Understanding Spanish Vowel Combinations

This page provides detailed information about three important Spanish phonetic concepts: diphthongs, triphthongs, and hiatus.

Definition: Diphthongs (diptongos) are combinations of vowels that form a single syllable and remain unseparated in pronunciation.

Example: In diphthongs, you can find combinations of:

• An open vowel (a, e, o) plus a closed vowel (i, u)
• Two closed vowels (i, u) together

Highlight: When two closed vowels form a diphthong, the accent mark (tilde) is placed on the second vowel.

Definition: Triphthongs (triptongos) consist of three vowels in the same syllable, with the accent mark always placed on the open vowel.

Vocabulary:

• Open vowels: a, e, o
• Closed vowels: i, u
• Hiato: When two vowels that would typically form a diphthong are separated into different syllables

Example: Hiatos occur in two situations:

• When two open vowels (a, e, o) appear together
• When an open vowel (a, e, o) and a closed vowel (i, u) combine with the accent mark on the closed vowel