Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el ojo" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el ojo in Spanish?

el ojo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el ˈo.xo/. It means “eye.” e-LOH-hoh — the j is a throaty h, and the two o vowels are identical.

e-LOH-hoh — the j is a throaty h, and the two o vowels are identical.

el ojo /el ˈo.xo/

Two syllables: O-jo, stressed on the first, the placement the default rule gives for a vowel-final word. The plural "ojos" keeps it. Note that "¡ojo!" on its own is a common warning meaning watch out — same word, same stress, used as an interjection.

Listen: el ojo

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Sound it out

el A short "eh" and a bright l. Because the noun starts with a vowel, the l links straight in: e-LO-ho.

o A pure "oh" carrying the stress, held in one position.

jo A raspy sound made at the back of the mouth, like the ch in Scottish "loch", followed by a second "oh" identical to the first.

Hear it in a sentence

Me entró algo en el ojo.

Something got in my eye.

Listen: Me entró algo en el ojo.

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"Me entró algo en el ojo" uses an indirect object pronoun where English would use a possessive — something entered to me in the eye, rather than in my eye. Spanish handles body parts this way as a rule. "Entró" needs its accent to hold the stress on the final ó and mark the past.

Where English speakers slip

Start with the j — read as an English j it gives "OH-joe", the standard error for this letter and the one that most marks a beginner. Pull it back to the throat. The two o vowels then get differentiated, when they should be twins. And English speakers often stress the second syllable by analogy with borrowed words — the beat belongs on the first.