LingoDrop
Spanish · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "el profesor" in Spanish?
el proh-feh-SOR — the stress is at the end, unlike English pro-FES-sor.
Three syllables, pro-fe-SOR, beat at the end. The word finishes in r, a consonant that is not n or s, so the default rule places the stress on the final syllable with no accent needed. The feminine "profesora" adds a syllable and slides the beat to SO — still second-to-last, still unmarked.
Listen: el profesor
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
El profesor explica la lección.
The teacher explains the lesson.
Listen: El profesor explica la lección.
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
"El profesor explica la lección" ends on a word with an accent holding the stress on the final syllable against its n ending. "Explica" contains an x pronounced as a ks cluster: eks-PLI-ca. Two consonant clusters in one sentence that English handles differently.
Where English speakers slip
The English "professor" stresses the middle syllable and reduces the rest, giving "pruh-FES-er". Spanish puts the beat at the end with a clean "oh" and a single tapped r. Both r's then want the English curl. And note the word covers any teacher, not only a university one — for a school teacher, "maestro" is also common.