+100 EXAMPLES of diphthongs

A diphthong is the union of two vowels, a weaki, u) and a strong (a, e, o) or two weak ones. What characterizes the diphthong is that the sequence formed by both vowels must always be pronounced within the same syllable, as a single sound. Therefore, a combination of two strong vowels (eo in the word "desire", for example) it is not a diphthong but a hiatus. The typology of diphthongs includes three different groups: increasing diphthongs, decreasing diphthongs and the so-called homogeneous diphthongs.

In this lesson from a teacher we are going to see various examples of diphthongs to make it easier for you to study and recognize the different types that exist. You will also find the explanation of the three different groups of diphthongs that exist in Spanish.

Index

1. What is a diphthong? Easy definition for kids
2. Types of diphthong
3. Examples of increasing diphthongs
4. Examples of decreasing diphthongs
5. Examples of homogeneous diphthongs
6. Vowels that produce diphthong
7. Solved diphthong exercises
8. Solutions

Before getting to know the examples of diphthongs, it is important that we know exactly what is a diphthong and that, thus, we learn to detect it easily.

A diphthong is the union of 2 vowels in a row found on the same syllable of a word. Diphthongs are created by the combination of:

• Two closed vowels (the i and the u). For example: Triunfo
• A closed vowel (i, u) and an open vowel (a, e, o). For example. Peine.

Furthermore, for there to be a diphthong it is necessary that in none of the vowels that they are united there tilde or accent orthographic.

But what happens if two open vowels go together in one word? The open ones never form diphthong, they form another linguistic phenomenon that is known as hiatus and that implies the separation of the vowels in different syllables.

In the next section we will enter to discover the different examples of diphthongs, but before that we want that you know which are the types that exist so that, thus, you can better understand the examples that we indicate:

• Increasing diphthong. It is the one that is formed with a closed vowel (i, u) and an open one (a, e, o). For example: PEUdo.
• Decreasing. It is the diphthong that is formed with an open and a closed vowel. For example: Saijoin.
• Homogeneous diphthong. It is formed from the combination of a closed vowel and a closed vowel. For example: Ciudad.

The increasing diphthongs (also called ascendants) are those diphthongs composed of a weak vowel (i, u) and a strong vowel (a, e, o). They receive this name precisely because the vowel sequence starts from a weak or closed vowel towards another strong or open vowel, which leads the oral cavity to open and expand when pronounce them. Some of the most common examples and representative you have them below:

Examples of diphthongs with "ia"

Commercial, too, everyday, rage, bean, blonde, phobia, changes, overwhelms, towards.

Examples of diphthongs with "ie"

Heaven, earth, diet, shop, environment, honey, faithful, well, winter, open.

Examples of diphthongs with "io"

Action, passion, language, god, wise, lip, lukewarm, cloudy, clean, proverb.

Examples of diphthongs with "ua"

Casual, monthly, act, four, square, ember, evacuate, how much, aquarium, rennet.

Examples of diphthongs with "ue"

Bridge, judge, good, door, grandfather, leather, raspberry, shut up, tale, hound.

Examples of diphthongs with "uo"

Individual, quota, residue, old, innocuous, diminished, oblique, watery, duodenum, redwood.

The decreasing diphthongs (also known as descendants) are those diphthongs whose vowel sequence is formed by a strong vowel (a, e, o) followed by a weak vowel (i, u). Parallel to what happens with crescents, decreasing diphthongs are so named because the oral cavity needs to close slightly when pronouncing them. The most representative examples of decreasing diphthongs are as follows:

Examples of diphthongs with "ai"

Air, dream, landscape, dance, I fall, archaic, you turned off, warden, you sang, Inca.

Examples of diphthongs with "au"

Classroom, pause, cage, christening, cause, unwary, dupe, riverbed, rubber, flow.

Examples of diphthongs with "ei"

Oil, twenty, comb, you have, deity, shaving, olive, decaffeinated, oily, lawsuit.

Examples of diphthongs with "eu"

Neutral, reunion, debt, therapeutic, neuron, fiefdom, pleura, neutron, neurosurgeon, debtor.

Examples of diphthongs with "oi"

Ban, I hear, you are, celluloid, beret, match, android, match, rhomboid, typhoid.

Examples of diphthongs with "ou"

American, Lourdes, Salou, boutique, souvenir, gourmet.

In addition to the increasing and decreasing diphthongs that we have just studied, there is another group of diphthongs known as homogeneous diphthongs. Diphthongs formed by the union of two weak vowels (i, u), which admit two combinations shown below:

Examples of diphthongs with "iu"

City, citizen, daytime, miura, diuretic, podium, polyurethane, widowhood, triumph, native.

Examples of diphthongs with "ui"

Vulture, I was, judgment, noise, careful, circuit, very, attribute, contribute, intrude.

In addition, we recommend that you read this other lesson from a Teacher in which we explain what the difference between diphthongs and hiatuses with examples to make it easier for you to study them.

Now that you have seen examples of diphthongs, we are going to offer a list of all the vowel combinations that create diphthongs in Spanish. Thus, it will be much easier for you to detect these linguistic phenomena when you are doing your homework.

They are 14 combinations that create diphthongs:

1. u + o
2. u + i
3. u + e
4. u + ai
5. i + u
6. i + o
7. i + e
8. i + a
9. or + u
10. o + i
11. e + u
12. e + i
13. a + u
14. a + i

To finish this lesson, we are going to offer you solved diphthong exercises that will help you test your knowledge. You can see the solutions in the next section.

Statement: Indicate if there is a diphthong in these words and what type it is.

1. Cuido
2. Caóattic
3. Bailar
4. BI heardna
5. Miel

And we finish with the solutions from the previous exercise so you can check your results:

1. Cuido - Yes: homogeneous diphthong
2. CaóTico - No.
3. Bailar - Yes: decreasing diphthong
4. BI heardna - Yes: decreasing diphthong
5. Miel - Yes: increasing diphthong

If you want to read more articles similar to Examples of diphthongs, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.

• Navarro Tomás, T. (1971). Diphthongs and tonemes. Thesaurus: bulletin of the Caro y Cuervo Institute, 26 (1), 1-10.
• Martínez-Paricio, V., & Torres-Tamarit, F. (2013). Increasing or decreasing diphthongs? A comparative analysis of the high vowel sequences in Spanish and Catalan. Proceedings of 26 CILFR, 683-694.
• Alonso-Cortés, Á. (1997). Phonology and Morphology in the alternating diphthongs of Spanish je and we. Journal of Romance Philology, 14 (1), 41-58.