Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "escribir" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce escribir in Spanish?

escribir is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /es.kɾiˈβiɾ/. It means “to write.” es-kree-BEER, three beats with the stress at the end and a soft b in the middle.

es-kree-BEER, three beats with the stress at the end and a soft b in the middle.

escribir /es.kɾiˈβiɾ/

Three syllables, es-cri-BIR, beat at the end from the r ending. Regular in the present tense — es-CRI-bo, es-CRI-bes — but the past participle breaks the pattern completely, giving "escrito" with no b at all. That irregular participle is the one form worth memorizing separately.

Listen: escribir

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Sound it out

es A short "eh" plus a hissing s, with nothing in front of it. Spanish starts words this way comfortably.

cri A hard k with no aspiration, a single tap of the r, and a tight "ee". The k and r stay distinct — no curling.

bi The b sits between two vowels and goes soft: the lips approach without meeting and the voice hums through the gap. Then another tight "ee", stressed.

r A single tap of the tongue tip to close.

Hear it in a sentence

Voy a escribir un correo.

I'm going to write an email.

Listen: Voy a escribir un correo.

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"Voy a escribir un correo" uses the near future, and "a escribir" merges the a into the e so the two words run together. "Correo" has a double r, which means a full trill — hold the tongue tip loose and let it flutter — followed by two separate vowels, ko-RRE-o, three beats in total.

Where English speakers slip

The word is long enough that English reduces its unstressed syllables into mush, producing "uh-skruh-BEER". Every vowel here is fully pronounced: eh, ee, ee. The b then gets hardened into a plosive when it should be soft between vowels, and the two "ee" sounds get slackened toward "ih". Say each syllable at equal clarity, differing only in stress, and the word snaps into shape.