How to pronounce “maíz”
Hear how “maíz (corn)” sounds in Spanish, then read the breakdown below.
maízmah-EES (Latin America) · mah-EETH (Spain)
Accent
Breakdown
| Meaning | corn |
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| Syllables | ma · íz (2) |
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| Stress | The written accent marks the stress: ÍZ. |
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| IPA (Latin America) | /ma.ˈis/ |
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| IPA (Spain) | /ma.ˈiθ/ |
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Tips for English speakers
Common mistake: Two syllables with stress on the i: "mah-EES".
- z sounds like s in Latin America and like the "th" in "think" in most of Spain.
- The accent on í keeps it in its own syllable, so maíz has 2 syllables.
- Keep every vowel short and pure: a = "ah", e = "eh", i = "ee", o = "oh", u = "oo". No gliding.
Learn more: Spain vs. Latin America · Stress and accent marks · Spanish vowels
Example sentences
Las tortillas se hacen de maíz.Tortillas are made from corn.
El maíz azul es muy bonito.Blue corn is very pretty.
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