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Know the spelling rules It is very important to write correctly and not make mistakes. However, we constantly wonder how to write a certain word and, if we go into accentuation, the confusion is even greater. One of the easiest tricks to stress correctly is breaking words into syllables. But do we know how to do it? What if there are several vowels together? What is it diphthong, tripthong or hiatus? So that you know what the difference is between them, in this OneHowTo article we show you the meanings and combinations of each one.
Diphthong
According to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) a diphthong it is the “set of two different vowels that are pronounced in a single syllable”. One of the vowels must be the ‘i’ or the ‘u’ and cannot be accented. When one of these two vowels has an orthographic accent, the diphthong is broken and two different syllables are formed. The diphthong combinations are: ai (ai-re), au (a-plau-dir), ei (pei-nar), eu (deu-da), ia (via-jar), ie (vie-jo), io (apio), iu (ciu-dad), oi (bI heard-na), ou (bou), ua (gua-pa), ue (hEU-vo), ui (rui-do), uo (mons-truo).
Diphthongs are classified by increasing, decreasing or homogeneous. Are growing when the second vowel is the tonic, that is, the strong one. This type of diphthongs usually have ‘i’ or ‘u’ as their first vowel. Example: viandjo, because the strong vowel is -e-. With the decreasing diphthongs the opposite happens, the stressed vowel is the first and the ‘i’ or the ‘u’ occupies the second place. Example: toire, because the strong vowel is the a-. We talk about homogeneous diphthongs when they are formed by ‘i’ and ‘u’, regardless of the order. Example: ciudad.
Triphthong
A triphthong It occurs when there are three vowels together in the same syllable. They are formed by an open vowel (a, o, e) located between two closed ones (i, u). For it to occur, only the one in the center can be the tonic, that is, the ‘a’, the ‘e’ or the ‘o’. The tripthong combinations are: iai (pre-miais), iau (miau), iei (es-tu-diéis), ioi (opioi-de), uai (a-mor-ti-guáis), uei (a-ve-ri-güéis), uau (gwow).
Hiatus
When a diphthong is broken because the closed vowel (i, u) is stressed, a hiatus. Likewise, when two open vowels (a, e, o) together separate into different syllables, it is also called a hiatus.
Examples: hé-roe/ ha-ci-a/ re-ir / maiz / cai-da / teo-re-ma
What is the difference between them
According to the previous rules, we see how the difference is that the diphthong constitutes two vowels together in the same syllable while the triphthong three. When these vowels together are in different syllables, then it is a hiatus.
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