LingoDrop
Spanish · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "el número" in Spanish?
el NOO-meh-roh — the accent pulls the stress three syllables from the end.
Three syllables, NÚ-me-ro, and the accent is mandatory. The word ends in a vowel, so the default rule would give nu-ME-ro. The mark pulls the beat back to the third-from-last syllable — a placement Spanish always writes out. The plural "números" keeps the accent for the same reason.
Listen: el número
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Escribe tu número aquí.
Write your number here.
Listen: Escribe tu número aquí.
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"Escribe tu número aquí" uses the bare command "escribe", stressed es-CRI-be on the second-to-last syllable. Say "número aquí" and the final o links into the a with no break. "Aquí" needs its own accent, this time to push the beat to the end rather than pull it back.
Where English speakers slip
Ignoring the accent gives "nu-MEH-ro", which is what the default rule would produce and exactly what the mark exists to prevent. The English "number" also pulls the vowel toward a flat "uh" — Spanish wants a rounded "oo". And the r is a single tap, not the English r that would turn the ending into "row".