LingoDrop
Spanish · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "la hermana" in Spanish?
lah-er-MAH-nah — the h is silent and all three a-type vowels stay open.
her-MA-na: three syllables, and the second-to-last carries the beat, the placement the default rule gives. The word is identical to its masculine partner except for that final vowel, so the stress placement never differs — only the ending changes, and with it the agreement of every adjective around it.
Listen: la hermana
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Mi hermana toca la guitarra.
My sister plays the guitar.
Listen: Mi hermana toca la guitarra.
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"Mi hermana toca la guitarra" uses "tocar" for playing an instrument, which is the correct verb — "jugar" is only for games and sports. "Guitarra" has a silent u after the g and a double r that must be trilled: gee-TA-rra. That trill is the sentence's main pronunciation challenge.
Where English speakers slip
Beyond the usual silent-h and tapped-r issues, the specific risk here is the final a collapsing into "uh", which is what English does to every unstressed ending — and since that vowel is the only thing marking the sister as female, it matters. Keep it open. Note too that using "jugar" instead of "tocar" for the guitar is a common and instantly noticeable error.