Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "largo" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce largo in Spanish?

largo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈlaɾ.ɣo/. It means “long.” LAHR-goh, stress on the first syllable, with a single tapped r and a soft g.

LAHR-goh, stress on the first syllable, with a single tapped r and a soft g.

largo /ˈlaɾ.ɣo/

Two syllables, LAR-go, beat on the first, following the default rule for a vowel-final word. All four forms keep it there. Note that the musical term English borrowed — largo — kept the spelling and the stress but drifted in meaning, since in Spanish the word is about length, not slowness.

Listen: largo

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Sound it out

lar A bright forward l, a wide-open "ah", and one quick tap of the r. The vowel stays clean — an English r would swallow it into a long "ar".

go A g softened by the vowels around it: the back of the tongue rises toward the roof of the mouth without quite touching, so the air keeps flowing. Then a pure "oh".

Hear it in a sentence

El río es muy largo.

The river is very long.

Listen: El río es muy largo.

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"El río es muy largo" gives you "río" with an accent breaking the i from the o into two beats, REE-o, just like "frío". Its opening r is word-initial, so it takes a full trill, which contrasts nicely with the single tap inside "largo" — both r sounds in one short sentence.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers say this like the musical direction, with the r of "large" bending the vowel backward into "LAR-go". Keep the "ah" wide and add a single flick after it. The g then gets hardened into the plosive of "go" when it should be soft between vowels. And note the false friend: "largo" means long, not large — that would be "grande".