Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el momento" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el momento in Spanish?

el momento is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el moˈmen.to/. It means “moment.” el moh-MEN-toh, three beats with the stress in the middle and a dry dental t.

el moh-MEN-toh, three beats with the stress in the middle and a dry dental t.

el momento /el moˈmen.to/

Three syllables — mo-MEN-to — with the stress on the second-to-last, following the default rule for a vowel-final word. The plural "momentos" keeps it. The adverb "momentáneamente" stacks on four more syllables and needs an accent to hold the stress on TÁ, but the core word requires nothing.

Listen: el momento

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Sound it out

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

mo A normal m and a pure "oh". Unstressed, but fully rounded rather than reduced to "muh".

men A second m, a short "eh" carrying the stress, and a released n.

to A dental t with no puff of air and a final pure "oh", identical to the first.

Hear it in a sentence

En este momento no puedo.

I can't at the moment.

Listen: En este momento no puedo.

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"En este momento no puedo" uses "en este momento" for right now, a fixed phrase. "Puedo" shows the stem change from "poder" with ue in one beat, PWEH-do. Say "este momento" and the final e links straight into the m.

Where English speakers slip

The English "moment" cuts the word to two syllables and reduces the ending, giving "MOH-munt". Spanish has three full beats ending in a clear "oh", with the peak in the middle. Both o vowels then want differentiating, and the t wants an English puff. This is a word where the meaning transfers perfectly and the sound does not.