Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el estudiante" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el estudiante in Spanish?

el estudiante is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el es.tuˈðjan.te/. It means “student.” e-les-too-DYAN-teh, four beats — the ia glides into one sound.

e-les-too-DYAN-teh, four beats — the ia glides into one sound.

el estudiante /el es.tuˈðjan.te/

Four syllables, es-tu-DIAN-te, beat on the second-to-last because the ia counts as one diphthong. The word has one form for both genders — "el estudiante" and "la estudiante" — so only the article changes. The verb "estudiar" moves the beat to the end because of its r ending.

Listen: el estudiante

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

es A short "eh" and a hissing s, run together with no supporting vowel in front.

tu A dental t with no puff of air and a pure "oo" as in "boot".

dian A soft d between vowels, then the i gliding into the a as a y, closed by a released n. One beat, "dyan", carrying the stress.

te A dental t and a short "eh". Fully pronounced, which is the syllable English wants to drop.

Hear it in a sentence

El estudiante llega tarde a clase.

The student arrives late to class.

Listen: El estudiante llega tarde a clase.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"El estudiante llega tarde a clase" uses "a clase" with no article, which is standard for institutional destinations. "Llega" has the double l as a y sound. Say "el estudiante" and the l links straight into the opening vowel: e-les-tu-DYAN-te.

Where English speakers slip

The word gains a syllable at one end and an invented vowel at the other, producing "eh-stoo-dee-AN-tay". Neither belongs. The final e also gets stretched into "ay" — Spanish e is short and flat. And the English "student" front-stresses the word, which the diphthong and the default rule both rule out.