How to Say "accent mark" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “accent mark” is “acento” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
Olvidaste poner el acento en la 'e' de 'café'.
You forgot to put the accent mark on the 'e' of 'café'.
La palabra 'árbol' lleva acento en la primera sílaba.
The word 'árbol' carries the stress mark on the first syllable.
¿Este 'si' lleva acento o no?
Does this 'si' (if/yes) have an accent mark or not?
Written vs. Spoken Stress
In Spanish, the accent mark (acento escrito) tells you exactly where to put the emphasis (acento prosódico) in a word, breaking the normal stress rules.
Diacritical Marks
Sometimes the accent mark is used simply to tell two identical-sounding words apart, like 'sí' (yes) and 'si' (if).
Confusing 'Acento' and 'Tilde'
Mistake: “Using 'tilde' to refer to any accent mark.”
Correction: 'Acento' refers to the written mark (´). 'Tilde' technically refers only to the squiggle over the N (ñ), but people often use 'tilde' for the accent mark anyway.
Related Translations
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