How to pronounce “vacaciones”
Hear how “vacaciones (vacation)” sounds in Spanish, then read the breakdown below.
vacacionesbah-kah-SYOH-nehs (Latin America) · bah-kah-THYOH-nehs (Spain)
Accent
Breakdown
| Meaning | vacation |
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| Syllables | va · ca · cio · nes (4) |
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| Stress | Words ending in a vowel, n or s stress the second-to-last syllable: CIO. |
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| IPA (Latin America) | /ba.ka.ˈsjo.nes/ |
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| IPA (Spain) | /ba.ka.ˈθjo.nes/ |
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Tips for English speakers
Common mistake: The v sounds like a soft b: bah-kah-SYOH-nehs.
- v sounds the same as b. Spanish has no English-style v sound.
- c before e or i sounds like s in Latin America and like the "th" in "think" in most of Spain.
- 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
Me voy de vacaciones mañana.I'm going on vacation tomorrow.
¿Dónde pasas las vacaciones?Where do you spend your vacation?
More words
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