# Aspirated s: ehtá, ¿cómo ehtás?

> id: pronunciation.s-aspiration · category: pronunciation · depth: standard · levels: B2 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** In lowland/coastal varieties — including Santa Cruz (camba speech), the Caribbean, Chile, the Río de la Plata — syllable-final s weakens to a soft h or vanishes: está ≈ 'ehtá', los amigos ≈ 'loh amigoh'.

It hits s before consonants and at word ends, never at syllable starts: pescado ≈ 'pehcado', but sí stays sí. Plural detection then relies on articles and vowels: la(s) casa(h).

For Bolivia: highland speech (La Paz, Cochabamba) keeps a strong s; Santa Cruz aspirates — recognizing both is essential for the relocator. Produce the full s yourself; understand the aspirated one.

For a relocator in Bolivia this split is essential: highland speech (La Paz, Cochabamba) keeps a strong, clear s, while Santa Cruz and the lowland camba varieties aspirate syllable-final s to a soft h or drop it (está ≈ 'ehtá', los amigos ≈ 'loh amigoh'). It only affects s before a consonant or at word ends, never at a syllable start (sí stays sí). Produce the full s yourself; train your ear to understand the aspirated one.

## Examples
- ¿Vamoh a la fiehta? (camba) — Are we going to the party? *(= ¿Vamos a la fiesta?)*
- Loh cruceñoh hablan así. — People from Santa Cruz talk like this.
- En Santa Cruz, '¿cómo estás?' suena 'cómo ehtáh'. — In Santa Cruz, 'how are you?' sounds like 'cómo ehtáh'.

Related: pronunciation.c-z-s

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