Spelling and Accent Rules in Catalan

In Brief

Standard Catalan uses written signs to show stress, vowel quality, syllable boundaries, and how short pronouns attach to other words. The essentials are the grave and acute accents (à, è, é, í, ò, ó, ú), the dieresis (ï, ü), the middle dot in l·l, apostrophes such as l’ and d’, and hyphens in forms such as porta-m’hi. These conventions follow the standard established by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC).

Overview

Catalan spelling is systematic, but it is not simply a transcription of speech. At C1, you need to control forms that a spellchecker may not reliably choose for you: cafè versus també, país versus països, la universitat versus l’oficina, and porta-m’hi versus no m’hi portis. These distinctions matter in formal writing, but they also make ordinary messages easier to read.

A few basic grammatical labels are useful. The stressed syllable is the part of a word said with the greatest prominence. A diphthong is two vowel sounds pronounced within one syllable; a hiatus is a sequence of vowels split across two syllables. A weak pronoun (pronom feble) is a short unstressed object or adverbial pronoun such as em, el, hi, or en. The spelling rules below show how these sound and grammar patterns appear on the page.

For an English-speaking learner, the biggest change is that accents cannot be treated as optional decoration. English normally leaves word stress unmarked, while Catalan often marks an unexpected stress and, with e and o, also records whether the stressed vowel is open or closed. The written standard is shared even where regional pronunciations differ.

How It Works

Stress classes and when to write an accent

Catalan groups words according to the position of the stressed syllable:

Catalan term	Stress falls on	Example
aguda	the final syllable	català, també
plana	the next-to-last syllable	casa, fàcil
esdrúixola	the third-to-last syllable	música, pàgina

The ending of a word determines whether its stress is expected. The core rules are:

Word type	It takes an accent when…	Examples
Final-stressed (aguda)	it ends in a vowel, vowel + s, -en, or -in	germà, cafè, després, entén
Penultimate-stressed (plana)	it does not end in a vowel, vowel + s, -en, or -in	fàcil, àlbum, exàmens
Antepenultimate-stressed (esdrúixola)	always	màquina, història, lingüística

Compare casa and fàcil. Both are stressed on the penultimate syllable, but casa has the expected stress for a word ending in a vowel, whereas fàcil needs a mark because it ends in -l. Similarly, final stress is expected in paper, but must be marked in català.

Syllable division matters. A final i or u can act as a glide within a diphthong, so you cannot always apply the rule by looking only at the last written letter. When unsure, say the word carefully, identify the stressed syllable, and check how the final vowel sequence is divided.

Grave and acute accents

Catalan uses two shapes of accent:

Mark	Catalan name	Vowels	What it indicates
à, è, ò	accent greu	a, e, o	stress; è and ò represent open vowels
é, í, ó, ú	accent agut	e, i, o, u	stress; é and ó represent closed vowels

An accented a is always à; accented i and u are always í and ú. With e and o, however, the direction carries information: cafè has open è, while també has closed é; això has open ò, while cançó has closed ó.

Stress rules tell you whether an accent is required, but they do not always tell you whether an e or o is open. Learn that mark as part of the word. This is especially important if your variety of Catalan, or the Catalan you usually hear, does not make every open–closed contrast in the same way as central Catalan.

Capital letters keep their accents: Àfrica, ÉS IMPORTANT, and ÚLTIMA HORA. Omitting an accent merely because a word is in capitals is not standard spelling.

Diacritic accents

A diacritic accent distinguishes two short words that would otherwise have identical spelling. Current IEC spelling uses a limited core set of accented monosyllables:

Accented form	Typical meaning	Unaccented form	Typical meaning
bé	well; good	be	lamb; letter name
déu	god	deu	ten; owes; spring
és	is	es	reflexive pronoun
mà	hand	ma	my (literary/limited use)
més	more	mes	month; but
món	world	mon	my (literary/limited use)
pèl	hair	pel	contraction of per + el
què	what; which after a preposition	que	that; which
sé	I know	se	reflexive pronoun
sí	yes; oneself	si	if; musical note
sòl	ground; floor	sol	sun; alone; musical note
són	are	son	sleep; his/her (limited use)
té	has; take!	te	tea; pronoun; letter name
ús	use	us	to you (plural pronoun)
vós	formal or traditional you	vos	pronoun form

Do not restore obsolete diacritics from older texts. For instance, modern standard spelling uses dona for both “woman” and the relevant form of donar, and soc for “I am.” Context resolves the meaning.

The contrast què/que also interacts with spacing. Use per què in a direct or indirect “why” question (Per què marxes?; No sé per què marxa), perquè for “because” or “so that,” and el perquè for “the reason.”

The dieresis: ï and ü

The dieresis (dièresi) consists of two dots over i or u. It has two main jobs.

First, ü shows that u is pronounced in the groups güe, güi, qüe, and qüi. Without the dots, the u in gue/gui/que/qui normally helps spell the hard consonant or the /k/ sound but is not itself pronounced.

