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"El acento" is a noun which is often translated as "accent", and "tilde" is a noun which is also often translated as "accent". Learn more about the difference between "el acento" and "tilde" below.
el acento(
ah
-
sehn
-
toh
)A masculine noun is used with masculine articles and adjectives (e.g., el hombre guapo, el sol amarillo).
1. (intonation)
a. accent
Misha habla español con un acento ruso pronunciado.Misha speaks Spanish with a pronounced Russian accent.
2. (importance)
a. accent
¿Se escribe así? - No, no lleva acento.Do you spell it like that? - No, it doesn't have an accent on it.
b. stress
¿Dije bien tu nombre? - No, el acento cae en la primera sílaba.Did I pronounce your name right? - No, the stress falls on the first syllable.
c. emphasis
Si cambias el acento, cambias el significado de la palabra.If you change the emphasis, you change the meaning of the word.
la tilde(
teel
-
deh
)A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g., la mujer bonita, la luna llena).
a. accent
Olvidaste ponerle la tilde a la primera vocal en "túnel".You forgot to put the accent on the first vowel of "túnel".
2. (diacritic)
a. tilde
Las letras "ñ" y "n" en español se diferencian por la tilde.The letters "ñ" and "n" in Spanish are distinguished by the presence or absence of the tilde.
