Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "listo" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce listo in Spanish?

listo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈlis.to/. It means “ready (with estar) / clever (with ser).” LEES-toh, stress on the first syllable, with a tight "ee" and a dry dental t.

LEES-toh, stress on the first syllable, with a tight "ee" and a dry dental t.

listo /ˈlis.to/

Two syllables: LIS-to, stressed on the first, which is where the default rule puts it. All four forms keep it there. What changes with this word is not the stress but the meaning, depending on which verb it follows — a distinction Spanish makes without altering the sound at all.

Listen: listo

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Sound it out

lis A bright forward l, a tight "ee" as in "see", and a hissing s. This is the stressed beat.

to A dental t with no puff of air, then a pure "oh". Unstressed, but the vowel stays fully rounded.

Hear it in a sentence

La cena ya está lista.

Dinner is ready.

Listen: La cena ya está lista.

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"La cena ya está lista" uses estar, which is what makes it mean ready — with ser, "la cena es lista", it would be describing dinner as clever, which is nonsense. The feminine "lista" agrees with "cena". This ser-versus-estar split is the whole point of the word, and the example sentence picks the useful half.

Where English speakers slip

"LIST-oh", borrowing the lax vowel of English "list", is the reflex to fight — Spanish wants a tight "ee". The t then wants an English puff. But the error that actually causes misunderstandings is grammatical: saying "soy listo" means I am clever, while "estoy listo" means I am ready, and using the wrong verb has produced a great many confused conversations.