Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el corazón" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el corazón in Spanish?

el corazón is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el ko.ɾaˈson/. It means “heart.” el koh-rah-SOHN, three beats — the z is an s and the accent puts the stress at the end.

el koh-rah-SOHN, three beats — the z is an s and the accent puts the stress at the end.

el corazón /el ko.ɾaˈson/

Three syllables, co-ra-ZÓN, and the accent is load-bearing. The word ends in n, so the default rule would put the beat on RA. The mark moves it to the end. The plural "corazones" drops the accent, because the added syllable puts the default stress exactly where it belongs.

Listen: el corazón

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Sound it out

co A hard k with no puff of air and a pure "oh", unstressed but fully rounded.

ra A single tap of the tongue tip — this r sits between vowels, so no trill — plus a wide-open "ah".

zón A z pronounced as a plain hissing "s", then a pure "oh" carrying the accent and the stress, closed by a released n.

Hear it in a sentence

El corazón es un músculo.

The heart is a muscle.

Listen: El corazón es un músculo.

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"El corazón es un músculo" ends on a word with an accent pulling the stress three syllables back: MÚS-cu-lo. Spanish marks every such word. Say "es un" and the s links into the u, giving e-SOON as one run.

Where English speakers slip

Two things go wrong together: a buzzed z and an ignored accent, leaving a front-heavy "ko-RAH-zon". Hiss the z and put the beat at the end. The r then wants an English curl instead of a single flick. And when pluralizing, learners keep the accent — "corazónes" — when it should disappear, since the default rule takes over.