café tiene acento
café has an accent (the stressed syllable)
Common trap for English speakers The written accent only marks which syllable is stressed; it does not change the vowel's quality the way English stress can.
In the story
Lucía
See that little mark? It tells you where the stress goes. Café tiene acento.
Lucía
We stress the last bit: ca-FÉ. That line over the e is the accent. Common mistake: saying CA-fe like English. The mark tells your mouth: land here. Café. Short, clean vowels: a… e.
Lucía
Say it with me: café tiene acento. Again, slower: ca-FÉ tie-ne a-cen-to. Now natural: café tiene acento.
Learn it in the story
This phrase appears in the lesson:
Level pre-A1 · Lesson 2