Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "con" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce con in Spanish?

con is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kon/. It means “with.” kohn, one syllable, with a dry k and a pure "oh" that does not glide.

kohn, one syllable, with a dry k and a pure "oh" that does not glide.

con /kon/

One unstressed syllable that leans forward onto whatever noun follows. In "con mi hermana" the beat sits on MA, and "con" is a short lead-in. When it fuses with a pronoun it changes shape entirely, giving "conmigo" and "contigo", both stressed on the second-to-last syllable.

Listen: con

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Sound it out

c Before an o, c is a hard k — and a Spanish k has no puff of air after it. Hold your palm to your mouth: English "con" blows, Spanish does not.

on A pure "oh" with the lips held steady, closed by a fully released n at the upper teeth.

Hear it in a sentence

Voy con mi hermana.

I'm going with my sister.

Listen: Voy con mi hermana.

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"Voy con mi hermana" has a silent h in "hermana", so "mi hermana" runs together as mee-er-MA-na. The word "con" links straight into that m. Note also that Spanish says "voy con" where English might use a possessive or a different structure entirely — the preposition here is doing simple accompaniment work.

Where English speakers slip

The English word "con" sits right there on the page, and its vowel is wrong for Spanish — English gives it a flattish "ah" or "aw" depending on accent, where Spanish wants a rounded, pure "oh". The k also needs its aspiration removed. And one to remember for later: you cannot say "con mí" or "con ti" — those combinations become "conmigo" and "contigo", one word each.