LingoDrop
Spanish · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "la vaca" in Spanish?
lah BAH-kah — it starts with a b sound, so it is nothing like English "vaca-".
Two syllables, VA-ca, with the weight on the first, the placement the default rule gives for a vowel-final word. The plural "vacas" keeps it. Note the adjective "vacuno" — bovine — moves the beat to CU, and "vaquero" (cowboy) swaps c for qu to protect the hard sound before an e.
Listen: la vaca
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
La vaca come pasto.
The cow eats grass.
Listen: La vaca come pasto.
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
"La vaca come pasto" drops the article before "pasto", which Spanish does for uncountable substances. "Pasto" is stressed PAS-to with an unaspirated p and a dry t. Both a vowels in "vaca" and both o-and-a vowels in "pasto" should stay clear and distinct.
Where English speakers slip
The v gets buzzed with the teeth, giving "VAH-ka", which is the reflex from the English "vacant" or "vacation". Spanish makes it a b. Both a vowels then want differentiating, when they should be twins. And the k wants an English puff. Simple word, three habits to unlearn.