“I” with an Accent
A tilde is used on the Spanish letter i to mark word stress and distinguish between otherwise identical words.
Í and Word Stress
A tilde might just seem like an extra thing to add, but the truth is they are extremely helpful when pronouncing words in Spanish. When a vowel carries a tilde, you can tell immediately where the stress is. In turn, it helps you pronounce the word correctly. For example, in the word hígado(liver), the tilde over the i is necessary so that we know which syllable to stress.
Additionally, there are many pairs of words in Spanish whose only spelling difference is the presence or absence of a tilde. For example, sí(yes) vs. si(if).
Let’s take a closer look at the various types of words that use a tilde over the letter i:
Diphthongs and Hiatus
A diptongo(diphthong) is any combination of two vowels pronounced as one syllable, for example a strong + weak or weak + weak vowel combination, as in lengua(language), canción(song), or cuidar(to care for).
On the other hand, when a sequence of vowels is pronounced as two syllables in Spanish, that sequence is called an hiato(hiatus). A hiatus may be formed by a combination of an unstressed open vowel (a, e, o) + a stressed closed vowel (i, u), as in reír(to laugh), oír(to hear), and transeúnte(passerby) or a combination of a stressed closed vowel + unstressed open vowel, as in María(Mary) and frío(cold).
The reason that raízand maízhave a tilde over the i is that they contain an unstressed open vowel followed by a stressed closed vowel—that is, a hiatus—and hiatuses carry a tilde no matter what!
Í and Word Types
A tilde over a vowel may distinguish an adjetivo posesivo(possessive adjective) from a pronombre personal(personal pronoun), as in the case of mi(my) and mí(me/myself), where the i with a stress makes all the difference.
Let's see this in context:
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Writing/Typing an Accent Over the I
On paper, an accent is written diagonally from the top right to the bottom left.
To type í on your keyboard, you can copy and paste í, use the character code Alt + 0237, or learn the keyboard shortcuts on your Mac or PC.
Take a look at how to type í on your Mac or PC!
On a PC
There are several keyboard shortcuts you can use for Spanish letters and punctuation on your PC. Please note that these shortcuts sometimes only work on newer computers and may only work in Microsoft Office.
If you’re using Office for Windows, use the following shortcut:
- For an í, press Ctrl + ', then the i.
On a Mac
To get the í on a Mac, hold down the Option/Alt key (⌥), and press the e key. Then, release both keys and press the i.
If you write in Spanish often, we recommend going into your settings and adding the US International keyboard. This keyboard layout supports all major Western European languages, and it uses the right Alt key as a modifier for special characters.
Would you like to learn more about accents and word stress in Spanish? Check out these articles!
