Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el dinero" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el dinero in Spanish?

el dinero is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el diˈne.ɾo/. It means “money.” el dee-NEH-roh, three beats with the stress in the middle and one tapped r.

el dee-NEH-roh, three beats with the stress in the middle and one tapped r.

el dinero /el diˈne.ɾo/

Three syllables — di-NE-ro — with the stress on the second-to-last, the placement the default rule gives. The word is normally used only in the singular — Spanish says "mucho dinero", never "muchos dineros" in ordinary speech — so the plural stress question rarely arises.

Listen: el dinero

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Sound it out

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

di A dental d with the tongue on the upper front teeth, then a tight "ee" as in "see". Unstressed but not slackened.

ne A clean n and a short "eh", carrying the stress.

ro A single tap of the tongue tip and a pure "oh". One flick, not a roll, since the r sits between vowels.

Hear it in a sentence

¿Tienes dinero en efectivo?

Do you have any cash?

Listen: ¿Tienes dinero en efectivo?

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"¿Tienes dinero en efectivo?" pairs the noun with "en efectivo" for cash. "Efectivo" is four beats stressed on TI, and "tienes" packs its ie into one syllable with a stem change from "tener". Say "dinero en" and the o links straight into the e.

Where English speakers slip

Curl the r and it colours the vowels either side, giving "dih-NAIR-oh". It is a single forward flick with clean vowels either side. The opening i then wants slackening toward "ih", and the d wants moving back off the teeth. The English "denarius" connection is real but the sound has drifted a long way.