Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el hombre" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el hombre in Spanish?

el hombre is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el ˈom.bɾe/. It means “man.” el OHM-breh — the h is silent, so the article runs straight into the vowel.

el OHM-breh — the h is silent, so the article runs straight into the vowel.

el hombre /el ˈom.bɾe/

Two syllables: HOM-bre, stressed on the first, as the rule for this ending requires for a vowel-final word. The plural "hombres" keeps the same placement. Note that Spanish also uses "el hombre" to mean humankind in general, exactly as older English used man — same word, same stress, broader meaning.

Listen: el hombre

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

Sound it out

el A short "eh" and a bright l. Because the noun starts with a silent h, article and noun fuse into one run: e-LOM-bre.

h Silent, always. There is no breath at the start of this word at all.

om A pure "oh" carrying the stress, closed by an m — Spanish writes and says m before a b.

bre A soft b between the m and the r, then a single tap of the r and a fully pronounced short "eh".

Hear it in a sentence

Ese hombre es el jefe.

That man is the boss.

Listen: Ese hombre es el jefe.

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

"Ese hombre es el jefe" links "ese" straight into the silent-h vowel, giving eh-SOM-bre in natural speech. "Jefe" opens with the throaty j: HEH-feh, two beats with both e vowels short and identical. The sentence uses ser because being the boss is treated as identity.

Where English speakers slip

Sound the h and a breathy break opens up between the two words, when they should flow together as one unit. The final e then gets dropped, and the b gets popped when it should be soft between the m and the r. Say it as one three-syllable unit — e-LOM-breh — and it immediately sounds more natural.