Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el deporte" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el deporte in Spanish?

el deporte is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el deˈpoɾ.te/. It means “sport.” el deh-POR-teh, three beats with a tapped r and a fully pronounced final e.

el deh-POR-teh, three beats with a tapped r and a fully pronounced final e.

el deporte /el deˈpoɾ.te/

Three syllables, de-POR-te, beat on the second-to-last, straight from the default rule for a vowel-final word. The plural "deportes" keeps it. The adjective "deportivo" adds a syllable and shifts the beat to TI, once again second-to-last — the rule holds without any marks.

Listen: el deporte

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Sound it out

el A short "eh" and a bright forward l, unstressed.

de A dental d with the tongue on the upper front teeth and a short "eh".

por An unaspirated p, a pure "oh" carrying the stress, and a single tap of the r. The vowel must not be swallowed by the r.

te A dental t with no puff of air and a short "eh". Fully pronounced, which makes the word three syllables.

Hear it in a sentence

Hago deporte tres veces por semana.

I play sports three times a week.

Listen: Hago deporte tres veces por semana.

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"Hago deporte tres veces por semana" uses "hacer" for playing sports generally, and "tres veces por semana" for a rate. "Veces" is the plural of "vez" with its z-to-c change. "Hago" has a silent h and a soft g between vowels.

Where English speakers slip

The English "sport" is no help, and readers who know the French "sport" or "déport" often drop the final e, giving "deh-PORT". It is three syllables ending in a clear "eh". The r then gets the English curl that bends the "oh" into "or". And note the verb: Spanish says "hacer deporte" or "practicar un deporte", never "jugar deporte".