". Let the second one go soft — lips barely approaching — and the word immediately sounds more native. The final r then wants an English curl, which would bend the "eh" into "air". Keep the vowel clean and add one light tap. Note also that everyday speech often prefers "tomar" to "beber" for drinks.