Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el reloj" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el reloj in Spanish?

el reloj is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el reˈlox/. It means “watch / clock.” el rreh-LOH — a rolled r to open, and the final j is barely there.

el rreh-LOH — a rolled r to open, and the final j is barely there.

el reloj /el reˈlox/

Two syllables, re-LOJ, beat at the end. The word finishes in j, a consonant that is not n or s, so the default rule puts the stress on the final syllable with no accent needed. The plural "relojes" adds a syllable and slides the beat back to LO, still second-to-last and still unmarked.

Listen: el reloj

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Sound it out

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

re A full trill, since Spanish r always rolls at the start of a word, followed by a short "eh".

lo A bright forward l and a pure "oh", carrying the stress.

j A throaty rasp at the very end — and a weak one. Many speakers reduce this final j to almost nothing, so the word often sounds like "rre-LO".

Hear it in a sentence

Mi reloj está atrasado.

My watch is slow.

Listen: Mi reloj está atrasado.

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"Mi reloj está atrasado" uses estar for a temporary state. "Atrasado" is four beats with a tr cluster and a soft d: a-tra-SA-do. Say "está atrasado" and the final á merges with the opening a into one longer vowel.

Where English speakers slip

Two consonants at opposite ends of the word give way: an English r kills the trill, and the final j turns into either a hard English j or an over-emphatic rasp. In practice that last consonant is very light — softer than the j in "jugo" — and dropping it entirely is normal in speech. Front-stressing to "RE-loj" is the third habit, and the j ending rules it out.