Omisión de la letra d en español colloquial

Sometimes the letter d is omitted in colloquial Spanish

In colloquial spoken Spanish the letter D is sometimes omitted in conversation.

Past Participles

The letter -d- is often not pronounced when it is located between two vowels, which is the case of most past participles as they usually end in -ado [pronounc: ao] and -ido [pronounc: ío]. This pronunciation is common in many areas in Spain and Latin America. For example:

He comprao unos pantalones para ti. [correct spelling: he comprado]I bought some trousers for you.

Hemos venío para hacerte compañía. [correct spelling: hemos venido]We came to keep you company.

Some nouns and adjectives

The -d- between two vowels at the end of the word of some nouns is also sometimes not pronounced.

Estoy muy cansao. [correct spelling: cansado]I am very tired.

El niño está dormío. [correct spelling: dormido]The boy is asleep.

Tienes que comer más pescao. [correct spelling: pescado]You have to eat more fish.

Some words that end in -d

It is also very common to omit the -d when it is at the end of a word. For example:

Dime la verdá. [correct spelling: verdad]Tell me the truth.

Sonia es de Valladolí. [correct spelling: Valladolid]Sonia is from Valladolid.

In Madrid and the very central areas of Spain, in these cases, they tend to pronounce that final -d as a -z. For example:

En Madriz hay mucho tráfico. [correct spelling: Madrid]In Madrid there is a lot of traffic.

It is important to remember that this aspect of colloquiallism/accent in Spain and Latin America is accepted in spoken Spanish, although the R.A.E. (Royal Spanish Academy) does not recommend it, in particular when participles are pronounced -ío.

Omitting the letter -d- is not acceptable in written Spanish, only in conversation. However, it's very important to mention that there are certain words (more specifically nouns) that are included without the letter -d- in the dictionary and are exclusively used to define words relating to Andalusian culture that are part of the Flamenco vocabulary. These words are correctly used without writing the letter -d- and, in fact, they would look and sound very odd if used with the letter -d. These words are:

  • el tablao (flamenco stage)
  • el cantaor (male flamenco singer)
  • la cantaora (female flamenco singer)
  • el bailaor (male flamenco dancer)
  • la bailaora (female flamenco dancer)
  • el tocaor (male flamenco guitarist)
  • la tocaora (female flamenco guitarist)
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