Contrast	Reading
guerra, guitarra	the u is silent
aigües, lingüístic	the u is pronounced
que, quinze	the u is silent
qüestió, aqüífer	the u is pronounced

Second, ï or ü can show that a vowel belongs to a separate syllable rather than forming the diphthong a reader might expect: raïm, veïna, heroïna, conduïa. If ordinary stress rules require an accent on that vowel, the accent replaces the dieresis: país and Lluís, not païs or Lluïs.

Some verb forms omit the dieresis by rule, notably the infinitive, gerund, future, and conditional of verbs ending in a vowel plus -ir: agrair, agraint, agrairé, agrairia; conduir, conduint, conduiré, conduiria. Other forms may need it: agraït, agraïa, conduïm.

The ela geminada: l·l

The spelling l·l represents a geminated or “doubled” l. The sign between the letters is a middle dot (punt volat), not a full stop, bullet, or hyphen. It distinguishes l·l from ll, which represents a different sound.

Common families include:

• col·legi, col·legial
• col·laborar, col·laboració
• il·legal, il·legítim
• intel·ligent, intel·ligència
• paral·lel, paral·lela
• novel·la, novel·lista

There is no fully dependable sound-based rule that lets a learner predict every l·l. Learn it with the word and notice recurring prefixes and families. In typed text, use the middle dot character in l·l; l-l and l.l are not standard substitutes.

Apostrophes with articles and de

Catalan normally elides, or drops, a vowel before another vowel or a silent h. The apostrophe marks the omission:

• el amic → l’amic
• la oficina → l’oficina
• de abril → d’abril
• de història → d’història

The feminine article la has an important exception: it normally remains la before an unstressed initial i or u, with or without silent h: la idea, la història, la universitat, la humanitat. Compare l’illa and l’única, where the initial vowel is stressed. There is also no apostrophe before a consonantal glide, as in el iogurt.

An apostrophe closes the gap: write l’amic, not l’ amic. Use the same principles with common prepositional forms and weak pronouns: m’agrada, t’escolto, s’aixeca, n’agafa dos.

Hyphens and apostrophes with weak pronouns

Weak pronouns stand before a finite verb in most ordinary statements and all negative commands. They are written separately, with apostrophes where elision requires them:

• Me’l dona. — “He/She gives it to me.”
• No m’hi portis. — “Don’t take me there.”
• Se’n va. — “He/She leaves.”

After an infinitive, a gerund, or an affirmative imperative, weak pronouns attach to the verb. A hyphen begins the attached group, while apostrophes show elision inside it:

Verb environment	Pattern	Example
infinitive	verb + attached pronoun(s)	explicar-ho, anar-hi, veure’ls
gerund	verb + attached pronoun(s)	fent-ho, portant-ne dos
affirmative imperative	verb + attached pronoun(s)	digues-li, dona-me’l, porta-m’hi
negative imperative	pronoun(s) + separate verb	no li diguis, no me’l donis, no m’hi portis

The exact shape of a pronoun changes with its position: em can appear as m’, -me, or ’m. Do not choose punctuation first and then invent the form. Learn the complete written cluster: me’l dona, dona-me’l; m’hi porta, porta-m’hi.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Demà prendrem un cafè després de dinar.	Tomorrow we’ll have a coffee after lunch.	Final-stressed words ending in a vowel take an accent.
També han publicat l’última pàgina.	They have also published the last page.	é is closed; última and pàgina are always accented as esdrúixoles.
Aquesta cançó parla del món rural.	This song is about the rural world.	Closed ó in cançó; diacritic món.
No sé per què ho ha fet.	I don’t know why he/she did it.	Diacritic sé and interrogative per què.
Ho ha fet perquè era necessari.	He/She did it because it was necessary.	The conjunction perquè is one word.
La veïna cultiva raïm al seu hort.	The neighbour grows grapes in her garden.	The dieresis separates the vowels in veïna and raïm.
Estudia lingüística a la universitat.	He/She studies linguistics at university.	Pronounced u in lingüística; no apostrophe in la universitat.
La qüestió exigeix una resposta clara.	The issue requires a clear answer.	The u in qüestió is pronounced.
Treballa en un col·legi internacional.	He/She works at an international school.	Col·legi uses the ela geminada.
La col·laboració va ser excel·lent.	The collaboration was excellent.	Two common l·l word families.
L’amiga d’en Pau arribarà a l’abril.	Pau’s friend will arrive in April.	Apostrophes mark elision in articles and de.
La història de l’illa és fascinant.	The history of the island is fascinating.	La remains before unstressed hi-; l’ appears before stressed i-.
Dona-me’l abans de sortir.	Give it to me before leaving.	Two pronouns attach to an affirmative imperative.
Porta-m’hi demà al matí.	Take me there tomorrow morning.	Hyphen and apostrophe within an attached pronoun cluster.
No m’hi portis avui.	Don’t take me there today.	With a negative command, the pronouns come before the verb.

