# Splitting syllables: the CV rhythm

> id: pronunciation.syllabification · category: pronunciation · depth: standard · levels: B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Spanish prefers consonant + vowel: ca-sa, di-ne-ro. A single consonant joins the next vowel; of two, they split (par-te) unless the pair is pr/br/tr/cl... (a-bril); ch, ll, rr never split.

Rules: V-CV (a-mi-go), VC-CV (cuer-po), but consonant + l/r stays together (ha-blar, a-pren-do). Digraphs ch, ll, rr are single sounds: mu-cha-cho, ca-lle, pe-rro.

Why it matters: stress rules count syllables, and the even CV beat is the heart of the Spanish rhythm — syllable-timed, machine-gun even, unlike English's stress-timed swing.

The core rules: a single consonant joins the following vowel (a-mi-go), two consonants usually split (cuer-po, par-te) unless the second is l or r (ha-blar, a-pren-do), and the digraphs ch, ll, rr are single sounds that never break (mu-cha-cho, ca-lle, pe-rro). This matters because the stress rules count syllables, and the even CV beat is the heart of Spanish's syllable-timed rhythm.

## Examples
- im-por-tan-te, a-bril, ca-rre-te-ra — important, April, highway *(Note rr stays whole.)*
- Es-cu-cha-me bien. — Listen to me carefully.
- ca-lle, pe-rro, mu-cha-cho: los dígrafos nunca se parten. — ca-lle, pe-rro, mu-cha-cho: the digraphs never split.

Related: pronunciation.stress-rules, pronunciation.linking-sinalefa

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