Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "simpático" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce simpático in Spanish?

simpático is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /simˈpa.ti.ko/. It means “nice / friendly.” seem-PAH-tee-koh, with the accent holding the stress on the second syllable.

seem-PAH-tee-koh, with the accent holding the stress on the second syllable.

simpático /simˈpa.ti.ko/

Four syllables, sim-PÁ-ti-co, and the accent is doing real work. The word ends in a vowel, so the default would give sim-pa-TI-co. The mark pulls the beat back to the third-from-last syllable, which Spanish always marks in writing. All four gendered and plural forms keep the accent, since the stress placement never moves.

Listen: simpático

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Sound it out

sim A hissing s, a tight "ee" as in "see", and an m. Spanish i is never the lax "ih" of English "simple".

pá An unaspirated p and a wide-open "ah" carrying the accent and the stress.

ti A dry dental t and another tight "ee". This t is between vowels, which is exactly where American English wants to flap it into a d.

co A hard k with no puff of air and a pure "oh".

Hear it in a sentence

Tu amigo es muy simpático.

Your friend is very nice.

Listen: Tu amigo es muy simpático.

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"Tu amigo es muy simpático" uses ser because friendliness is treated as a character trait. "Amigo" is stressed a-MI-go with a soft g between vowels, and "tu" here is the possessive with no accent — the accented "tú" would be the pronoun. Say "tu amigo" and the two vowels link with no break.

Where English speakers slip

The English "sympathetic" is a false friend in both sound and sense: it drags the stress to the third syllable and, more importantly, means something different. "Simpático" means likeable or friendly, not sympathetic in the emotional sense — that would be "comprensivo". Sound-wise, keep the beat on PÁ, tighten the two i vowels to "ee", and resist flapping the middle t.