Diphthongs, Hiatus, and Triphthongs A diphthong, a hiatus, and a triphthong are the results of syllabification concerning two or three vowels close together. Knowing how to recognize a diphthong, a hiatus, and a triphthong can help you properly write accent marks when necessary.

Diphthongs A diphthong is the combination of two vowels in one syllable. In order to identify diphthongs within syllables, there are three possible vowel combinations: strong + weak weak + strong weak + weak The strong vowels are a, e, and o, and the weak vowels are i and u. The combinations ié, ió, and uó are accented diphthongs. ac-ción, con-ti-nuó, tam-bién

Diphthong Examples Review the following diphthongs by saying each word aloud while counting the syllables. Notice that the combination of two vowels creates one syllable. Diphthong Example 1 Example 2 ai/ay baile hay au aula aunque eu deuda Europa ei/ey reina ley ia distancia piano ie tiene pies io estadio laboratorio Diphthong Example 1 Example 2 iu ciudad triunfo oi/oy oigo voy ua cuanto guante ue cuerpo escuela ui cuidado fuimos uo cuota monstruo

Hiatus A hiatus is two consecutive vowels, each forming its own syllable. Two strong vowels: The vowel combinations ae, ao, ea, eo, oa, oe always form two syllables, never a single syllable. That means that two strong vowels together never form a diphthong, but rather a hiatus. cam-pe-ón, po-e-ta, te-a-tro Accented weak plus strong vowel: An accented weak vowel does not form a diphthong, but rather a hiatus, as in the combinations eí, íe, aú, úa, ío, úo re-í, rí-e, ba-úl, ac-tú-a, rí-o, con-ti-nú-o Note: The vowel combination weak + accented strong is NOT a hiatus, but rather a diphthong. Compare the following: With h: A hiatus may also occur when two vowels are separated by h. bú-ho Diphthong Hiatus en-frío (he cooled) en-frí-o (I cool)

Diphthongs Versus Hiatus These charts compare vowel pairs, with no accent (diphthong) and with one vowel accented (hiatus). Say each word aloud and practice counting the syllables. Vowel Pair Diphthong Hiatus ai baile país au aula baúl eu deuda reúne ei reina leí ia distancia día ie tiene ríe Vowel Pair Diphthong Hiatus io estadio frío oi oigo oído ua cuanto actúa ue cuerpo continúe uo cuota continúo

Triphthongs A triphthong is the least common letter group and consists of three vowels in the same syllable. In Spanish, triphthongs are formed by the following combination: weak vowel + strong vowel + weak vowel. buey limpiáis* miau *Note that triphthongs often occur in vosotros forms.

Práctica A Look at the bold vowels in the following words and indicate if the vowels form a diphthong, a hiatus or a triphthong. 1. diario 2. averigüéis 3. aceite 4. maíz 5. frío 6. María 7. cuerpo 8. viene 9. país 10. baile

ANSWERS Práctica A 1. diphthong 2. triphthong 3. diphthong 4. hiatus 5. hiatus 6. hiatus 7. diphthong 8. diphthong 9. hiatus 10. diphthong

Práctica B Divide the following words into syllables Práctica B Divide the following words into syllables. Then, indicate whether the word contains a diphthong or a hiatus. 1. olimpiada 2. colegio 3. ahora 4. prohíbo 5. treinta 6. raíz 7. vigilancia 8. caer 9. actué 10. Diego

ANSWERS Práctica B 1. o-lim-pia-da diphthong 2. co-le-gio diphthong 3. a-ho-ra hiatus 4. pro-hí-bo hiatus 5. trein-ta diphthong 6. ra-íz hiatus 7. vi-gi-lan-cia diphthong 8. ca-er hiatus 9. ac-tué dipththong 10. Die-go diphthong