In this lesson, we will talk about the diaeresis or dieresis in Spanish. But, do you know what a diaeresis is to begin with? Let's take a look at the following clip:
El pueblo de Izamal fue un importante centro urbano maya en la antigüedad.
The town of Izamal was an important Mayan urban center in ancient times.
Caption 26, Mérida y sus alrededores Izamal Pueblo Mágico
Play Caption
Did you find the dieresis in that clip? If not, please keep reading this lesson, as we are going to tell you how to use the dieresis in Spanish.
In English, a diaeresis is a mark placed over a vowel to indicate that the vowel is emphasized or pronounced separately from the other vowels (as in "naïve" or "Brontë"). In Spanish, a diaeresis is represented by the same symbol (two little dots above a letter). That said, we will now highlight the word that has the diaeresis in the previous clip:
El pueblo de Izamal fue un importante centro urbano maya en la antigüedad.
The town of Izamal was an important Mayan urban center in ancient times.
Caption 26, Mérida y sus alrededores Izamal Pueblo Mágico
Play Caption
However, as using a dieresis in Spanish is slightly different than in English, let's learn the golden rule for employing this unique symbol.
The rule is quite simple: a diaeresis must be placed over the vowel "u" to indicate that said vowel must be pronounced in words that have the combinations -gue and -gui (since in most Spanish words with these letter combinations, the "u" is silent). For example, in words like guerra (war) and guerilla (guerrilla), the gue- is pronounced more like the English word "gay," while in words like guía (guide) and guisante (pea), gui- sounds like "ghee." The addition of the diaeresis, on the other hand, would transform the sound of the letters gue- to "gway" and -gui to "gwee." Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
todos bastante negativos, humillación, vergüenza, dolor,
all quite negative, humiliation, shame, pain,
Caption 55, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 3
Play Caption
Los pingüinos se parecen a las gallinas
Penguins are like chickens
Caption 24, Guillermina y Candelario Nuestro Amigo Pinguino
Play Caption
Additionally, please keep in mind that the diaeresis must be used in words that are written in capital letters. Also, if you are wondering how to spell diaeresis in Spanish, it is written as follows: diéresis (an esdrújula word with the graphic accent on the third-to-last syllable).
Are there a lot of Spanish words that require a diaeresis? Although there are not that many, let's take a look at some of the most common palabras con diéresis (words with a diaeresis) in Spanish.
Me muevo mucho entre la ambigüedad.
I move a lot within ambiguity.
Caption 12, María Marí Su pasión por su arte - Part 2
Play Caption
Justo encima del diccionario bilingüe
Right above the bilingual dictionary,
Caption 5, Tutoriales de Yabla Características adicionales Yabla
Play Caption
Más bien. ¿Quién se piensa que me trajo, la cigüeña de París?
Of course. Who do you think brought me, the stork from Paris?
Caption 16, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 8
Play Caption
o sea, programas de inmersión lingüística en Barcelona.
I mean, language immersion programs, in Barcelona.
Caption 10, Escuela BCNLIP Presentación de la directora - Part 2
Play Caption
Mírelo tan sinvergüenza.
Look at how shameless he is.
Caption 27, Los casos de Yabla Problemas de convivencia - Part 2
Play Caption
And that's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand how to use the dieresis in Spanish. By the way, do you know more palabras con diéresis? Let us know, and don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments. ¡Hasta la próxima!
French
German
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Français
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português
