Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "empezar" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce empezar in Spanish?

empezar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /em.peˈsaɾ/. It means “to start / to begin.” em-peh-SAR, three beats with the stress at the end — the z is a plain s sound.

em-peh-SAR, three beats with the stress at the end — the z is a plain s sound.

empezar /em.peˈsaɾ/

Three syllables, em-pe-ZAR, beat at the end from the r ending. Two things happen at once when you conjugate it: it is a stem-changer, so the second e becomes ie under stress, giving em-PIE-zo; and the z has to become a c before an e, giving "empecé" in the past — a spelling change made purely to keep the s sound looking right.

Listen: empezar

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Sound it out

em A short "eh" as in "bed" and an m. Unstressed, but the vowel keeps its full colour rather than sliding toward "uh".

pe An unaspirated p and another short "eh", identical to the first. Two matching vowels open this word.

zar In Latin American Spanish the z is a clean hissing "s" in every position. Then a wide-open "ah" carrying the stress, closed by a single tapped r.

Hear it in a sentence

La clase empieza en diez minutos.

The class starts in ten minutes.

Listen: La clase empieza en diez minutos.

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"La clase empieza en diez minutos" shows the stem-changed form with ie packed into one beat: em-PYEH-sa. "Diez" is a single syllable with a z pronounced as s, and "minutos" is stressed on NU. Spanish uses "en" for time-from-now, the same construction you met in "vuelvo en cinco minutos".

Where English speakers slip

Buzz the z, English-style, and you produce a sound Latin American Spanish never uses, giving "em-peh-ZAR". Hiss it. The two opening e vowels then get reduced into a mumble, when both should be clear. And when conjugating, "empezo" instead of "empieza" is the standard slip — nothing in the infinitive warns you the stem will split.