Common Mistakes

Using one accent direction for every vowel

• Wrong: cafè written as café, or cançó as cançò
• Right: cafè; cançó
• Why: E and o can take either a grave or acute accent, depending on vowel quality. Memorise the mark with the word.

Adding old diacritic accents

• Wrong: Ella dóna classes i jo sóc alumne.
• Right: Ella dona classes i jo soc alumne.
• Why: Current IEC spelling no longer uses the former diacritics in dóna and sóc. Older publications may still contain them.

Confusing an accent with a dieresis

• Wrong: païs, conduía
• Right: país, conduïa
• Why: A required stress accent replaces the dieresis in país. In conduïa, the dieresis marks hiatus, while the stress falls elsewhere.

Replacing the middle dot

• Wrong: col-legi, col.legi
• Right: col·legi
• Why: The ela geminada requires a middle dot. A hyphen and a full stop are different characters with different functions.

Apostrophising la automatically

• Wrong: l’universitat, l’història
• Right: la universitat, la història
• Why: Feminine la is normally not apostrophised before an unstressed initial i or u, including silent h before that vowel.

Attaching pronouns in a negative command

• Wrong: No porta-m’hi.
• Right: No m’hi portis.
• Why: Pronouns follow and attach to an affirmative imperative, but precede a negative imperative.

Usage Notes

The IEC standard provides a common written system for Catalan across territories. Pronunciation varies: speakers do not all realise open and closed e/o identically, and some varieties differ in unstressed vowel patterns. These differences do not normally license alternative accent marks. In formal writing, consult a current dictionary when pronunciation does not tell you whether to write è/é or ò/ó.

The 2016 IEC orthographic reform reduced the inventory of diacritic accents. Consequently, a form in an older book may be historically standard but no longer preferred in current writing. This is especially visible in dona, soc, net, and similar words that used to carry a distinguishing mark in one meaning. Recognise the old forms, but use the current system unless you are quoting or preserving an original text.

Typography is part of spelling. Accents belong on capitals, l·l needs a middle dot, and apostrophes should not be separated from the following word. A curly apostrophe (l’amic) and a straight apostrophe (l'amic) may both occur in digital environments, but the punctuation function is the same. Do not let automatic “smart punctuation” turn the middle dot into a bullet or split a pronoun cluster.

In informal messages, native speakers sometimes omit accents for speed. That does not make omission neutral in edited prose, examinations, professional correspondence, or public-facing text. Accurate accents often prevent a momentary ambiguity: sí/si, té/te, and més/mes are common examples.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Derived words do not all behave in the same way. Adverbs in -ment preserve the accent of the feminine adjective on which they are built: fàcil → fàcilment, ràpida → ràpidament. This is unusual because the resulting word has its principal stress later, but the original written accent remains.

Vowel contact becomes more demanding in learned vocabulary, derived forms, and verb paradigms. Compare país/països, where the singular needs a stress accent but the plural uses a dieresis, and agrair/agraït/agraïa/agrairé, where the spelling changes with the form. Building a small family around a word is more reliable than memorising a rule in isolation.

Pronoun clusters are also morphological, not merely typographical. Their order and form depend on which grammatical roles they express as well as whether they stand before or after the verb. Direct object means the person or thing directly affected by an action; indirect object usually means its recipient. Forms such as me’l, se’n, and m’hi therefore need to be learned as part of the wider weak-pronoun system. The punctuation tells you how an already correct cluster is written; it does not determine which pronouns the sentence needs.

Finally, use normative sources with care. The IEC describes the shared standard, while reputable dictionaries may also label regional forms and pronunciations. A regional pronunciation is not automatically an error, and standard spelling should not be used to judge whether someone’s spoken variety is “better.” The practical C1 goal is to write consistently in the accepted standard and recognise legitimate variation when listening or reading.

Practice Tips

1. Run a three-step accent check. For each unfamiliar word, divide it into syllables, locate the stress, and apply the ending rule. If the stressed vowel is e or o, verify its accent direction in a current dictionary.
2. Build contrast families. Keep short sets such as país–països, agrair–agraït–agraïa, la universitat–l’illa, and me’l dona–dona-me’l. The contrast makes the rule easier to retrieve than a list of isolated forms.
3. Proofread by sign, not only by sentence. Make separate passes for accents, ï/ü, l·l, apostrophes, and postverbal pronouns. Searching a document for apostrophes and hyphens is an efficient final check.

Related Concepts

• Foundation: Basic Weak Pronouns — introduces the short pronoun forms whose spelling changes around the verb.
• Related use: Imperative Mood — explains the command forms used in dona-me’l and porta-m’hi.
• Further study: Combined Weak Pronouns — develops pronoun order and combinations such as me’l and se’n.
• Advanced extension: Advanced Weak Pronoun Patterns — applies attachment and elision rules in more complex clusters.