Agudas, graves, and esdrújulas: rules and example lists

All of Spanish accentuation rests on a single skill: knowing which syllable of a word is pronounced most strongly. Once you have located that syllable — the stressed syllable (sílaba tónica) — classifying the word as aguda, grave, esdrújula, or sobresdrújula is automatic, and knowing whether it takes an accent mark is a matter of applying three rules. In this article you will find those rules explained simply and, above all, lists of examples for practicing the classification.

First: find the stressed syllable

Say the word out loud and exaggerate: where do you put the force of your voice?

• ca-FÉ → the stress is on the last syllable.
• ven-TA-na → the stress is on the penultimate syllable.
• MÚ-si-ca → the stress is on the antepenultimate syllable.

A classic trick: try to “sing” the word stressing each syllable and keep the version that sounds natural. “CA-mi-no, ca-MI-no, ca-mi-NO”: only one sounds like real Spanish (ca-MI-no).

Palabras agudas: stress on the last syllable

They take an accent when they end in a vowel, in -n, or in -s.

Examples with an accent:

• café, sofá, bebé, dominó, ají
• canción, corazón, jamón, camión, avión
• además, quizás, compás, autobús, francés
• llegó, cantará, escribí, entendió

Examples without an accent (they end in other consonants):

• reloj, pared, hotel, feliz, amor
• verdad, papel, cantar, nariz, mujer

Palabras graves (or llanas): stress on the penultimate syllable

These are the most abundant words in Spanish. They take an accent when they do NOT end in a vowel, -n, or -s — exactly the opposite rule from the agudas.

Examples with an accent:

• árbol, lápiz, cárcel, fácil, difícil
• azúcar, carácter, mármol, túnel, débil
• césped, líder, néctar, cráter

Examples without an accent (they end in a vowel, -n, or -s):

• casa, mesa, libro, ventana, camino
• examen, joven, virgen, resumen
• lunes, martes, crisis, gracias

Watch out for “examen”: in the singular it is grave ending in -n, so it does not take an accent; but its plural “exámenes” is esdrújula and does take one. The same happens with “joven → jóvenes” and “resumen → resúmenes”.

Palabras esdrújulas: stress on the antepenultimate syllable

The easiest rule of all: esdrújulas always take an accent, with no exception.

• música, médico, sábado, teléfono, plátano
• rápido, último, público, único, básico
• exámenes, jóvenes, resúmenes
• matemáticas, gramática, ortográfico

If you identify that a word is esdrújula, there is nothing more to think about: accent mark.

Palabras sobresdrújulas: stress before the antepenultimate syllable

They are uncommon and almost always come from attaching pronouns to a verb. They are also always accented:

• dí-ga-me-lo → dígamelo
• cuén-ta-se-lo → cuéntaselo
• de-vuél-ve-me-la → devuélvemela

A separate case is adverbs ending in -mente, which sound like sobresdrújulas but follow their own rule: they keep the accent only if the original adjective had one (“fácil → fácilmente”, but “tranquila → tranquilamente”).

Summary table

The nuances that make the difference

These general rules cover most words, but there are two situations that modify them and that are worth knowing:

1. Diphthongs and hiatuses. Words such as “raíz” or “país” seem to break the rules, but what is happening is that the hiatus imposes its own accent. We explain it in detail in diphthongs, hiatuses, and triphthongs.
2. The diacritical accent (tilde diacrítica). Monosyllables such as “té/te” or “sé/se” do not follow these rules, but a logic of their own for distinguishing words, which you can review in our guide to the tilde diacrítica.

Test yourself

Classify these words and decide whether they take an accent: volumen, angel, brujula, cristal, comio, imagen, magico, feliz. (Answers below.)

Classifying words is learned the same way you learn to ride a bike: by doing it many times. In AprendeTildes you have exercises on agudas, graves, and esdrújulas with instant correction, perfect for five-minute sessions a day.

Answers: volumen (grave, no accent) · ángel (grave, with accent) · brújula (esdrújula) · cristal (aguda, no accent) · comió (aguda, with accent) · imagen (grave, no accent) · mágico (esdrújula) · feliz (aguda, no accent).