How to Pronounce 'Rojo': Spanish Pronunciation Guide

Q: How do you pronounce rojo in Spanish?

rojo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈro.xo/. It means “red.” ROH-hoh, with a full trilled r at the start and a throaty h sound for the j.

How do you pronounce "rojo" in Spanish?

ROH-hoh, with a full trilled r at the start and a throaty h sound for the j.

rojo /ˈro.xo/

Two syllables: RO-jo, stressed on the first. It ends in a vowel, so the default rule handles it and no accent is written. The feminine "roja" and plural "rojos" keep the same beat, since all of them still end in a vowel or s.

Listen: rojo

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Sound it out

r At the start of a word, Spanish r is always a full trill: hold the tongue tip loosely just behind the upper teeth and push air through so it flutters. If it comes out as a single tap it is understandable, but the trill is what a native ear expects here.

o A pure "oh", the stressed beat, with no glide toward w at the end.

j Never an English j. This is a raspy sound made at the back of the mouth, like the ch in Scottish "loch" or a strongly breathed h. The tongue arches up near the soft palate and the air scrapes past.

o The same clean "oh" again, unstressed but not reduced.

Hear it in a sentence

Quiero el vestido rojo.

I want the red dress.

Listen: Quiero el vestido rojo.

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"Quiero el vestido rojo" puts the adjective after the noun, which is standard Spanish order and reverses the English "red dress". The masculine "rojo" agrees with the masculine "vestido" — change to a feminine noun and it becomes "roja". "Quiero" is two beats, KYEH-ro, and contains a single tapped r, which makes a nice contrast with the trilled r that opens "rojo".

Where English speakers slip

The j is the one that breaks people: English speakers say "ROH-joe" with the j of "jam", producing a sound Spanish does not have. Move it to the back of the throat and let it rasp. The initial r is the second obstacle — the English r bunches the tongue backward, which mutes the sound entirely; the Spanish trill needs the tongue tip forward and relaxed enough to vibrate. A single tap will do while you build the trill, but the English r will not.