Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el grupo" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el grupo in Spanish?

el grupo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el ˈɡɾu.po/. It means “group.” el GROO-poh — a hard g, a single tapped r, and a rounded "oo".

el GROO-poh — a hard g, a single tapped r, and a rounded "oo".

el grupo /el ˈɡɾu.po/

GRU-po: two syllables, and the first carries the beat, which is where the default rule puts it for a vowel-final word. The plural "grupos" keeps it. The verb "agrupar" moves the beat to the end because of its r ending, and adds a syllable at the front — same stem, entirely different rhythm.

Listen: el grupo

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Sound it out

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

gru A hard g as in "go" joined immediately to a single tap of the r, then a pure "oo" as in "boot" carrying the stress. The tongue flicks forward; it never curls back.

po An unaspirated p and a pure "oh", unstressed but fully rounded.

Hear it in a sentence

Viajamos en grupo.

We travel as a group.

Listen: Viajamos en grupo.

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"Viajamos en grupo" uses "en grupo" with no article, which is standard for this kind of adverbial phrase. "Viajamos" has a v pronounced as a b and the throaty j: bya-HA-mos. Say "en grupo" and the n links straight into the g.

Where English speakers slip

The trouble is the r, which when curled pulls the tongue back and muffles the g, producing "GROO-poh". It should be a hard g and one forward flick, tightly joined. The u then wants reading as the English "group" with a slight glide, and the final o wants reducing to "uh".