Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "este" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce este in Spanish?

este is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈes.te/. It means “this (masculine).” ES-teh, two beats with the stress up front and a dry, dental t.

ES-teh, two beats with the stress up front and a dry, dental t.

este /ˈes.te/

Two syllables, ES-te, beat on the first, exactly what the default rule gives a word ending in a vowel. The old spelling convention put an accent on "éste" when it stood alone as a pronoun, but current usage drops it — so if you see both spellings in older books, they are the same word and the same sound.

Listen: este

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Sound it out

es A short "eh" as in "bed" and a hissing s. This is the stressed syllable, so give it length as well as volume.

te A t made with the tongue tip on the upper front teeth and no puff of air, then another short "eh". The two vowels in this word are identical in quality — only the loudness separates them.

Hear it in a sentence

Este libro es muy bueno.

This book is very good.

Listen: Este libro es muy bueno.

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"Este libro es muy bueno" shows the demonstrative agreeing with a masculine noun; a feminine one would take "esta". Spanish has three degrees of pointing rather than English's two — "este" for what is near you, "ese" for what is near the listener, and "aquel" for what is far from both. "Bueno" is two beats, BWEH-no, with the ue gliding into one syllable.

Where English speakers slip

English readers see the letters and produce "ES-tay", stretching the final e into a diphthong. Spanish e is short and stops dead. The middle t is the second slip: American English flaps a t between vowels into a d, which would give "ES-day", and that flap has to be suppressed here. Finally, do not confuse "este" with "está" — one points at things, the other is a verb, and the accent tells you which.