Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "buscar" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce buscar in Spanish?

buscar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /busˈkaɾ/. It means “to look for.” boos-KAR, stress on the second syllable — the u is "oo", not the "uh" of English "bus".

boos-KAR, stress on the second syllable — the u is "oo", not the "uh" of English "bus".

buscar /busˈkaɾ/

Two syllables, bus-CAR, beat at the end because the word finishes in r. The spelling has to work to protect that hard c: in the past tense it becomes "busqué", swapping c for qu so the sound stays a k before the e, and taking an accent to keep the stress on the final syllable.

Listen: buscar

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Sound it out

bu A b with the lips meeting gently rather than popping, then a pure "oo" as in "boot", tightly rounded.

s A voiceless hiss closing the first syllable and running straight into the k with no gap.

car A hard k with no puff of air, a wide-open "ah" carrying the stress, and a single tapped r.

Hear it in a sentence

Estoy buscando un hotel.

I'm looking for a hotel.

Listen: Estoy buscando un hotel.

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"Estoy buscando un hotel" uses the progressive, and "buscando" is stressed bus-CAN-do on the second-to-last syllable per the default rule. The h in "hotel" is silent so "un hotel" runs together as oo-no-TEL. Notice Spanish needs no preposition after this verb — you look a hotel, not look for one.

Where English speakers slip

The English word "bus" sits right at the front of this one and drags the vowel with it, producing "buhs-KAR". Spanish u is always a rounded "oo". Then the stress gets pulled forward by English rhythm. The grammatical trap is quieter but costs more: "buscar" already contains the for, so "buscar para" or "buscar por" is wrong in the ordinary sense of looking for something.