Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el ratón" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el ratón in Spanish?

el ratón is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el raˈton/. It means “mouse.” el rrah-TOHN — a rolled r to open and the accent putting the stress at the end.

el rrah-TOHN — a rolled r to open and the accent putting the stress at the end.

el ratón /el raˈton/

Two syllables, ra-TÓN, and the accent is load-bearing. The word ends in n, so the default rule would give "RA-ton". The mark moves the beat to the end. The plural "ratones" drops the accent, because the added syllable puts the default stress exactly where it belongs.

Listen: el ratón

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Sound it out

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

r At the start of a word Spanish r is always a full trill: the tongue tip rests loosely behind the upper teeth and flutters as the air passes.

a A wide-open "ah", unstressed but at full value.

tón A dental t with no puff of air, a pure "oh" carrying the accent and the stress, and a released n.

Hear it in a sentence

Hay un ratón en la cocina.

There's a mouse in the kitchen.

Listen: Hay un ratón en la cocina.

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"Hay un ratón en la cocina" uses "hay" with a silent h. "Cocina" has a hard c before o and a soft c before i, so it is ko-SEE-na. Say "un ratón" and the n links straight into the trill, which gives you a running start at rolling it.

Where English speakers slip

The obstacle is the opening r: an English one bunches the tongue backward and the trill dies before it can start. If you cannot roll yet, a doubled tap is a better stopgap. The accent then gets ignored, giving a front-stressed "RA-ton". And note the second meaning: "ratón" is also a computer mouse, so context matters in a sentence about a kitchen versus a desk.