Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el hotel" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el hotel in Spanish?

el hotel is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el oˈtel/. It means “hotel.” e-loh-TEL — the h is silent, so the article runs straight into the vowel.

e-loh-TEL — the h is silent, so the article runs straight into the vowel.

el hotel /el oˈtel/

Two syllables, ho-TEL, beat at the end. The word finishes in l, a consonant that is not n or s, so the default rule places the stress on the final syllable with no accent needed. The plural "hoteles" now ends in s, and the beat slides back to ho-TE-les — still second-to-last, still unmarked.

Listen: el hotel

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 opens on a silent h, the l carries straight over: e-lo-TEL, one continuous run.

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

o A pure "oh", unstressed but fully rounded.

tel A dental t with no puff of air, a short "eh" carrying the stress, and a bright forward l.

Hear it in a sentence

El hotel tiene piscina.

The hotel has a pool.

Listen: El hotel tiene piscina.

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

"El hotel tiene piscina" links "el hotel" into one run across the silent h. "Piscina" has a hissing s and a soft c before i — pee-SEE-na — with two s sounds spelled differently. "Tiene" packs its ie into a single beat.

Where English speakers slip

Voicing the h gives "el ho-TEL" with a breathy break, when the two words should flow together. English also front-stresses its own "hotel" in some accents, which the l ending rules out here. And the final l wants darkening — keep the tongue tip forward against the teeth ridge.