Spanish · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "temprano" in Spanish?

Q: How do you pronounce temprano in Spanish?

temprano is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /temˈpɾa.no/. It means “early.” tem-PRAH-noh, three beats with the stress in the middle and one tapped r.

tem-PRAH-noh, three beats with the stress in the middle and one tapped r.

temprano /temˈpɾa.no/

Three syllables, tem-PRA-no, beat on the second-to-last, the placement the default rule gives. It works as both adverb and adjective, and in the adjective role it agrees — "una hora temprana" — without moving the stress. The opposite, "tarde", is front-stressed, so the pair does not mirror each other rhythmically.

Listen: temprano

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

tem A dry dental t, a short "eh" as in "bed", and an m. Spanish writes m rather than n before a p, and pronounces it that way too.

pra An unaspirated p joined to a single tap of the r, then a wide-open "ah" carrying the stress.

no A clean n and a pure "oh", unstressed but fully rounded.

Hear it in a sentence

Me levanto temprano.

I get up early.

Listen: Me levanto temprano.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Me levanto temprano" uses the reflexive "levantarse", literally raising oneself, which is how Spanish expresses getting up. Without the "me", "levanto" would mean I lift something else. "Levanto" has a v pronounced as a soft b: leh-BAN-to.

Where English speakers slip

The unstressed vowels get crushed, giving "tum-PRAH-nuh", when the first e and the final o should both stay clear. The pr cluster then invites a curled English r that muffles the p. And a small usage note: Spanish uses "temprano" for early in the day, but for arriving before a scheduled time you want "con anticipación" or simply "antes".