Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "el vestido" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce el vestido in Spanish?

el vestido is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /el besˈti.ðo/. It means “dress.” el bes-TEE-thoh — it starts with a b sound and the d near the end is soft.

el bes-TEE-thoh — it starts with a b sound and the d near the end is soft.

el vestido /el besˈti.ðo/

ves-TI-do: three syllables, and the second-to-last carries the beat, as the rule for this ending requires for a vowel-final word. The plural "vestidos" keeps it. As a past participle of "vestir", it also means dressed, and every -ido participle in Spanish stresses the same syllable.

Listen: el vestido

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Sound it out

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

ves The v is a b sound, followed by a short "eh" and a hissing s, all run together tightly.

ti A dental t with no puff of air and a tight "ee" as in "see", carrying the stress.

do A soft d between vowels, close to the th of "those", plus a pure "oh".

Hear it in a sentence

Ese vestido es muy elegante.

That dress is very elegant.

Listen: Ese vestido es muy elegante.

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"Ese vestido es muy elegante" ends on a four-syllable word stressed on GAN: e-le-GAN-te, with a fully pronounced final e. Say "ese vestido" and the final e of "ese" links straight into the b sound with no break.

Where English speakers slip

Both consonants drift English: the v gets buzzed and the d gets a full stop, producing "ves-TEE-doh". Make the v a b and let the d soften almost to a th. The stressed i then wants slackening toward "ih", and in casual speech many speakers reduce the d further still, giving "vestío".